[PRP] The Worst Anniversary (Rizdax & Shar)

[SilverLutz]

Shar glanced over her shoulder as Rizdax caught up with her, glad she had distracted him at least a little from his memories of the day. As sad as it was to lose someone so close to you it was important not to let it overshadow the rest of your life. It was a part of your past, yes, and would chance the future, but it shouldn't rule it. He was doing pretty well thus far, she had to admit, and she hoped that he would continue down the path he was on.

"Yeah, the time I got roughed up everything was so chaotic no one got punished immediately for trying to stop anything from happening. It was a little strange...but I think they were more concerned with the people who were losing blood faster than they could manage to keep up with," she said with a snort. After the fact she and a few others had gotten disciplined, but during the heat of the hatching no one had eyes for them. The dragons hadn't either. Everyone who had been badly injured or who had tried to step in didn't Impress that day. It had all been a test, it seemed, and none had passed that were bleeding by the end of it.

Now, though, they were all on probation and whenever the next hatching occurred they'd have to be on their best behavior. Shar was older and wiser now and understood that during hatchings it was in everyone's best interests to follow the rules. If someone didn't...as much as it hurt and as hard as it was to say, that was their fault and it would be on them to deal with the dragon that attacked them.

The next words that left Riz made Shar scowl a bit, though, and she glanced at him again. Her normally intimidating stare was a bit marred by all the cleaning supplies she was carrying but he had been around her long enough to know not to mess with her when she had that fire in her eyes.

"If a dragon attacks me whenever there's another hatching, you're going to let it. If you don't you'll surely be kicked out, especially with the heavy eye we've all got on us at the moment. I don't care about scars," she added as she marched forward once more. "And if you do try to interfere I'll be very upset. You got that?" Not mad, but disappointed and angry that he had put himself in danger for her. That wasn't how this went. He was the newbie still, despite being here for a year now, and she was the one that was there to help him.

"Provided a Queen clutches here at High Reaches, yes, there will be a Touching," she said, all intensity gone from her voice as they finally reached the storage areas. "That was very out of the ordinary, having the Hatching on the beaches of that island. I'm sure if they'd known about it sooner they would have orchestrated one. Hopefully our next go-round will be done properly so you'll get to meet the eggs first."

Hattaki

 

[Hattaki]

"That's basically what I expected the first time that I stood, honestly. To meet dragons that were aggravated and violent, that were upset they couldn't find theirs out on the sands right away or that none called to them. Instead we got a very calm hatching on an island down south where a bronze even asked for candidates to stand in line." Rizdax stated with a gentle laugh, the memories of that hatching were still good even if he hadn't met his match out on the sands that day. Maybe he could have had worse experiences, but as far as that one went he counted all his blessings that it had been good, that a friend of his had impressed on the sands even if another hadn't. Even if he hadn't.

There would still be hope that his dragon could be out there after all and many didn't meet theirs until just before they stopped standing. He had nine turns before that happened, so he hoped Shar met hers first.

One of his eyebrows lifted and his face turned away just a bit from her as she glared past all the cleaning supplies and before he could help it Riz was laughing in twisted amusement. "I can't take you seriously past all those brooms and mops, but I know what you mean about the scrutiny that we'll be under. I won't let you get hurt though, I've seen just enough pain and blood and death to last one lifetime and another even after that, Shar. It might be a fools errand and it might bring down Master Gr'del's wrath, but if I can at least drag you away from something you know that I will." There was pain in his eyes, a haunting look that slid behind them even if there was still a quirked smile on his lips. It gave him the look of one that had death hanging over them for indeed death walked with him and haunted his dreams every night.

Rizdax wasn't going to lose another person if he could try and stop it.

"I can't wait until a queen clutches, to see those eggs and get the chance to meet them before they even hatch. It sounds amazing." Not to mention he hadn't ever been conscious to watch a gold flight before, the last time there had been one he'd been in the healer's ward and not able to watch or see what it looked lie. Greenflights were amazing to watch as it was, so a gold flight had to just be amazing.

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Shar didn't bat an eye at Riz as he laughed, keeping her face intently straight. Internally she knew she must look ridiculous but part of being firm was not letting her own image worry her all that much. She was a pretty small young woman in ever sense of the word, but that just made her personality all the more surprising. She listened as he explained himself and although she normally would have fought back and told him to let whatever happened happen, the look in his eyes made her hold her tongue.

Sure, he was smiling, but his eyes told a completely different story. Today wasn't the day to argue about letting a dragon maul her right in front of his eyes. She'd have a chat with him about it later, but today she supposed it would be best to let it go.

Thankfully the subject changed and she rolled with it, starting to head for the supply closet once more. Once they reached it she opened the door with her foot and began to arrange everything properly so it wasn't a mess before backing away so Riz could do the same.

"It is amazing," she agreed. "You'll see it soon enough, I'm sure. You missed a lot of the fun of what a Hatching entails, Touching the eggs is an incredibly exciting part of the whole ordeal. Getting to know the dragons a little bit before meeting them is always exciting. I've seen a few people practically Impress with the dragon still in the shell," she added, finally letting a little grin slip over her features. "It's so rewarding to see the whole thing from start to finish."

Once they got everything put away, Shar motioned for Rizdax to follow her out towards the Bowl. There were dragons gathered there, some still healing up from the last Threadfall, and she figured it would be a good way to take his mind off of what he had lost. By seeing what he had gained and would eventually be rewarded with for his hard worth and perseverance she hoped it would lift his spirits. As forceful and awkward as she could be around people with emotional distress, she didn't care to see her friend upset. A little smile flittered across her face as she thought the word 'friend' again to herself. Obviously they were friends, but he was probably the only one she knew that she counted as one. It was nice, she thought, to have someone that wasn't just an acquaintance.

Together they headed for the open air, dragons gliding overhead, ready to think about happier things.

FIN