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 Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2018 5:17 pm
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The rain was nice. W'dre hadn't settled in for the night, despite the late hour. The taste of the air had changed just enough to tell that it would be an unusual evening, at least. He sat out on his ledge, Dormith settled in comfortably at his side. She's calling for us, but not really for us. he informed his rider, vaguely enough that it took W'dre a moment to realize what he meant.
Who does? One of ours? Or Western? Fort? Benden? perhaps it was because his lifemate was a bronze that he felt it, even when very few of the dragons on the ledges around theirs had begun to stir. He did give those he could see a careful glance, though. Being only a man, he couldn't feel it the way Dormith seemed to. Though trying to tell anything from how Dormith responded to a call for the chase was questionable - he wouldn't have stirred for just any lady for this and that reason, whatever it was.
Above Nabol. Perhaps she will come closer. Perhaps Serenath and Vera will have to leave. he suggested it so casually, but the name that was left out of that statement seemed to have been left out on purpose. If that's the case, let's go get Vedra, it was the most natural decision he could make in this case. One less thing for Vera to worry herself with. She had so much to worry herself over, even without having to prepare to leave for a night.
It took more time than it felt like it did to put on Dormith's straps, the dark bronze keeping careful track of the reverberations of songs trying to lure a gold who would give them no glance. She hadn't turned to come towards them yet - and perhaps she would not - but Zheria was a smart woman, and wouldn't risk any of their dragons. No Weyr would, if it was worth anything. Fortunately that meant W'dre didn't have to try and panic rush. Perhaps he was a touch more thorough with Dormith's straps than he would have been for anything else.
Vedra wasn't anything else, though.
As both dragon and rider dropped from their ledge - a slight drop to allow a glide towards where he could see Serenath with clarity even in the rain - Dormith called ahead. I am coming with my W'dre to you and yours, Serenath. He was not worried - Vera and Serenath were very capable. They would simply take one worry off of their plate.
That was in.
Landing carefully on the edge of the gold's ledge, Dormith offered Serenath a sweet rumble of greeting as his rider dismounted and somehow managed to not simply run inside of Vera's weyr. It was only a quick walk, really.
"Vera?" he called out ahead, though it was perhaps too quiet to be considered a shout. "I'm sorry if I'm intruding, I just -" he paused as Dormith sent him a nudge to let him know that Rhianth - his mother - was coming closer to High Reaches, and perhaps to be a little quicker now. "I came to take Vedra off your hands so you don't have to worry about her on top of this."
There! This would be easy and nothing could go wrong.
Yeah.
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Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2018 5:40 pm
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There was another Gold flying directly for High Reaches. A Gold who, Vera might add, had been aggressive toward other Golds in the past - her Serenath was not safe at the Weyr. Faranth help her. As Gold Rhianth approached, Vera felt a rush of feeling... a rush of Flightlust. Coming from Serenath! "SERENATH, NO!" Vera cried, clamping down tightly across the bond that she shared with her Queen.
And then, quite suddenly, a clear voice amid all of the chaos. Dormith! Serenath cried. We must leave immediately. Will you come? Although Serenath did not at this time feel a pressing need to Rise, she did feel the call. It was strong, powerful enough that it echoed across the distance to her.
Then Vera heard a voice that brought an unaccountable response. "... W'dre. Yes, I. Vedra is with her grandparents. As usual. It. We need to leave." Now. And Vera shook with a sudden, pressing need to act on that mental call. He was standing there in the doorway of her weyr, and she had to gather herself up and hold on tight. Shards. "We have to leave right away!" And she... needed him there with her, with an alarming insistence.
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Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2018 5:55 pm
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Dormith was quick to draw in closer to Serenath upon feeling her distress, tucking a wing around her, as if trying to help ground her where she was for a few moments longer. If she wanted him to come with, he would not deny her - not when she asked him. Of course I will come with you.
Which just sent a rising sense of urgency thru his mental bond with W'dre.
He paused, stepping back from the doorway, as if suddenly aware he was somehow blocking Vera from leaving like she needed to. "She is? Oh good, that's one less worry for you, I-" She clearly needed to leave - he knew better than the linger when she was on the retreat. Yet now he could feel urgency from Dormith to go - wherever she was going, wherever Serenath was going.
"Where are we going?" he wouldn't even pretend that Vera's 'we' hadn't included him, for whatever reason. W'dre knew it was simply because he was right here at this time she wanted him to come along. He wouldn't pretend that wasn't why he was going to be going along either. Maybe.
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Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2018 6:13 pm
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...
Where were they going? It had not occurred to Vera that they would need to have an out right now, and -
We will go to Fort Weyr, Serenath said in answer, to all parties involved. We will go now, or not at all, she added.
Now. Vera didn't have time to do anything more than secure her belt pouch before she was dashing to throw herself up onto her Gold's back. "W'dre. I'm having Serenath send Dormith the coordinates," she said, and then visualized, with perfect clarity, the place where Serenath had hatched, the place where she had Impressed.
There wasn't any time, and they couldn't afford second guesses. There would be a room, a place. Somewhere. The urgency of the situation could not be overstated. When she felt certain that W'dre had the coordinates, Serenath leaped from the ledge, and blinked between.
The Gold had given warning of their impending arrival, but even still the return of a long absent Queen did give pause. Dormith? Serenath called, reaching for the Bronze, needing the assurance that his presence provided.
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Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2018 6:41 pm
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Vibrating with a combination of dragonlust and reserved fear, Vera guided Serenath down to the ledge that they had been informed was unoccupied. This would do for now. There was a bed, a bath... somewhere to rest for the night. Rest. As if she was going to manage that in the state she was currently in.
Vedra was, thankfully, with her parents. On Flight nights she would always send their daughter to her parents, because it wouldn't do to have her baby caught in the crossfire. No one would hurt Vedra, of course, but there were some things little innocents didn't need to see. There was no telling what might go on in the Weyr.
Come here, then, please, Serenath said softly, trying to calm herself now that the other Gold's hold was no longer upon her. Vera slipped off her dragon's back, loosening the riding straps to give her lovely Queen a break. After all, she wasn't going to have to go anywhere for a time. Others might have questions to ask, but for now... for now, Vera needed to calm down.
Somehow.
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Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2018 6:53 pm
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Dormith settled as delicately onto their borrowed ledge as any dragon of his size would have been capable of. He hadn't even stopped moving before W'dre, with his reputation for such stunts, had already pulled himself from the bronze's straps. He dropped to the ledge with little assistance, though perhaps with more force than his knees would have enjoyed, taking a moment to look out over the foreign Weyr.
Are you alright? Dormith spoke in a low voice, feeling Serenath's unease as he offered what comforting thoughts he could. He wasn't exactly an expert in such things, but he'd at least try. There would soon be prying thoughts, perhaps, but they could wait until the queen was a bit less caught up in the moment.
W'dre thumped his lifemate's side reassuringly as he stepped in from the ledge. Vera's idea was mimicked as he loosened up Dormith's straps in turn. They would be there for at least a night - depending on if those of Fort came in to play twenty questions.
"Are you going to be okay?" he asked after a moment, looking towards Vera with a concerned frown. This wasn't the sort of consideration that he had to make as a bronzerider - though he had a feeling that it would become one.
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Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2018 7:02 pm
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She is strong, Serenath said, with a faint air of offended dignity. At the very base of that sense, however, was a brush of fear. The aggressive Gold who had Flown would have gladly made a swift end to her life, had she stayed. And how could they have known to flee when the other had not been close to the Weyr? There had been an edge to the other's mental pull, one of... of... fatal attraction. Danger.
Serenath's eyes flickered between red, yellow, and purple. Though she was not close to Rising herself, she felt... something. Undeniably. It was easier, however, to close her eyes, and settle down against Dormith's dark side. He was... a calming influence. A reassuring one. She knew that she could trust that he would not leave, nor would be judge her for her momentary weakness. Even as she judged herself.
Vera drew deep breaths from her nose, leaning against the wall of the weyr. "I'm." Words didn't come easily. Waves of pure lust echoed through her, suffusing her every sense. It was... difficult. Difficult to focus. She felt Serenath's distress, but also her own Flightlust. The same Flightlust that had conceived their daughter. Their daughter. He was here. Oh dear. "... Not sure."
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Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2018 7:20 pm
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There were a lot of feelings to be had, and Dormith took none of Serenath's personally. As are you, in a different way, he offered as she settled up against him, again moving a wing to settle it over her in some mimic of a hug. She was better - safer - here and he would stay there for as long as she needed him to offer what comforts he could.
He would be darkness to hide in from even the light of night.
What Dormith was, it was difficult for W'dre to not be as well. Their bond oozed an almost tactile desire to comfort, though he knew it was not meant for Vera in source. But for W'dre it was Vera who seemed to need something - reassurance? Calm? Exact cues weren't his strongest point. Not without a lot of thought. Yet here he was, across the world on a mark, without any thought. Even in the dark, he could tell she was uneasy.
Perhaps a bolder man wouldn't have approached with the caution he did, fully ready to embrace whatever feelings danced at their senses without consideration...but Vera was important. Important to him in a way no other woman could be. He didn't want to overstep that.
"What do I do, then? To give you an answer?"
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Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2018 7:26 pm
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It is her Weyr, Serenath said sadly, resting her head near Dormith's leg. It was Rhianth's Weyr in a way that it would never be Serenath's, for all that Serenath was a full time resident within it. Rhianth was also the true hatched daughter of Eveleth, and Serenath only the adopted one. She wasn't... sure how she felt about it tonight. It was not easy, being here when there was something going on there. But it was also not safe to leave.
Vera felt like she was going to crawl right out of her skin. She was utterly dying with a need for... something. A reprieve, a... release of some sort. The tension was incredible. She had rarely felt it so powerfully, and couldn't put her finger on why. Closing her eyes, she took some more deep breaths. "I don't know. Maybe..." Gulp. Swallow. Deep breaths again. "Stay with me, I suppose? Tonight?"
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Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2018 7:45 pm
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Well that simply wouldn't do. The logic was sound, perhaps, but Dormith couldn't help but rumble with some displeasure at it. No Weyr holds her, and she holds no Weyr. She owns the skies for the night, just as you will when it calls to you, he leaned his head down to nudge it against Serenath's. Did she worry like this often? He didn't much care for that at all.
That..was about the answer W'dre was expecting. Or had he been hoping for it? No, expecting. Hoping. Both. It hadn't been anywhere in his intended plans for the night, but rumors would abound either way. Nobody would care if he went some noble route - and Vera clearly wasn't looking for that from him.
"Very well," it was a stiffer answer than he meant it to be, but he'd never claimed to be well spoken or charming. At least W'dre wasn't entirely awkward as he stepped in closer to her, reaching to pull her into him. Instinct could make up for most of his shortcomings in suave moves, right?
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Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2018 8:01 pm
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Somewhere in those words, Serenath found comfort. Serenity. Peace. Dormith was good with words, she mused, reflecting on what he had said. It was easier to focus on words now, with the immediacy of the Flight far away from them. She let her head rest against his, making a soft croon of gratitude. His kindness was always appreciated. Thank you, she said simply, acknowledging his words, and letting them filter into her consciousness.
That was all that it took for the strength that had been holding Vera together to crack. Somehow, the knowledge that this man was the father of her child was... was...
More than it should have been. It had never mattered before who Vedra's father might be. Until suddenly he wanted to be in Vedra's life. Until he clearly cared about her. Loved her, even. Just... just as she loved Vedra. This man who was handsome when he smiled. Something that probably no one else got to see. It was, in its way, precious. Leaning up, and pulling him down at the same time, she kissed him.
And that was when the room seemed to explode into color. Huh.
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Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2018 9:27 pm
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You're welcome, Serenath's comfort gave Dormith some peace, relaxing into her. This was a better way for her to be, not worrying about her home - a Weyr that absolutely needed and welcomed her as one of their own, as far as he was concerned.
There was really no room to fumble in a moment like this - his inexperience overshadowing any confidence he already didn't have. Kisses should have been easy; he could remember the feel of her lips from turns past, a familiar taste from a time so very similar to this one. It wasn't the same, though.
He wasn't bonded to the winner of a flight, falling into her as though one of them was the prize being awarded the other. Right now, they were just two people, connected through shared blood that slept peacefully far away from where they were now. In a single sentence Vera had become more than any other person in High Reaches could have ever been to him. This could all be another nothing in the morning.
But he would have been a liar if he didn't think that the way her lips and her body fit up against his was just right. If it was just another night, maybe that would be OK.
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Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2018 6:59 am
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W'dre knew exactly where he was, and who the warm body that was curling up into him was. He opened one eye as Vera stirred, moving the arm he wasn't laying on to pull the furs farther up around her before resting it on top of them. Certainly, the bed wasn't as cold as he was used to, but it really wasn't an action meant to ward the cold away.
A quick nudge to Dormith confirmed the bronze was as awake as he was, his wing still resting over the sleeping gold he'd curled up with, though his concern had ebbed greatly. Still, it would be some time before W'dre would be able to get his lifemate to unwrap himself from Serenath.
Which meant there really was no reason to rush into getting up. Instead, he shifted his weight so he could rest his cheek against the top of Vera's head and began to idly stroke her back. It wasn't a half bad way to start a morning. Certainly, not one he got to have even on a rare occasion.
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