[PRP] What is that Broom for? (Rizdax & Shar)

[Hattaki]

Backdated to mid May 3572

Sickness, groaning, and cold had all assaulted his senses since coming to this Weyr so high in the mountains and for all that Rizdax could take he had finally had his fill of it all. Though the Candidatemaster had offered him a chance to stand he had been forced to stay in the healers wing until the threadscoring across his shoulders healed fully, otherwise he was quite useless for chores. It made him angrier than he could even begin to fathom that on top of having to heal he was forced to stay in bed.

No, he didn't need this, he needed clean air and a chance to clear his mind of everything that had happened. There had been enough refugees from Telgar for him to understand fully what had happened to his people, to the ones that he had trained with in the Smithcrafting Hall, to everyone in the Hold that had tried to help he and his siblings when they were little. If any of them survived he would count all his lucky stars that they had avoided the falling strands of death.

Walking down the hallway, a large shirt belted around his waist and pants much to large for his thin frame hanging miraculously by a different belt, he sought to find somewhere to gain his bearings in this Weyr. Everyone ran about working or completing chores that he should be helping with, given his knew rank as Candidate at least, but no, he was held still and given skins to read and study but no one to walk him through why. If he could just get a glance at how big this place was, if he could just understand where he had come to? This was his first chance since coming to even leave the wing he'd been relegated to for the past few weeks and Rizdax planned on taking advantage of every moment and sight he could get. Who knew when he would get the next one? The healers had been cautiously optimistic with him given how badly he had been scored, but they had been at least giving him some sort of hope recently, hope that he might not be crippled forever.

But shards and shells did it ever hurt to move around still, even this much was making him realize just how much damage had been done. Thread was nasty stuff and he dearly wanted it burned from the skies, the desire going beyond wish straight to burning need. It needed to be gone, it needed to not tear up any more lives like his own!

Coming to an opening Rizdax walked straight out into the Bowl of High Reaches Weyr and froze in place, staring at the sheer size of the place he had started to call home. Wings of dragons flew in formation above him, some disappearing Between after a call from their leader, others scattering to individual Weyrs far above him and yet more going off to do things he couldn't completely conceive of. Nothing like this had ever happened to him before, there had been dragons around Telgar, more than a few had stopped by during his time there as an apprentice but they were nothing like these. These were fighters, warriors against Thread and protectors of Pern.

Yeah, he needed to Impress a dragon.

Casting about for a good place to sit down and watch everything happening out here, Riz noticed a spot up against the stone wall of the Bowl that was unoccupied and slid down it, grateful that his back wasn't so torn up that he might not be able to get back up. Every time the pain passed through his shoulders he felt a deep twang of guilt and pain slide through him, past his normal thoughts as if it was eating away at him, as if it was all that his brain wanted to think about. He had done everything that he could to have his brother's face, the blood that had been spilled, not cross his mind, but it was relentless. Somewhere in the air he heard the boy's laugh and Rizdax let his head hang, eyes closing tight as his shoulders slumped slightly and then raised back quickly as he hissed in pain. No, no slouching, that just pulled at the wound, not to mention his master would be disappointed.

Shards... was his master even still alive?

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Shar huffed softly as she lugged an armful of cleaning supplies up a rather long flight of stairs, brooms and mops and empty buckets bouncing around in her arms, the bucket hitting her left shin every time she lifted that leg to place it on the next step. Even though things had been rather exciting in the Weyr the past few weeks, what with the Threadfall and the refugees coming in the aftermath, but latrines still needed to be cleaned and hallways swept and kept clean. This week she was on cleaning duty with her class and, as usual, there were lots of slackers. Unsavory chores were rampant among the Candidates, but it was what ever rider had ever gone through during their years of Standing, so it was rather pathetic of them to shrug off their duties like they did.

Shar wasn't on her way to do the cleaning herself, oh no. She wasn't a pushover. She was on her way to find the Candidates that were on duty with her and get them to do their chores. Shar was good at that sort of thing, but it didn't mean she enjoyed having to hunt the slackers down. She finally reached the top of the stairs and stopped to adjust the various poles and handles before heading out of the stairwell, deciding to cut across the Bowl to reach the favored hangout spot of the Candidates.

As Shar made her way through the Bowl, though, she spotted a rather strange sight. There was a boy not much younger than her sitting with his back against a wall in clothes that were far too big for him. She paused to try to put a name with the face but none came, which was strange since she made an effort to know all of the youth in the Weyr that were Candidates. Perhaps he wasn't one? But still, she had never seen him before...

As she watched him she noticed him grimace, and the baggy top he wore slid to the side a bit to show bandages on his back with red, angry skin peeking out from underneath. Perking up a bit as she made the connection, she moved over to the boy with a new purpose. The cleaning could wait.

"Are you all right?" she asked as she approached, rattling buckets and mops alike. He certainly didn't look all right judging by his expression, mentally or physically.

Hattaki

 

[Hattaki]

Thoughts bounding around his head, faces and voices that he knew were gone had begun to fill the slowly emptying space in his mind, Rizdax was about to lean his head back against the wall when he heard something that broke through the clamoring noise. About to shake his head to clear everything out in order to hear better, he thought about it and realized just how much that would further damage his already angry wounds and chose to open his gold eyes instead. Reaching a hand up to clear his auburn hair from his view he took in the form of the girl standing in front of him with all the cleaning supplies before he could respond. What was she even doing with all of those? Was she resupplying some of the other Candidates with cleaning equipment or did she really think she needed... all of that?

One eyebrow lifted up slightly looking at her and he started to rise from where he was sitting against the wall. Riz was not the kind of person to let these things happen in front of him, right under his nose even. Who had let this short girl carry all of this by herself, were the things he'd been reading about Candidates all a ruse? Didn't they help one another when they could? This was nothing like Telgar Hold.

The move he made to stand as quickly as he used to when he wasn't wounded did absolutely nothing for him and Rizdax found himself back in the same position against the wall, eyes wide in something like shock and pain. Standing was going to be a bit difficult then, all he'd been doing until this point was laying on a cot, not standing from an awkward sitting position.

"I was going to say I'm fine, but... well I guess the healers were right." Rizdax used the muscles in his legs, somehow saved from any threadscoring and pain, to push himself back against the wall until he slid up to a standing position, albeit wobbly. It was only then that he realized he was barefoot and he adjusted the clothing belted to his body so that it wasn't a mess. "Never realize how important the muscles and skin on your shoulders is to every movement until you need them."

So she wasn't all that short, or maybe he wasn't all that tall, he did seem to remember people calling him things like 'stubby' at the Hall. She still shouldn't have been carrying all that equipment by herself when there were people all around this Weyr, there were far more people here than he'd ever seen at the Hold or the Hall.

"I should be okay now that I'm up, my name's Rizdax, I just got here a few weeks back." he eyed a few of the mops and brooms and held out his hands without thinking, having spent many a Turn cleaning and hauling things about as a child, "That's a lot of stuff you have there..."

Her name caught on his tongue and he realized that he didn't know it, that wasn't something he was used to. Riz pulled his eyebrows together slightly, uncomfortable realizing that he actually didn't know anyone here at all and though he had no problem with strangers he'd have to get used to that new feeling for a while.

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Shar watched as the boy shifted to stand but quickly found himself back on his behind, a shocked and pained look on his face. She frowned slightly at that, unsure of what to do. He clearly wanted to get up, but why? Should she try to help him or just let him sit? His bandages let her know that he wasn't in the best of ways, so he might just be out and about to get some fresh air. He certainly shouldn't have been doing anything too strenuous with wounds like that.

When he spoke and tried again she watched cautiously, ready to toss her armful to the ground to support him if he needed it. He was certainly one of those that had come from the holds that had gotten the worst of the Threadfall, but he seemed to have escaped with relatively minor damage. Those that were badly injured were still bed-ridden.

He gave her his name at the same time as he held out his hands and Shar narrowed her eyes at him, tightening her hold on her cleaning supplies. Did she really look like she needed help from someone who was probably still supposed to be in the healer's care?

"And I sure don't need help carrying it, Rizdax. Even if you weren't hurt," she added, shifting the brooms a bit so she could get a better hold of the bucket so it wouldn't clonk her in the shin with every step she took. "I'm Shar. Grew up here, so if you have any questions feel free to ask. You from Telgar?" she asked, picking the hold that had been spoken of the most frequently. Apparently that one had been razed to the ground.

Hattaki

 

[Hattaki]

Her words made him realize the state he must have looked, of course Riz had known before that he looked every bit of a mess, but at least until this exact moment he didn't think that anyone would take pity on him for it. Though, he'd had that mishap getting to his feet, so it wasn't entirely beyond the realm of reason for her to pull back from letting him help. If it had been the opposite circumstances he would have done exactly the same thing, had in the past with his younger brother.

That memory washed over him roughly and his shoulders shivered a bit as he tried to suppress the terrible memories of what happened added to the fact that she had mentioned Telgar. Certainly he had mixed memories of his home but knowing full well that he would probably never see it again didn't settle with him well.

"I have a ton of questions, but it'll probably need to wait for a bit. They haven't even let me really leave the healers wing yet, I just sort of snuck out because I can't stand laying on a cot anymore." He closed his eyes and shook his head a bit, remembering the past few weeks unfondly. "It's actually really nice to meet you Shar, you're the first person I've met that wasn't either a healer or someone wounded. Are you sure I can't help you though?"

He wanted to hold out his hands to help her again, but she likely would have backed up at that point and so he simply put his hands down into the pockets of his baggy pants and pondered answering her question of his origins. Probably she'd seen a bunch of people come and go from the Weyr in the past month and didn't need to remember the random face and name of some other kid she just met. But he felt somewhat prompted to at least tell her a little bit.

"Yeah, I grew up there with my little brother and sister. From what everyone's saying, I don't know if it's even still there." He rubbed the back of his neck with a free hand in a bit of embarrassment. "I did get to see a few people come by from there though, so I pieced a little bit of it's fate together. I'm sure you've heard most of what happened from all the people coming through here though right?"

It hadn't been nice to hear all of the terrible stories, people torn apart by Thread, homes destroyed and families separated by all the tragedy that still hadn't found one another. But at least he was here in a Weyr now with a chance to help things like that never happen again.

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

The admission that he had snuck out made Shar snort softly in amusement, the glare leaving her features. She could relate to that. Shar hated being cooped up in one place for too long and, although she tried to adhere to rules, she really couldn't help it when she got antsy. She had to do something, she could just sit and twiddle her thumbs all day long!

Rizdax's expression and body language changed at the mention of the hold and she realized a bit belatedly that she probably shouldn't have been so straightforward with asking. The answer she got was telling enough. A brother and a sister in a hold that was no more. It was just him, otherwise the healers would have reunited him with his siblings. Shar had grown up an only child so she never had that bond, but she understood the concept of loss and grief. She wasn't a terribly emotional person, but she did know when others were hurting and did her best to try to make them feel better.

"Yeah, it's uh..." Shards, how to put it nicely? "...a lost cause really. I'm sure they'll try to rebuild since Thread falls where it wants, but for now it's just ruins." She stood in silence for a moment before taking a hesitant step towards the younger teen, one of her brooms accidentally bumping his arm.

"I'm sorry for your loss. But you're more than welcome here," she added, surprisingly sincerely. "I'm sure you've talked to the Candidatemaster already since you're of age. I think once you're healed up properly and can start lessons you'd make a fine rider. The fact that you survived Threadfall proves you're cut from a different cloth."

Hattaki

 

[Hattaki]

Just seeing the carefully held expression on her face change to a softer one made him feel a little more relaxed around her, but he wasn't sure how to take it. Was it a good thing that her expression had softened, or was it a bad sign that what was to come was not at all the answer he was hoping for?

It was of course the latter, just hearing that it was in ruins made all the faces of the people he had known in Telgar flash to the forefront of his memory. Their faces and voices rang in his head again and he closed his eyes to them, knowing what might be coming, what would come if he thought about all these people too much. Even his brother's face would be too hard to see right now and that was all he needed to do, cry in front of someone that he had just met who was only trying to be helpful.

Suddenly he was pulled from his revere by the bump of one of the brooms she held in her arms. It was actually rather helpful, he had to admit grudgingly, but he reached up and took the broom anyway. If he grinned a bit it was only because he had managed to do something to help her, even if it was to take one thing to free that part of her burden. Shar seemed to be a bit stubborn, but he could be rather stubborn himself and Rizdax couldn't blame his desire to help others on anything other than how often he had helped people when raising his siblings. No one had instilled these sorts of things in him, rather they had developed through the real moments spent as an older brother.

"I don't know if I'm cut out to be a dragon rider, but I'll try to do my best to help out this Weyr, everyone's been really kind since I came here, even if it's only been the healers and Candidatemaster I've met so far. I don't know what part of me looks like a Candidate, but I want to help." Riz smiled at her, a real smile for her comforting, it wasn't something that he had done for a while and he felt a bit rusty just letting it happen.

He couldn't help himself, he slid the broom behind his back so she couldn't grab it back from him, because that seemed like something he himself might do in this given situation. If he was going to help her then he wasn't going to let her stop him from helping!

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Shells, she probably shouldn't have said that. He looked about ready to cry! That would be bad. Shar was good at leading people but when it came to emotions she was a bit stunted and when others cried around her she felt like she was wading through waist deep dragon dung and couldn't do anything. Riz held it together, though, and before she got her own mind out of that weird state it got into, he snagged the broom from her hands.

"Hey!" She lunged but her arms were still full of other long poles so the attempt to get the broom back failed miserably. The things she had in her arms rattled dangerously, forcing her to tighten her grip on them and simply glare at Riz.

"Don't you do that," she said, all focus on the conversation lost as the young man put the broom behind his back. "You're going to hurt yourself again and then where will you be? Back on a cot for an extra few days. Now give it here, I can hold it," she insisted, opening two fingers from the rest of her armful to take the broom back.

Hattaki

 

[Hattaki]

She was kidding, surely she must be kidding with those two little fingers that she held out to hold the broom that Rizdax still had held behind his slim back. A mischievous look crossed behind his eyes but he managed to keep the rest of his face from showing that trait. Having witnessed that little forward lunge she took he knew full well that she could be stubborn, he hadn't even needed to wait for her to demand the cleaning implement back to see it. While it was true that it could wind him back in the healers wing for longer than he intended, Riz was already cursed to be there for quite a bit anyway, the wound across his shoulder was only just now starting to heal to their satisfaction. Besides, he wasn't foolish enough to run about and help her actually clean!

"If you show me where you're taking all of this, then I'll give it back to you once we get there." he stated in a level tone. "I don't think carrying it will wreck me up any more than I am. You have two fingers left to hold it for shards sake!"

As true as it was that he was already in pain as was, he didn't truly think any further pain would come from following Shar to wherever she was going. It was a win win for him as well since it would allow Rizdax to see more of the Weyr through the eyes of someone that had lived here most of their lives. Possibly the only thing that could ruin that opportunity would be meeting one of the healers while he was doing that, or the fact that just walking up this far had worn him out more than he cared to admit. But he hadn't been an older brother for almost all of his life and not learned how to be stubborn, with her at least she was rational so maybe he could appeal to that side of her?

"I've been wanting to see more of the Weyr, so I'd be happy to help you carry anything you need to see more of it. Once I go back to the healers tonight I'm probably stuck there until they're completely done with me." he pulled his eyebrows together and shook his head, "Being stuck there and not seeing anything is getting old. I'd at least like to see it so I have something to look forward to."

Rocking the broom back and forth in his hand so the handle moved just a bit into her view and then back out of it again, it was almost like a taunt. He would give it back to her of course, Riz didn't have any desire to steal and if he did it certainly wouldn't be a broom.

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Shar kept her firm stance, hand outstretched as best she could manage, eyes narrowed as she stared down the boy. Her determination was fierce but it seemed he wasn't the type to bend with just a sharp look. No matter. She could convince him in other ways if she needed to.

"I carried all of this up the stairs from the storage area already, I can manage a little further on flat ground. You don't think I can?" she challenged. Just because she was small didn't mean she wasn't capable of doing things others larger than her could do! Although she did have trouble reaching high places...

His comment about wanting to see his new home did soften her gaze just a bit. The Weyr was where he'd be living now after the devastation he had lived through and he'd already been here for a good chunk of time. If they had swapped positions she knew she'd be in the same boat as he, eager to get out and see the new place, to get a feel of the layout and begin to make connections. Surely the healers would be furious if they found him out and about, but he clearly wasn't in a bad way. Painful, sure, but if he was really injured he'd be laid up and unwilling to leave the cots.

"Then let's make a deal. Give me the broom back and after I've brought this to the layabouts who are skirting their chores, I'll show you around. I doubt you want to see the latrines first, so you can wait here and I'll be back in a jiff." She didn't leave much room for argument and really, who would want to see the toilets on their first day in a new place? Not her, that was for sure. Especially not the toilets that the other Candidates were supposed to be cleaning.

Hattaki

 

[Hattaki]

Was she challenging him to try and make him relax? Rizdax eyebrows lifted a little bit but he still didn't give her back the broom, his hand tight around it lest she try anything. Lucky for him it seemed that she was genuinely concerned about him, if in a more stand-offish way that appealed to him as she wasn't being sickeningly sweet. Maybe he should actually listen to her, maybe that reserved concern was coming from an honest place. Riz wasn't entirely sure if it was that or her stubborn nature but it finally wormed it's way into him with her words.

Who wanted to see a bathroom after all?

"Deal, but hopefully you give those that are slacking a piece of your mind. No one should have to carry all this around, it has nothing to do with ability or anything else. It's just courtesy to help your fellow... well I guess Candidates?" Rizdax shrugged slightly and pulled the broom from behind his back carefully, looking at it suspiciously before handing it back to her. "But I guess I'll take that deal."

Leaning his back gently against the stone wall behind him once more, the teenager leveled an even look at her and crossed his arms over his slim chest. He was willing to wait, even if it was just for a little bit, he didn't know Shar well enough to be sure if she would actually come back for him or if she would simply disappear and tell the healers that he was wandering about. Time would tell he supposed but he was content to wait.

"You are gonna come back... right?" Riz offered up his question to voice his own anxieties but he pulled in the testy tone so that it came out in a more mellow manner. There was absolutely no need to insult a possible new... was the word friend correct just yet? He'd only just met her. Rein in the thoughts, rein them in.

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Shar could almost see the cogs turning in Riz's head as he processed her words. She kept her fingers outstretched as she waited for him to make a decision and her intense expression relaxed a bit as he agreed. Good. She could continue on her way and not worry about him getting hurt. Once she got back she'd be able to see to it that he didn't over exert himself. If he was to be a Candidate it would be better for him to suffer through the boredom of healing up quickly rather than re-injuring himself and being cooped up for longer. He needed to start on his lessons right away.

"Oh, don't worry," she said with a little roll of her eyes. "They'll be getting more than a piece." They'd be getting a whole scolding and lecture before she turned them loose to their duties. Usually her talking-tos were very effective. She went for the jugular but with kindness, pointing out that they were not only hurting themselves by failing to do their duties but also hurting those that might one day have their lives in their hands as they rode together in the same wing.

The hesitant question made her pause, a curious look replacing the more confident one. Rizdax was new and had just met her so he didn't know that she was true to her word, but the tone in his voice set her on edge. As confident as she was about her own leadership capabilities, she wasn't nearly as sure of her compassion and sympathy. She knew it was sad that he was alone here, that he knew no one, that his family had likely died in the Threadfall, that he had no home and probably no possessions...but how did she get that across to him? Awkwardly, sure, but in a way that he would appreciate? Ugh...it was so hard!

"Yeah, I'll come back," she finally said, trying not to sound as awkward as she felt. "You'll find out I never go back on my word once you join us for classes. But I guess you'll start learning that now. So stay there, I'll be back in a little bit."

With that she turned to walk off briskly, putting some distance between them so she could relax a little. Phew, that had almost gotten a little too emotional for her to handle.

Hattaki

 

[Hattaki]

Despite his best effort a small snort pulled from him at the thought of this small girl scolding them but Rizdax found that he couldn't really say that he would want to have her bite up one side of him and down the other either. It didn't seem too frightening so much as it seemed just unnerving and stressful, which given their general lazy skipping of their, what he was assuming was ordered chores, didn't really shock him. They would be in for some pain! Shar seemed as quick as she was blunt and that did not at all bode well for their futures.

Making a note of that should he ever accidentally cross her, the teenager nodded his head to her words and pulled his eyebrows together a bit in a stressed look. It appeared that his anxiety riddled question had stressed her out instead of her stressing out others, that had not at all been his intent. Maybe it was because of his circumstances and where he'd come from, maybe it was because he looked like he was just a wreck, either way her discomfort made him somewhat sad and he felt a sweep of regret for causing that feeling in her. Especially since she was one of the first people he met here that he could even remotely relate to.

"You don't seem like someone that would go back on your word, whether that has something to do with chores or helping others." Riz had to reach deep within himself to find the words that might help soothe that bit over, "I'll take you at that word."

Waving a hand a bit, not sure if he was waving goodbye or if he was simply trying to sweep away her awkward feelings, Riz watched her leave with some amount of amusement. The cleaning tools were certainly her height and that bucket was still banging against her despite her best efforts to walk away with some dignity. Impressed by her no matter his state of mind, the teenager settled slowly back onto the ground, careful not to hurt himself and waited for her to return, still somewhat uncertain no matter his words.

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Standing awkwardly in front of Riz for a few moments, Shar was eased out of her tension a bit as the young man spoke. He didn't know her that well, she had to remind herself. They'd been speaking for all of ten minutes! How could he possibly understand her at all? Surely he was nervous about being left alone, but this would be a perfect time to prove that his assumption was correct.

She left with a little nod, buckets and poles clacking together and bumping against her as she walked. A few other weyrlings in the area that were out with their new dragons glanced at her in amusement but she paid them no mind at all. Eventually she reached her destination and after a quick but powerful lecture, the slackers were set to their tasks with the items she had brought.

Satisfied, Shar made her way back to where she had left Rizdax, now mercifully unladen with cleaning supplies. Rather than taking the stairs, she hopped off a little ledge beside them to save time and scampered back over to where the injured Candidate was sitting.

"All right, shall we go? The less time you're sitting around here the less likely you are to be found by the healers." Surely they'd notice he was gone by now and were probably out looking for him. The more on the move they were the better.

Hattaki

 

[Hattaki]

Being alone gave him a chance to take stock once more, though Rizdax was careful to avoid eye contact with any of those wandering about the Bowl with their dragons, and to his pleasure he found that the Weyr seemed to be full to the brim with both humans and their dragon partners. Wings of every color soared up through the open area above him in formations or even just loose as they were heading off to places he hadn't yet seen. It was inspiring really, all those fabled riders on the backs of their powerful partners that scoured Thread from the skies of Pern since times immemorial. Though he'd wracked his brain for the past few weeks he'd not been able to get more than a few blurry images of the rider and dragon that saved him. All that he could pull up in his mind was a green wing and blonde hair blowing around him, no words or noises save the rush of air and the thunder of his heart in his own ears. Riz had still been distraught over his brother when the rider and their dragon had grabbed him up and the screaming pain in his shoulders had been all that he could have even focused on before his memories faded into darkness. A dragon of his own might be able to help him find that mysterious rider and the green dragon, but he knew that he wasn't quite what any dragon was looking for. What dragon in it's right mind would want a scarred, traumatized, short teen that burned in the sunlight? None that he could think on.

A soft thump to his side brought the teen from his inner reverie and back to the real world just in time to see Shar come sidling up to him. Careful golden eyes took in her form without the obscuring cleaning equipment and he was confused a bit. Having been in a Hold most of his life he had seen girls as pretty as her spend all their time flirting with and buttering up boys not much older than himself. But Shar didn't seem like the type at all, she was pretty for certain, he was wounded not dead, however her personality spoke to strength and resolve.

Rizdax softened a bit with her return, trust filling him if only the beginnings of it, and he nodded his head to her words. It would be foolish to be caught so quickly when he finally had a chance to explore this new place so full of wonders.

"Lead away then!" pulling himself carefully and painfully to his feet, Rizdax steeled himself for the experience and the risks. If he was caught he certainly wouldn't betray her now that she had earned a sliver of his trust, just tell them that she was working on returning him.

SilverLutz