[G] [C] 734.08.01 | And we all fall down [Solo] - Printable Version +- World of Pern (https://pern.second-pass.net/forum) +-- Forum: Southern Pern (https://pern.second-pass.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=5) +--- Forum: Old Katila (https://pern.second-pass.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=96) +---- Forum: Weyrling Barracks (https://pern.second-pass.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=98) +---- Thread: [G] [C] 734.08.01 | And we all fall down [Solo] (/showthread.php?tid=2125)

734.08.01 | And we all fall down [Solo] - T'drin - 14.Dec.13 He came awake with a shout, his body jolting with the sudden noise and he landed with a grunt on the floor. The keen of dragons filled the air and T'drin winced at the noise. The eery whine signaled the death of a dragon and one this long and this loud could only mean the death of many. T'drin! Quickly you must wake! his dragon's voice filled his mind as he picked himself up off the ground.  I'm awake Gel! he shouted back as he stuffed feet into boots he didn't even remember removing. Moving quickly, T'drin flung open the door and stepped out... ..And into chaos. "What in the hell is going on Gel?!" he yelled at his dragon over the harsh keens of so many dragons. The bronze stood with wings extended, his bulky body blocking most of the sight from T'drin. He could hear the keens, the shouts and he could see bodies running about panicked. They are dying. So many are dying, T'drin! Gelabrith's normally bored sounding voice was bordering on panic and T'drin's eyes widen as another wave of what could only be earth slammed into the weyr. He bolted forward intent on the path the mud had taken. He slipped and slid the few feet to the bronze, readying himself for the leap to Gelabrith's neck. No, T'drin! the dragon ordered and shifted away. T'drin shook his head roughly and reach up again, "We have to Gel. People are dying! We have to help!" Gelabrith was confused, terrified and mourning and his emotions bombarded T'drin until his palms began to sweat. The dragon's brilliant eyes whirled a strange, muddy mixture of red, yellow and grey as his rider studied him. Gelabrith's hide was muddy and the deep bronze had taken a dull grey tone. What ever was happening had distressed Gelabrith so much, he had lost color and T'drin frowned. "I know you don't want to go Gelabrith but we have to help where we can! There are weyrlings down there!" The dragon rumbled his unease but with great reluctance did as he was bid, kneeling so T'drin could mount. The man adjusted his seat and a fleeting thought of breaking the rules rushed through his mind. It was crushed by the sound of mud and debris slamming into more buildings and T'drin shook as he bid Gelabrith to take to the air. The flight was short and tumultuous as they followed the path of destruction. So much was gone. He could see desperate dragons flinging mud about as they searched for lost riders. Down Gel! he shouted at Gelabrith. The bronze grunted and made a wobbly landing far enough away from the disaster to ensure the safety of his rider and T'drin made the jump from his back, slipping in the mud as he landed. I don't like this, T'drin Gelabrith whined, You were safe at home and now you're not. With a scowl and a impetuousness that T'drin hadn't seen in himself for so long, he ignored his dragon and waded into the muck. He grimaced with distaste that the feel of the gritty mud that covered him nearly to his hips. He shouted as it threatened to sweep him away and Gelabrith roared. Maybe Gelabrith was right in this. Maybe he should've stayed home in the safety of his own hut. But as he glanced around at the terrified and dying people he knew that he could never have stayed away even if Gel had sat on him. He worked as quickly as possible, pulling those he could out of the muck. His bronze was a tremendous help as Gelabrith quickly waded in to begin to dig here and there allowing T'drin to pull weyrlings and folk out where he could. His final attempt was not what he would have wished. A blue wing and a reaching hand were dug from the sticky mess. The hand was lifeless and unmoving, the wing broken and dull. Gelabrith barked at the sight. Most that they had dug free had been fine or slightly injured and this was to be their first casualty. Menloth and his rider C'lon the bronze supplied the blue and his rider's name, his voice sad and grave. "Dig, Gel!" T'drin shouted, "Dig deep!" The bronze shot to do the bidding of his rider and flung the mud away from the small bodies of the weyrling and his boy. T'drin tugged and pulled as Gelabrith gripped the body of the boy with his paws and lifted him from the mud. Finally with a dull pop, the battered and broken body of the little blue pulled free from the deadly earth and T'drin lost his balance, falling to his back with the lifeless body sprawled on top of him. His shriek was loud as he fought against the heavy weight of the weyrling to scramble out from underneath. He backed quickly away from the sightless and dim eyes that stared at him and he stumbled against a crumbling wall. T'drin! Watch out! the bronze shouted on a roar as a piece of the ceiling fell atop his rider. One moment the tears had formed for the dead they'd just pulled free and the next a large chunk of the building was falling on him. His hand burned and his head began to ache as he scrambled away to collapse against the filthy hide of Gelabrith. I think you broke something, Gelabrith said softly. "My hand. I think its my hand," he explained as he glanced at the hand in question. "Fuck, shit, damn!" he shouted as the pain intensified at the first look. Sure enough he could feel the hand begin to swell and the tell tell bruising had begun to grow along the top. Gelabrith trembled at the near miss. He would not, could not lose T'drin and the falling bit had nearly taken this man from him. The bronze had, had enough. We... You are done, he growled, No more. We will find someone to bind your hand and then you will rest. T'drin didn't argue as Gelabrith stomped them away from the dead blue and his boy. The image of the boys mud coated face of C'lon and the dead sightless eyes of his blue would remain with him always. And finally the tears leaked from his eyes to drip off his nose.