Take a chance, take a shot (Shoki, Ghost)

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

Voice, known, and filled with pain. Soprano voice. Cyan’s voice. K’rad turned his head carefully, not wanting to throw off his rescuer’s balance, but needing to see the speaker, needing to see Cyan and know she was ok.

Stupid.

K’rad ignored the voice, focused on Cyan. “Is ok, Cyan… I’m fine, been worse,” he got out. He wished he dared let go to touch her, but he still wasn’t quite sure that he wasn’t going to end up thrown to the ground and left to die. Why shouldn’t they leave him? He was weak, now, regardless of what strength he might once have had.

The shifting induced by climbing the stairs made everything hurt worse, such that K’rad was biting down on his tongue, hard. He must not make noise. No sound must betray them. Nothing out of the ordinary. K’rad held on, tucking his head against his rescuer to hide his face, now that Cyan was in front of them. She didn’t need to look back. He hoped she didn’t, hoped she kept her eyes forward. He tried to stay completely still. It was embarrassing to have to be carried, but he knew that he couldn’t walk.

Finally they paused, no longer moving. K’rad stayed still. He felt as if this were some dream, as if movement would cause it to change, or worse, to shatter, leaving him chained up once more. His rescuer’s voice again then, ordering them back into motion. K’rad tucked his face away as best he could and clung with what little strength he had left.

[Shoki]

Kel was trying to be reassuring, but it was hard to lift Cyan’s mood when someone was so obviously in a bad way. It was good, at least to hear him talk. With him so silent it was not hard to keep her mind from fearing so much.

Still there were more pressing things to do, so she shot a concerned look but went along with them up the stairs, trying to be as quiet as she could be. Cyan was about to open the door for them until Kh’sol spoke up, her hand stilling in response. It was tense, waiting. She concentrated on the door, and not making noise. Finally he gave the go ahead and Cyan quickly opened the door, standing clear to let through Kh’sol and K’rad. She didn’t say anything but her expression said it all.

Hurry!

[Kaya]

Cyan's gaze sent Kh'sol quickly through the door outside into the fighting and chaos. The bellows above drowned out all but the loudest shouts. Kh'sol slowed as the noises assaulted his ears. Bloody hooves and hands...

You call for a ride? Ornoth announced, wheeling into the scene. Kh'sol's feet picked up again, though his shoulders protested the blunt edges from K'rad's sickly form pressing into him.

Yup.

Kh'sol frowned at how hard this now looked, but they didn't have much of a choice. Could K'rad really weigh much more than an overfilled bag of firestone? He hoped not. He heaved his shoulders to steady and settle his load, then grabbed a the harness hanging down Ornoth's side. The Brown squeezed low to the ground, and he did a better job of it than a full grown and filled out dragon would have, but it was still a trick to get up the side. So Kh'sol got part way up and heaved said 'firestone bag' up and over onto Ornoth's back. "Hold on if you can," Kh'sol ordered, scrambling up to pull the slipping K'rad the rest of the way up. He got him quickly settled and sloppily strapped a riding harness around the ghostly boy.

"You too," Kh'sol requested, hopping back down to the ground. No one was yelling, and they'd not hear it anyway in all this mess. They could probably have walked off with a Queen egg in this bloodshed and uproar. "You're part of my story when we get there. Plus I could use the other set of hands," Kh'sol added. He had leaned in close to speak, it was so loud, the noise fluctuating as the dragons fought. "We did it. We got him." He grabbed her hands. Kh'sol was grinning, his excitement running high, his head practically spinning. They were home free. He had no doubts. And with the tiniest emotional push from Ornoth, he pulled Cyan towards him and kissed her.

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

They were rushing forward, then they were pausing. Another moment, and they were rushing forward again. His rescuer started clambering up a brown dragon’s side then, with Kel balanced in what felt far more precarious than it probably should. Not that he was going to complain, since he was being gotten out of there.

Suddenly he was heaved up, dumped onto the browns back and ordered to hold on. He tried, he really did, but he was already starting to slip when his rescuer grabbed him and strapped him down. He started to ask about Belegurth, but the man disappeared from view abruptly, sliding back down the dragon’s side. Motion, and… Wait was he…?

K’rad sighed. Did it even matter? The worst part was it did. Here he was, free, and he was upset that the girl he cared about was with another. What a deadglow. He wasn’t in a cell anymore, couldn’t he be glad about that?

Told you, not for you.

Anger at the words, fading with all other emotions into apathy. Did it matter? Not anymore. He just wanted to be somewhere safe.

[Shoki]

They were out, Kel helped onto the back of the dragon, and soon enough, Cyan as well. Kh’sol was excited, in the home stretch. Cyan wanted to share some of the enthusiasm, she gave a little smile. She wasn’t quite so at ease though. Perhaps it would be a little better when they were properly away.

Her hands were taken, and Cyanee honestly didn’t expect anything until she was pulled toward Kh’sol and he kissed her. Her reaction was largely internal, and the one most unsurprised with it was no doubt Zigbrieth.

Because Cyan was more confused than anything else.

One might assume it was the ‘this is not the time nor place’ idea confusing her, but it was not. It wasn’t that she disliked being kissed, it was actually quite nice. It wasn’t even that Kh’sol was doing it, as she considered him a friend. It was just she had no idea how to respond. Cyan liked people, she just had never been attracted to anyone, so to speak. She wasn’t daft. Just because no one had told her they liked her before didn’t mean she didn’t know what this was pointing to. It was just she hadn’t ever really thought about what to do if someone DID like her.

Zigbrieth huffed. He’d figured this out already. After all, he was full grown, and was a proper rider. He’d chased, and when his feelings bled over she had always just seemed baffled by them. And humans were more complicated, by his reckoning. However, more important than all of that. This was not part of the plan.

We should move. The Blue said, completely unmoved by whatever mood might be going on. Chop chop.

Cyan waited for Kh’sol to end the kiss, then gave a polite smile. It was quite possible that a little bit of confusion showed through. However, for now, it was probably best to listen to her dragon, she expected.

“Let’s go.” She would have to think about this later.

[Kaya]

She was smiling. That was a good sign. And the rest, well, that just felt good. And it was time to go. And all of these things, the rescue, the escape, the buzz and the kissing, well, there wasn't a lot of processing space left. Not even enough left to recognize the lack of space. So when she prompted him to go, with a smile no less, that's what Kh'sol did. He leapt up to Ornoth's back and glanced back to see Cyan settling in behind him, K'rad in the middle. It was much easier without the wisp (well, heavy wisp) on his back.

Yea! Kh'sol! Ornoth celebrated. We good?

Yup!

And they were off. The Brown didn't take much time climbing. He cleared the ground and winked between, no Weyrling Master there to yell at their recklessness. Seconds later they were over the ocean to the north, far off the shore of Cliffside SeaHold. The grand cliffs were hazy in the distance. Half way. Ornoth, clear of the battle, now took the time to climb into the skies.

Finally did it!

Not blind. Saw.

Stupid! I know that.

Sure you did, dust for brains.

Smokeless throat.

Shellin' pathetic. I taught you better, wherryface.

Threadbait.

Better.

Several more volleys and they had achieved sufficient height to between again to the hills and the mountains.

And there it spread out under them. The greens and the water and the big falls and the familiar worn out mountain. Kh'sol and Ornoth turned their gaze down. Not here. They flew it straight over the slopes until Ornoth noticed one herd of dots and adjusted course appropriately. Indeed that was them. Ten minutes further on and the camp was coming into view. The Brown circled down, planning with his Rider about just where to land. They comprised on out of the camp, but closer than Ornoth preferred. It would have to do. The goats that weren't out to graze looked upset but, that was just how it would have to be. Maybe next time they'd plan something better.

Kh'sol worked quickly once Ornoth was steady on the ground to unhook K'rad from the harness. He placed him differently, on his back with arms around the front, to slide down Ornoth's side. It was a jarring landing but leaning on the Brown he managed it. By this time some people were already starting to make their way over.

"One of you go get Gill!" Kh'sol called, striding forward with K'rad. Ornoth was ready to leave once Cyan was on the ground and they were clear. It would upset the animals - and thus the people who owned them - less.

"Kh'sol! Our boy grown. Look at you and what you're dragging in. Shards, he looks worse than your brother did going out." One man commented.

"That's for sure."

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

K’rad just lay there. The adrenalin of the escape, of being carried up and strapped to the dragon’s back, seemed to have sapped the last of his eleventh hour strength and energy (such as it had been and what there had been of it). He allowed himself to be shifted so that Cyan could sit behind him, then just lay there, half or more in a daze, the world whirling around him without even the seeming of a thing that made sense.

It wasn’t until they entered blackness that K’rad realized what was happening, or rather, realized one set of implications of it, and felt his throat close off in fear. Not fear for himself, not really, but fear for another, another’s life.

“Belegurth,” he cried, though the sound was quiet, muffled, as they emerged into sunlight and swept upward through the sky. A whimper tried to climb his throat, but he choked it back. Whimpering didn’t help anything, had never helped anything, save in those echoes of memories too old to clearly recall.

Soon enough, they slipped through darkness once more, to emerge over light. K’rad tried to speak, tried to ask about Belegurth, but he couldn’t even put the words together, his exhausted, fevered mind slipping in and out of full awareness. He was less than half-conscious by the time they landed, and was capable only of holding on with a desperate grip as his rescuer slid down the dragon’s side and started walking forward.

People, there were people gathering closer. Whimpering in earnest now, despite all attempts to rein it in, K’rad twisted his head around, trying to bury himself as much as possible in his rescuer’s form. Why couldn’t they just all go away, go away and leave him in peace?

“Belegurth,” he whimpered, wishing the dragon was here. Too many people, none of them known. Please, just let it end. Let this be the end, the last end.

[Shoki]

Kh’sol was certainly pleased. That was fine, but Cyan was still a little bundle of confusion. A rough mental push from Zigbrieth kept her focused on what was happening. It was hard to hear as they rose, chaos and mayhem still being what the norm was, but she heard Kel say something. Her brow furrowed in concern, and she leaned forward to try to hear what he was saying. For the moment all she could hear was whimpering. But it cut off. Was it just something else she had heard from the din of battle? She didn’t think so.

Fortunately she didn’t notice the trip between happened a little quick. She would have been a bit spooked by that. She was trying to think.

When they appeared again, and headed to their destination, she thought she heard it again, for a moment but as they landed and Kh’sol took Kel, she slid off quickly and fell in step.

“Hey, Kh’sol I think-“ She cut off, hearing the whimpered word from Kel. She put her hand on Kel’s shoulder, surprised at how thin he felt. But she started to rub the back of his shoulder. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

Zigbrieth snorted. Geez, humans.

[Kaya]

Kh'sol's attention was threadbare split between Cyan's hovering and the gathering crowd of herding family. Ornoth was a beacon that had drawn in everyone he needed, and dozens more. Many of them who knew him, and didn't realize this was serious yet, though K'rad had hung on this long. He was out. So he'd be fine. Eventually.

"Hey, Cyan, what?" Kh'sol ducked over trying to catch an explanation only to be pulled away by a rough set of hands on his face. "Hello Gill." he greeted the healer man.

"What's the story with this one?"

"War going on y'know. This one hasn't been doing well. Got pushed aside for those with a better chance," Kh'sol started to explain, the whisperings and shouts of retelling rippling through the growing crowd. "Can't let 'im go though. This here's my girl, and this is her brother. You're the best there is, Gill. You gotta help him."

"Flattery, boy," Gill retorted in step but was all the while sizing up the limp young man. Not like the Weyr to let one get like this. But, wars weren't much like Weyrs either. "Let's get him to my tent."

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

Everything hurt. Too many people, even if he couldn’t see them, refused to look at them, kept his face pressed into his rescuer. Why couldn’t they just go away, go away and leave him in peace? Didn’t he hurt enough? Pressure, contact on his shoulder. Without thinking, Kel pulled in on himself, trying to shield as much as possible. Wait, what-? Cyan’s voice?

“’m fine,” he got out, trying to pull his focus, his attention back, only to have it slip away again. “Where’s Beleg?” he asked, twisting his head slightly to look at her.

Another person closed in then though, and he turtled in once more, trying to hide. He didn’t want to go to anyone’s tent. He just wanted to rest, to sleep, without chains biting into him if he moved.