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+---- Thread: Valiant Defender [Solo] (/showthread.php?tid=1270)
Valiant Defender [Solo] - Parella - 05.Feb.13
The past two turns had been hectic, to say the least. Par'a had spent a lot of the time as a babysitter to the assortment of young children the Weyr was home to. Some were brought south as young children while a scant few others were born during their isolated turns in the south. Most of the kids loved it when Par'a watched over them, after all, she came with Grith! The enthusiastic Green loved the 'little wingless ones' and enjoyed being able to play with young children again.
Today they were taking advantage of the cooler weather that had taken a hold of Katila for the past three days. Par'a and another female Greenrider had six children with them, their dragons swooping above them in intricate and excited patterns. Grith! Let's go. Par'a sent, her dragon trilling happily before heading towards the thick woods. She crouched, letting the smallest of the children scramble up onto her back, then took the hands of two more. Making sure her fellow rider was similarly ready she nodded, striding off after her dragon.
A quarter of an hour later they stopped in amongst all the trees. The children squealed and bolted around the little clearing they had found, making the riders laugh. "Don't stray too far kids!" Par'a shouted, turning to Grith as she walked through the trees from behind them. The other Green followed after and the riders set to taking their afternoon's supplies off of their dragons. Soon they had a lovely spread out; picnic blankets with meat rolls and bubbly pies. The children were quickly rounded up and they all dove into lunch, all stuffing their faces with the delicious food. Having eaten, the riders pulled out some pebbles and strings to play games with while the two Greens left to hunt for a while.
Par'a stood wobbling on one foot during a game of hopscotch when Grith's voice bombarded her.
"Felines!" She gasped in explanation to the Greenrider. She nodded and began to herd the children together, her dragon coming crashing through the undergrowth. 'How close?' Par'a asked, swinging a boy onto the other Green's back.
"She's gone! Just... gone!" She turned, staring in the direction she last knew Grith had been in. 'Grith! Grith where are you?' She called, but there was no response. "I have to find her." Par'a said before bolting out into the trees.
Branches whipped at her face, leaving tiny welts on her hands and cheeks as she pushed past them. She constantly called out for Grith, both mentally and physically, hoping her dragon would respond. The silence was deafening to her. Eventually she stumbled into another clearing, the sight that greeted her both horrifying and beautiful in its own way.
Grith stood, her wings fanned as high as they would go while her tail thrashed behind her. There were two large felines opposite her with a third off to the side, each snarling and feinting at the tiny Green. What shocked Par'a was the tiny girl curled up beneath Grith. She wasn't one of the six that had come on the outing with them, but Par'a recognized her tiny form all the same: Indivara. Every movement Grith made was highly aware of the precious charge she was protecting under her belly. She crouched low, enough to help hide her from the hungry felines but not enough to crush the six year old. Each time she moved a foot, whether to swipe at a feline or to better protect the girl, it was place carefully so not to scratch or bump her. Her head swung back and forth, jaw snapping angrily while deep guttural roars that Par'a had never heard ripped themselves from Grith's throat.
And her eyes.
Furious and blood red, Par'a had never seen them like that before. The Green was enraged, the fury of the moment fuelling her body and her mind. It was a sight to behold, the snarling and spitting dragon, so tiny and yet so large, defending the tiny and innocent child. Par'a understood why she couldn't hear or feel Grith anymore, one single split second's distraction and the pair of them could die. Three felines was too many for the tiny Green to take on alone, but she couldn't let the little wingless one be killed either.
Par'a stood, lost for what to do. There was nothing she could do to help, nobody would hear her and Grith couldn't reach out to anyone without risking her or Indivara's life. What could she do? She spent what felt like an eternity but was really only a minute racking her brains for the answer. Then she knew. Her only chance.
"Indivara!" She called, trying to be as quiet as she could but that was hard enough with the yowling felines and roaring dragon. Once the little girl had looked up and acknowledged her, she continued. "Hold onto her leg!" Par'a mimed what she wanted Indivara to do, to hold onto one of Grith's legs with both arms and legs. The closest feline snarled, darting forward towards Par'a. Grith shrieked so loud Par'a thought she would go deaf, her closest wing flashing out at the feline. It leaped away, wincing from the Green's shriek.
Sweat drenched her head and body now, it dripped from her nose with the nerves. This was their only chance. Making sure Indivara was securely hanging onto Grith's leg, Par'a darted forward, screaming aloud and mentally, trying to shove the image of the Weyr from above into her dragon's mind.
"GRITH BETWEEN!"
Everything slowed. Par'a skidded down and collided with Indivara and Grith's leg, her arms and legs wildly scrabbling to latch around the girl and dragon. All the felines jumped forward. One raked its claws down Grith's shoulder and she roared. The other two missed but turned, ready to leap again.
Then it was cold.
Par'a gasped and coughed, the numbness of between burning her throat and lungs. Before she knew it they were in the relatively cool Katilian skies.
But Grith wasn't flying right.
With so much weight on her foreleg, the tiny Green couldn't keep herself aloft. She roared, trying valiantly to keep herself in the air but she was losing altitude. Too much and too quickly. Par'a couldn't even manage a scream, focusing instead on clutching Indivara and Grith's leg as tight as she could.
"It's okay, you're alright. We'll be fine Indivara." She said rapidly, over and over. Indivara was trembling, still in shock from the felines.
Then they appeared. Several dragons, all much larger than Grith were swirling beneath her. Two Browns rose to support her as best they could while a small Blue came up beneath them all, his rider reaching up to grab Par'a and Indivara. After some initial reluctance they dropped down onto the Blue. The Browns and other dragons all flew apart, leaving room for Grith and the Blue to land. Par'a vaulted off the Blue the second he touched the ground, sprinting over to Grith.
"Grith! Grith!" Fear still rang through her voice as she collided with the dark Green, ichor smearing all over her clothes from the slashes in her shoulder. Grith nuzzled and pressed against Par'a, her mind finally reconnecting with her rider's.
"Stop! You saved Indivara. Without you she would have died." Par'a said sternly, her voice shaking. Grith whimpered and nuzzled her rider again. She began to apologize again and Par'a hushed her, stroking her face tenderly. When a little tug on her pants arrived she jumped a little. Looking down she saw Indivara standing there with tears in her eyes. Par'a crouched, wiping her thumbs across the little girl's cheeks.
"Hey there sweetie. Didn't I tell you, you'd be alright?" She asked gently. Indivara nodded but pointed up at Grith. "Hm?" Par'a frowned for a moment before connecting the dots. "Oh!" She grabbed her under the arms and stood, hoisting her onto her hip.
She smiled as Indivara reached out to pet Grith's nose ever so softly. Grith snuffled, blowing air gently over her. Indivara giggled and Grith's eyes began to change, eventually settling on a rich blue.
"In-di-va-ra!" The little girl proclaimed. While Grith knew nothing of her obsession of her full name, it was something the Green would never remember.