Somewhere over the rainbow, [tag: open]

[Essar]

Summer always made him edgy, he had lot count of the number of them. The snow-levels of the mountains weren't a good indication of the season but it was the best he got. The snow had left their cave a few weeks ago and for a few days C'ree had sat inside, waiting for the nightmare that was thread to come down upon them. But there was none. He had scratched it into the soft limestone tablet he'd been using to keep track of threadfall. It was a duty-thing, you recorded threadfall, even if you couldn't keep track properly, or if you had no idea what was going on in the rest of Pern.

The first few months they'd tried very well to stay on top of the 'Falls, but they were all sorts of out of whack, it was like none of the threadfall charts he'd ever seen. It fell long, hard and in sheets so thick even a whole Weyr couldn't have kept it from burrowing into the ground. It was terrifying in ways it had never been before. C'ree shuddered just thinking about the horrible falls.

The skies were clear though, and even with the chill of the mountain receeding upward, he didn't feel like the menace would rain down on their heads this time. Eljath gave him a wide-eyed doleful look and he just shrugged at the dragon.
“Needa eat...” He mumbled dryly, and clambered out of the dug in cave, the blue dragon on his heels. The large animals only bare fit through the squeeze but they were both used to it by now and Eljath didn't complain, not even when he had to fold his wings back at anawkward angle to fit through the narrow passage. It was safe, that was what was important. No thread would work it's way inside and it was sheltered from the elements.

C'ree looked around the downward slope of the hills he was in, making sure there was no ambush of primitive people lurking just beyond the rocks, but there was no one. Eljath crooned softly and leaned his head briefly against his rider's arm. No words were spoken beyond just the sharing of general thoughts and the duo headed down the slope at a slow amble. Eljath's muscles slowly growing less tense and C'ree's unease receding just slightly. Only slightly. There was still things that needed doing.

With some lucks the traps would be full, and no thread spores had gorged on their meals before he could get to them. That would be bad.
~I can hunt.~ Eljath offered helpfully, but C'ree shot him a foul look of despair and fear and the blue dropped the suggestion quickly enough. Neither of them wanted to die, and flying was strictly out of the question unless they were certain there were no people there. Especially considering Eljath's disability....

[Limbo]

There was something perversely intriguing about crossing over the hills. The general topography seemed the same, there were landmarks along the way that he still distinctly remembered, but the barrenness was overwhelming.

My brain is so confused, B'croft said, immensely enjoying the sensation of prolonged deja vu. It thinks it's in a dream but it knows it isn't.
He made an effort to translate the feeling to Vdrath, who crooned understandingly.
I feel it, too. It seems very much like your stories.

Silence ensued as they savored the feeling of open skies. The past few days spent comforting the other riders had been emotionally draining, and the close confines were starting to take its toll. B'croft simply couldn't understand what had happened, and his lack of reciprocity was worrying to his wingmates. It wasn't that the bluerider was unfeeling, it was just that the people who had disappeared were not dead to him. Not yet at least. He was certain they'd soon emerge from between or, more likely, the Weyrleaders would finally figure out a way to go back. They had too.

Unreigned over the great expanse the rider and dragon indulged in aerial acrobatics, doing whatever they could to get that free fall feeling in their stomachs. It was only when B'croft got a bit too dizzy that he implored Vdrath to slow down. Still a bit excited the blue began to work his way in long circles, eyes tracing the dusty earth below.

Hey- hey stop. Vdrath, stop! Came the urgent mental cry. The dragon pulled his pinions back quickly and bugled with alarm.
What is it, Mine?
Squinting intently, B'croft passed on the image to his lifemate: a splash of color against an otherwise dull landscape. Suspense hung in the air like some crippling weight, both trying to comprehend what they were seeing.
Who else is on patrol? Vdrath asked, his eyes beginning to swirl dangerously fast.
No one... not this far, at least, I checked with... He broke the thought mid-sentence, urging Vdrath to drift down further still. It can't be. Though he was trying to mitigate it with reason, a feeling of joy was bubbling in his stomach and threatening to burst in his chest. I knew it. I knew it! What did I say?
Vdrath still reeled with confusion.
It's C'ree! It's C'ree, Vdrath! And Eljath! They're here, they made it! This must mean the others are here, too, they just... got lost or, or something! Oh Faranth, they must be starving.

With another bugle - this time one of great happiness - the riding pair plummeted from the sky.
Eljath! Vdrath called ecstatically, It's B'croft and Vdrath. Is that you, Eljath? Are you alright? Oh Mine is so happy. I am so happy! You made it! How wonderful, how truly wonderful!
Touching down quickly the lithe blue did not even pause for his rider to dismount. Instead he made an excited lope for the other landbound pair, his eyes churning a brilliant emerald-green.

[Essar]

The wastelands were quiet. Blissfully and terrifyingly so. There was little more to be heard than the wind. Little more to be seen than dist and shadows. It was both soothing C'ree's mind as well as sending it in frantic circles. It was almost too quiet, wasn't it?
~There's nothing...~ Eljath assured him from a little ways behind him and C'ree, patted his hand on his heart twice out of habit, just to make sure it was still beating. It was.

After a final look around, C'ree lowered himself in the narrow slit or rock walls. The plateau was cracked there and the crack was just big enough to fit his thin shape through. On the floor below he had a mess of snares set up and even from where he was sitting he could see that they'd gotten lucky.
“Soup tonight!” He crowed excitedly, and Eljath crooned happily along, peering inside the crack himself.

With deft fingers C'ree undid the snares, dragging their prey up and dumping it on the plateau one by one. It wasn't much. Two tunnelsnakes, a ferret-like thing and-- A noise. A bugle.

Bewildered C'ree looked at his dragon. Eljath looked back at him, both briefly wondering why the other had been so noisy as to bugle out loud. Were they trying to kill themselves?!
“I can't even bugle!” C'ree snapped throwing his hands up, scooting sideways out of the crack in the ground and giving Eljath a push in the shoulder for being noisy.
“Someone'll hear us, stop it, there's more traps to check...!” He warned with a stern wag of the finger.

A second bugle. It didn't come from Eljath.

Suddenly the blood in C'ree's veins went to ice, and something in Eljath seemed to crackle, snap and reconnect as the other blue's voice suddenly filled his mind. Several moments went by, the conversation completely passing the blue by in a blur, as if he had genuinely forgotten how to speak to anyone, or anything.
“What is it Elly...?” C'ree asked, squinting his eyes – which had gotten so much poorer from the glare of sun on snow.
~Vdrath.~ Eljath informed him, sounding a little dazed himself about it, and still having not responded to the exhuberant cheers of greeting and relief pouring from the blue and his rider.

For a moment or two C'ree and Eljath stood, side by side, a handful of snares in C'ree's one hand, the blue dragon under the other hand.
“It's a dragon...” C'ree said, amazed and as dazed as his lifemate. “I thought they were all...”~gone?~ “Dead.”

Let's say hello. The scruffy looking bluerider suggested to his dragon, peering at the other rider and dragon as the two loped up to them like a deranged herdbeast with a rag doll tied to it's back.
“Oh hello!” C'ree said wit ha somewhat elated smile, waving casually at the blue and his rider. What were the odds? No. Really. What were the odds?!

[Limbo]

So lost in happiness was he that, at first, B'croft was oblivious to the relatively calm response he received. Whereas a person might anticipate a normal rider subjected to months of isolation to come running at the sight of a familiar face, C'ree offered merely a wave and a smile. Then again B'croft didn't really know how long they'd been out of contact, though as he and Vdrath drew closer, he was somewhat off-put by the sight of the other bluerider's beard.

"C'ree," he panted as the lanky blue came to a skidding halt. "C'ree, friend, we thought you were dead! The other riders and I are at Igen and you... ah, you... what happened to you?" The younger bluerider's smile faltered a bit as he looked the man over. Vdrath, picking up on this uneasiness, looked over his dragon counterpart.
Eljath, he said tentatively, trying to articulate his feelings. Are you and Yours alright? I sense... strangeness. The teal blue's acute sense of human emotion had indeed sensed something unusual emanating off the other rider, something he could not quite name. After a brief inward debate he decided to not alert B'croft of it immediately, lest it was something not worth his attention.

[Essar]

C'ree eyeballed the approaching rider and his dragon and instinctively held the prey they'd caught in the snares behind his back possessively. It was his food after all, he'd worked hard for it and he wasn't about to share it. The last time he'd shared his earnings the snares had remained empty for days and he'd almost starved to death. Oh no sir-ee, sharing was no longer in the cards.

The blue rider was familiar. Well, familiar enough. Eljath knew Vdrath and Vdrath was ridden by … B...'croft. It was a long time since he'd thought about his old friends and wingmates. Why now? He wasn't sure and he shook his head, squinting his eyes shut for a moment or two and looking back up at the bluerider. Still there. Stubborn this one.

“Hello Bucky!” C'ree just responded pleasantly, smiling a weak little smile. “I've been around.” He added with a vagueness that was commendable, he gestured at the mountains behind him. “Keeping my head down, you know...” He continued, still vague and not quite meeting B'croft's eyes, if he did it'd show. If he did meet the man's eyes, it'd all go horribly wrong and he'd know.

The blue dragon seemed puzzled too, and almost comically he shook his head when the Vdrath spoke to him again. It was weird, different weird and he wasn't sure how to deal with it. C'ree wasn't really helping him with it either and he was left to fend for himself and figure it out.
~We're not strange. You're the strange ones.~ He finally answered with conviction. ~Why're you here?~ The blue asked – unwittingly mirroring and vocalizing his rider's general feelings.

[Limbo]

B'croft gave another confused grin and said nothing for a moment.
What's wrong with them? He asked Vdrath.
The blue dragon could not answer, though his eyes were beginning to swirl a faint lavender.
For both his and C'ree's sake, B'croft hoped nothing was amiss. If the situation at hand was a very serious one, he was glad at least that he and Vdrath had found the pair sooner rather than later.

Slowly, carefully, B'croft dismounted. He kept a hand firmly on his dragon's neck though he took a few paces forwards. His emotions felt exhausted as they were but he knew this situation necessitated real attention. He looked C'ree over a few times again and then said softly, kindly:

"What is that behind your back?"

As soon as the words were out of his mouth ghoulish images of decapitated limbs flashed through his mind, though he banished them easily, as it was unlike him to dwell on such macabre notions. Instead he envisioned C'ree hiding something stereotypically crazy. A pebble perhaps, or a piece of charred bark. Something a senile old man from a fairy tale would covet, having attached an unusually large amount of sentimental value to it. The thought of C'ree sporting a long white beard with frazzled eyebrows struck B'croft as very humorous.

"C'ree?" B'croft ventured again, "What's behind your back, friend?" He deliberately lowered his head in an attempt to make eye contact, an act acutely reminiscent of a parent trying to speak with a moody child.

[Essar]

They really weren't going away and C'ree felt a little unnerved. No, rather, very unnerved. Normally it all didn't last so long, not for a long time. There had been times, there had certainly been times where he'd thought he had other around him, but they never lasted. It was just him and Eljath, it was just him and his dragon. It was just.

“Nothing!” He stated emphatically, strongly and his hand tightened around the snared critters and taking a protective step back. He still avoided the eyes of the bluerider, harder than the other man was trying to look at him. He couldn't look at them, then it would all go very wrong. The anxiety was creeping up on him fast now and his hand flexed on Eljath's neck.
“You can't stay, you have to go.” He told B'croft, his voice wavering a little. “You can't be here.” He added, stronger this this time and he closed his eyes, squeezing them shut and drawing in another deep breath.

“It's none of your business!” The bluerider snapped when the other pressed again. “It's mine and I'm not sharing!” He added vehemently, opening his eyes and coming to the annoying realization the duo wasn't going away! They were still there!
Why won't they go away?! He asked of his bonded, who startled from the loud thought and snapped his head around.
“Let's go Eljath...” He mumbled, a stark contrast to his inner frustrations. He couldn't let on that something was wrong. He couldn't show weakness. He couldn't give in.

Let's go...” C'ree said again and pushed the dragon's shoulder a little. The blue complied and doing his best to cover his meager bounty and keep it hidden from the other rider, he began to head back up the mountain. Back to the cave where it was save, where they could eat...!

[Limbo]

The situation was becoming quite distressing for Vdrath, who'd begun swinging his neck back and forth anxiously. B'croft, too, felt uneasy, though he was certain the situation could be remedied. As C'ree and Eljath began to storm off he glanced furtively at his lifemate, hoping the dragon would not work himself into a frenzy.

Easy now, Vdrath, B'croft said soothingly, wrapping an arm around the dragon's neck. We will fix this. It'll be another adventure, you'll see. Another piece to this big puzzle!
The words were comforting but the slender blue was not entirely convinced.
Mine, Mine, I sense something... strange with C'ree. It's the thing I feel when I know not to pick a little one for the hatchings. It's very strong on him.
Don't worry, we'll find a way to make him better. This B'croft felt confident in. Dragonriders were resilient, and he was more or less sure that after a few sevendays of rest and care C'ree would return to his old self. What did trouble the bluerider was the idea of all the other riders hiding in the hills. There had to be hundreds of them, practically two-thirds of the Weyr, yet C'ree was the only one they'd seen thus far. It was pertinent that he get help, and fast, lest it prove too late for the others.

Come Vdrath, we need to see exactly where they've been hiding, B'croft said. He remounted hastily and the pair took to the hair, ascending high into the low-hanging stratus clouds to shield themselves.
Remember this place, please, we'll have to return here soon.
Having once again shifted the predicament into an exciting adventure, one of which seemed a race-against-the-clock, he spurred Vdrath up higher before disappearing /between/. He'd be back soon. And with help.

OOC: End here and start a new thread with another rider or two?

[Essar]

He'd have to hunt something bigger soon, for Eljath. The blue was already lean but now he was starting to get skinny again, and he couldn't well hunt himself. They'd have to venture further out at some point... Faranth help them. If they were already seeing things now! Trying his best to forget about the rider and dragon pair behind them he pushed his hand against his chest to feel his heartbeat. He was fine! They were fine...!

There were wingbeats behind them and for a few breath taking moment C'ree feared the dragon and rider might follow them, but when the noise faded and he peared around himself – ever so careful – it seemed that he had managed to shake those ghosts from the past and he let out arelieved sigh. He wasn't crazy. He knew he was alone...


- End Scene