I slept next to a DeathWing (Open)

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

75.03.11|Evening/Early “morning”|Cave system in territory near ISW

The wind was cold, but then, it always was this far to the north, even in the depths of summer, and the depths of summer were a long way away; it wasn’t even yet spring, not here in the far north. The wind swung around, blowing harder now, out off the north, out from over the ice-fields that were all that existed between Ice Stone Weyr and the top of the world. There had been clouds already, but now they began slowly to thicken, gradually cutting off the light of the early evening stars.

There was no one awake at Ice Stone Weyr except the watchmen, and with no moon having risen, they did not see the young dragon launch into the sky. Nor did they notice the dragon winging away, for the clouds had obscured the starlight, so there was no way to detect something moving against the sky.

How long should this take? T’vax asked. He had a rough idea of how far away the place was, but firelizard reports garnered at a distance by following a cautious and stealthy Weyrsmith were not the easiest things to interpret, hence the reason they were flying straight.

Shouldn’t be longer than half the night, even flying straight, and that includes time to double back and confirm that we are in the right spot.

Might go faster if we flew close to the ground to begin with?

Slinesteth made no response except to drop so that he was not even a full dragonlength from the ground. It forced him to slow his flight a little, but it would make it easier to spot the landmarks that they needed to see, especially as it was night and T’vax was not going to light the shielded lantern until they were at least three hours out.

The wind intensified, moaning around the Chrome and his rider as they flew steadily away from shelter. It died off a little as they drew near to the three hour mark, then snapped back to life in a sudden blow, knocking the Chrome from the air and slamming him against the ice and stone.

A cracking noise filled the air, breaking through the howl and moan of the wind, and with it, the stone beneath the Chrome fell away, taking with it the ice that had formed to it, and dropping dragon and rider into a massive cave.

The storm blew past, dumping snow on top of the two young creatures in the cave. Slinesteth woke briefly, long enough to pack the snow into a den around himself and his rider, and snow cave within the cave; they would not freeze this night.


Moonrise came and went and with the graying light of the dawn T’vax opened his eyes to see a shaft of the silver-grey light through the miniscule air hole Slinesteth had left in the side of the snow cave.

Alive, we’re alive.

T’vax lay there, breathing slowly, holding even the distant pain from sleeping Slinesteth’s broken wing welcome as proof of survival, then he cautiously rolled over. No sooner had he done so, then he slammed himself backward, eyes locked on the creature that he’d unwittingly spent the night beside and mind screaming in terror, shoving the image that filled his mind as if he could somehow will himself not to see, uncaring for the echoes that bounced back from the dragons of the Weyr, faint but still close enough to hear and be heard. T’vax had no awareness, save for the creature in front of him. The impossible, deadly thing that sat there still, like some horribly overgrown and pitch black Lifewing, and…

Slinesteth’s eyes sprang open, already whirling white, orange, and red.

A puff of steam escaped from T’vax’s lips, curled up from Slinesteth’s nostrils and… nothing rose from the DeathWing’s beak.

Is it…

T’vax looked around until he spotted a nice fist-sized rock, which he lobbed at the creature. He drew back slightly, holding his breath and ducking with all his strength behind his mental “shield”, but there was no response from the DeathWing.

It must be

T’vax took a couple of quick breaths. What’s a dead DeathWing doing here, then?

No need to shout.

T'vax swallowed. Sorry.

[Terayne]

The mental startlement was heard by those of the Weyr, waking the young Cloud, who's head snapped up, a low hiss escaping her jaws. That startled her rider, who woke with a start and looked over at the beast with surprise. "What in the world?" she asked, blinking sleep away. I am not sure, Mine. I only know that someone has been badly startled... And I FELT it...[/i] The poor dragoness wasn't sure WHY she'd felt it, only that she had, and she was adamant that something was wrong, enough so that Diamond got to her feet and got dressed, then went searching for her Weyrling Master, unsure of what else she and her dragon might be able to do...

The 'cry' also woke the young Darkblue, who growled low in his throat as he rose to his feet, his rider coming awake in his bed and blinking as he sat up. His white hair was rumpled, and pale eyes blinked several times before he finally came to enough to realize what was going on. Storith had felt something, strongly enough that it woke him. The dragon turned his head to look at his Mine, and cocked it, his intent clear. He then turned his head to the approaching dawn and began to pad outside. Wait for me, you silly beast! M'iren cried and jumped out of bed, rushing into his clothing and grabbing for the straps and harness. He then darted out, relieved to find that his Bonded had waited for him. He sensed his two younglings waking and gently soothed them back to sleep, even as he harnessed Storith and jumped into the straps, yelping as the dragon leapt into the air and headed towards the watchdragon, bugling softly so as not to startle the other dragon.

[Shoki]

Wake up, Hedara. Hedara’s eyes snapped open, before she glanced to look at the outside. It was almost her normal wake up time, but the harsh voice Temperanth had, it wasn’t for sleeping in. She sat up, not quite awake yet and moved Ivy off the bed.

“What has happened?”

I heard a scream. Temperanth was aggravated, Hedara cold tell. It was no surprise considering. The other dragons have heard it as well. This is no time to be asleep.

“I agree.” Hedara rose quickly, changing and equipping her pouch with speed. “Sand, spice, crystals…” Hedara quickly listed off the contents before dashing out the door having only brushed though her hair a few times. She grabbed a hair tie as she went out the door, planning to put her hair back when she had a moment. “What do we know?”

Little, but we have only just been talking. Temperanth’s eyes whirled, and she resumed her conversation with the Brown dragon that she had found in the Weyrbowl. Hedara wasn’t inclined to be patient at the moment so she darted out to see who knew something. Wait. The woman stopped just on the inside of the Bowl and looked over to the Ice who had turned back to look as her rider had entered the Bowl. See if Eraviya is having trouble, and I might have more info by the time you get back. The Jr. Weyrwoman stared for a moment and then took a deep breath. She hadn’t even thought that the Weyrlings might be the most taken aback by all this. Reassuring the Weyr was certainly something she had to keep tracking, what with all of the pressure existing already. So she marched over to the Weyrling Master’s office, to see what was what and how to smooth things out.

[Terayne]

Diamond had already dashed inside looking for the woman, the young CloudWeyrling shifting impatiently, her normal jovial expression serious and worried. Her stride as she paced back and forth in the front was noticeably not her, and she was playing with her hands, messing with her hair. In her mind, she could sense her Xinalinth rumbling uneasily, wanting to DO something, something more than SIT there and play with her tail. She tried to soothe the Cloud, but it didn't work so well when she herself was so worried. Xinalinth still wasn't able to tell her WHO she'd heard cry out, only that she'd heard SOMEONE, someone afraid.

She heard someone coming and turned her head, resisting the urge to yelp in surprise as she saw the Weyrwoman, inclining her head respectfully. "Lady Hedara..."

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

There must have been a time at which Eraviya had been this annoyed before. Just because she didn’t remember it didn’t mean that it didn’t exist. First had been the scream that had caused Phlegeth to awaken her, then there was the fact that apparently it wasn’t just Phlegeth who had heard it, for no sooner did Eraviya reach her office, having already asked Phlegeth to check in with the Weyrlings, than she encountered both Weyrwoman Hedara and one of the Weyrlings (the slight, friendly one, Diamond).

Eraviya, Chrome Slinesteth does not respond, nor is he within the bounds of the Weyr.

Eraviya fought back the oaths that she wanted to utter. “Lady Hedara, Weyrling Diamond. Do either of you know if Weyrling T’vax was planning on going anywhere?”

[Shoki]

Hedara walked into the Weyrling Master’s office to find that a Weyrling was already there, but no Bluerider. She stopped for a moment to confirm that Eraviya wasn’t there before speaking. He voice was much as it always was, slightly aloof, and sounding a touch stressed. Amazing what could be considered normal.

“Greetings. Have you also been looking for the-“ She cut the words off short as the woman herself walked in, looking in a mood. That seemed to describe a lot of people at this early hour. Eraviya spoke and Hedara’s eyes narrowed slightly. T’vax, huh?

“I have not been informed of such a thing.” Hedara didn’t waste time in relaying to Temperanth who they might have to be looking for. Find some cool heads at this hour. We shall be needing those who can search well. Ask some Lifewing riders as well if they would not mind being available.

I see. I will begin contacting people. Hedara figured Temperanth would be the best at that. The Ice was less…abrasive then people found Hedara to be, so if they were in a half decent mood, the Ice rarely made it worse. It did not seem to be so for herself.

“What do we know?”

[Terayne]

Diamond hesitated, then shook her head, hard enough to send her hair flicking back and forth. She quickly halted the motion, biting her lower lip in concern. "No ma'am," she murmured, still playing with her fingers. As the Weyrwoman also stated she wasn't aware of the boy planning anything, Diamond shifted uneasily. T'vax was Chrome Slinesteth's rider... Mine. Do not jump to conclusions, Xinalinth scolded her, and she reddened, ashamed of her thoughts about her fellow Weyrling.

When Hedara asked what was known, she ran her tongue behind her teeth, hesitant to answer the woman before her Weyrling Mistress had had a chance to. She wanted to DO something, not just sit there, but she didn't know what she, a mere Wyerling, could do to help.

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

“Right now, nothing,” Eraviya stated, shrugging into her flight jacket. If she’d been the type of person to do so, she would have sighed. As far as Phlegeth could determine, the boy had been gone since, conceivably, the last check last night, right before the Weyrlings were all supposed to go to bed and stay there. Of course, him and the Purple-Grey Weyrling, Davquil, seemed to have this thing about rules.

The watchrider did not see him, nor was report made the watch before that.

“He’s been gone anywhere from two watches to the entire night, and either way he managed to leave without being seen by any of the watches,” Eraviya relayed. “Diamond, if you are absolutely sure that he let nothing slip about this, could you go and see if any of the other Weyrlings anticipated this?” Eraviya watched the young woman’s face intently, not so much for her own request, as to see what reaction the question from Phlegeth might induce.

Xinalinth, were there any images that you saw before you awoke, or was it just the scream?

[Terayne]

The girl started slightly when her name was spoken, but nodded and turned to leave, just as Xinalinth was questioned. The Cloud thought about it for a moment, , trying to remember if ANYTHING had slipped through beyond that startled noise she'd heard.

I did not, Phlegeth, she finally answered regretfully, wishing she could be of more assistance. She then turned her attention to Davquil's Niekolgoth. May I ask you something? she inquired politely of the Purple-Grey, not wishing to disturb the other Weyrling if she didn't have to. But she knew that he and His were the closest ones to T'vax and Slinesteth, along with her Silverlight brother and His.

[Cait]

How long had it been since T'vax had left? Davquil didn't even know. All she knew was that as the hours passed, she began to nod off only to start awake as her head dropped. It was late into the night and creeping towards the morning when she finally dozed off for what felt like only a moment. This time she started awake when Niekolgoth errupted with a cry and a burst of anxiety and dismay.

T'vax!

Dav toppled out of her chair, startling the two tiny whites that had curled up in her lap. The pair fluttered to the bed where they settled though having picked up on the Purple-Gray's distress neither relaxed. Thinking that her friend since before Impression had finally returned and made anxious by the sudden tension, Dav scrambled to her feet and out into the weyr cavern only to find her dragon sprawled on the ground like some giant dead thing. She skittered to a halt and stared for several long seconds.

It wasn't that she'd never seen Nieko do something like that; he'd been doing it since the moment he hatched. But he only ever did that when he got upset or anxious or overwhelmed. Something had happened! She was sure of it, but why hadn't Slinesteth come to get her? Surely the Chrome would come and get her if anything had happened to Tiv. "Nieko, what happened? What's wrong?"

Of course the dragon didn't respond, he just lay, staring with whirling eyes mixed with shades of alarm and fear staring out the opening to the weyr that led to the ledge. Oh sweet Faranth, something really must have happened. Tiv couldn't be dead though, surely she would know. The dragons would mourn for Slinesteth if Tiv had died. She never should have told him about what Snowflake had seen; it had been a vague image at best! With a rather pathetic whimper, she jogged across the weyr to Nieko's head and dropped to her knees in front of his nose. "Nieko, what happened? Did something happen to Tiv? We have to go find him!"

The purple-gray heaved a sigh and continued to stare straight ahead. The scream and the building of unease and tension and Dav on the verge of tears and Slinesteth too far to contact...it was too much. And then Xinalinth sent a tentative inquiry and Nieko groaned and closed his eyes. Too much. Too much. Where was Slinesteth? He would have a plan to make everything better? He was with T'vax...T'vax had screamed, he'd heard it. It was a raw, scary, terrifying scream. What were they going to do? Dav was pleading with him to do something but he didn't know what to do. He did know what to say so naturally he didn't do or say anything...to the extreme.

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

T’vax’s chest was still heaving, the cold air stinging his throat with every quick, sharp inhalation. He hissed in surprised pain when Slinesteth shifted slightly, and snapped his gaze around to take in the Chrome’s broken wing.

Slinesteth started to shift forward more, intending to climb up slightly so that he could determine more about their present location. At the moment, he had no plan for how to get away from the cave, but gathering more information couldn’t hurt.

No, let me. I’m smaller and un-hurt.

Slinesteth turned one slowly rotating, mostly blue-green eye on T’vax. It made sense, he knew it made sense, but this was his rider. He didn’t want to risk losing him.

“You won’t lose me,” T’vax whispered, reaching up to rub Slinesteth’s left eyeridge. “I can scramble up and look out; it’s not that bad a slope, relative to what my dad used to make me run messages up and down.”

For a moment, dragon and rider just stood there, together in the remains of the snow cave that had saved their lives, accompanied only by the long dead remnant of an ancient war, then T’vax turned and started climbing up the slope that had formed when they’d fallen in. Once he finally reached the top, he spent a moment catching his breath before looking around and processing what he saw. The land stretched away in all directions, the white vastness completely unbroken for as far as he could see. No hint of the Weyr was visible, nor was there any sign that they were even remotely near their goal of last night.

This is going to be hard to explain

T’vax couldn’t have agreed more. He did not even want to think about what Eraviya would do to him this time.

[Shoki]

Hedara did not like the answer she was given. Nothing? Really? She didn’t like moving on so little information, but such a scream, that had the dragons in a foul mood… Well regardless she had to do something at once. She watched Diamond turn and go then turned back to Eraviya.

“Relay any information that you may find. I can no longer delay.” Hedara glanced back toward where the Cloud Weyrling had gone. They were worried as well, but perhaps trying to figure out where their companion had gone would give them something to do. Or it would make them more worried. She could not quite judge. However what she did know was that a search party was in order, and she had to be a part of it. “I shall keep you informed as well.” She gave a nod as a farewell and headed back toward the Bowl where Temperanth was waiting. Hedara finally had a spare moment to put her hair back and prepared the gear for flight.

You have ideas of where to look? Temperanth was trying to keep the words calm, but she felt like they were flying snow-blind. Hedara couldn’t really dispute that, but she had at least a few things she could try.

“We know a rough time for how long they were gone. If we could hear them they cannot be on the other side of Pern. A scream means sudden trouble. Possibly weather or nature to be the blame. We look for terrain that causes trouble, places where sudden winds come up or places that can kick up snow in an instant that will not let you recover. We shall bring ropes and gear in case that has occurred. If it is a fight that caused it, we shall bring the usual.” She finished putting on Temperanth’s gear and then went to get some riders to help her collect supplies. The Ice dragon remained still for a moment, looking around the dragons gathered and once again looked to find more that might be level headed at this hour and in this situation. If they were going off of nothing, she would need all the people searching that they could have. She hoped it would be enough.

[Terayne]

Storith had settled to the Watch Ledge and had waited while their Queen questioned his fellow dragon on what he might have heard. The Darkblue then made his own inquiries of possible emotion and sights accompanying the sound, only to be told no, there had been nothing but the scream... Now, the pair were watching as Temperanth and Her's assembled their party, the Darkblue's eyes whirling with concern, his rider's bright with the same. They couldn't afford to lose a Weyrling, ANY Weyrling, and both males knew it. After a long conversation, Storith leapt from the Watch Heights and circled down to settle lightly near his Queen, rumbling softly in query. May we assist, my Queen? he asked quietly, tail flicking slightly.

Diamond was trotting through the weyrling halls, seeking out Davquil and her Bonded one. Xinalinth had informed her that the male had not responded to her inquiry, and the normally bubbly Weyrling was now even more concerned than ever for her fellows. What if Dav and Niek had gone with them? She skidded to a halt before the other Weyrling's door and knocked firmly on it, her concern causing her to be more forceful than was normal for her, then she waited, dancing from foot to foot in her impatience.

[Cait]

Davquil jumped as someone pounded on the door. Scrambling to her feet she nearly tripped over Niekolgoth as she ran full out towards the door. Irrationally she assumed it would be T'vax and as she collided with the door then back pedaled in order to wrench it open she stared at where Tiv's head would be then blinked when there was nothing there. Adjusting her line of sight she found Diamond standing there bouncing from foot to foot. She stared for a moment then seemed to explode. "Have you heard anything? That's why you're here, aren't you? Tiv; something happened. Nieko freaked out and he won't tell me what happened. Did Xinalinth say anything?"

Tears--big fat tears--welled up in her dark eyes and spilled over as Davquil turned away from the door and hurried back to her dragon. Usually she was patient and clever about how she coaxed him out of his episodes but there wasn't time for that now. Not with Tiv and Slinesteth missing; why else would they come find her unless he was missing? Well she knew he'd gone but he should've been back by now. Long before now. "Nieko, enough! Get up now, we need to go find them!"

The Purple-Gray remained perfectly still as his rider paced about in front of his face, tugging at her hair until it was a tangled, frizzy mess. All the while the two whites and Tiv's pink and aurora watched from the bed, clearly agitated by Dav's distress and Tiv's absence; the pink was creeling almost incessantly which didn't make things any better. When Niekolgoth still hadn't budged, Dav finally stopped and standing directly in front of him her face a splotch mess she screamed.

"GET UP NOW OR SO HELP ME I WILL DRAG YOUR BIG FAT BUTT OVER TO THE LEDGE AND PUSH YOU OFF!"

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

Snowflake, ever the silent one erupted into a piercing screech that rose above Dav's voice and carried on slightly after. Finally Nieko blinked and after a second he lifted his head. While the Purple-Grey hauled himself up off of his belly, Dav rushed to her room and grabbed her warmest jacket and crammed her feet into the fur-lined boots. When she went to charge out the door, she started when she found Diamond still there and blushed furiously as she stuffed her riotous hair up into a cap she'd pulled down over her head. "I'm going to find him."

Pulling the hood up, she paused only long enough for Snowball and Snowflake to land on her shoulders and crawl into the fur-lined hood and hunker down to either side of her neck. If anyone could find him it was going to be her; it had been her firelizard that had given them the tip after following that damnable weyrsmith someplace or another. Grabbing her gloves from the table beside her door, she reached for Diamond intending to drag her along as well. She might be bound and determined to find her best friend but that didn't mean she wouldn't take all the help she could get. "C'mon. Nieko will meet us outside. Can your Xinalinth handle the wind?"

[Terayne]

Diamond started as she found the door wrenched open so suddenly, and wasn't able to say a word before Dav had burst out. Blinking, she frowned and nodded. "It is, I'm afraid. The Weyrling Mistress is in a fit, and Hedara is no better," she replied finally, watching the other woman hurry about her room. Her dragon was OBVIOUSLY unhappy, hence the reason he'd not answered Xinalinth, she supposed, and she jumped at the sudden outburst, then the sharp screech from the normally silent White.

As Dav rushed back towards her, reaching for her hand, she blinked. "She's a CLOUD," was her response, an obvious one to anyone who knew the sky-bound dragons. "But Werywoman Hedara is assembling a search party right now to go look for him. Maybe we should go talk to them?" she said, allowing herself to be dragged along and informing Xinalinth to bring her things and her harness. Xinnie WAS a Cloud, and therefore a good flyer when it came to wind and sky.