743.08.04 | Into the Unknown - Z'lar - 07.Aug.22
Cazelarias (Z’lar) had hoped it was all some freakish nightmare, that the strangeness that had rippled through his mind had all been some fiendish creation of his subconscious. Perhaps he’d had too much wine (not that he drank) or maybe there had been something in the meal he’d eaten with N’reh that evening that he was allergic to. Anything seemed to be more likely than the fact that he was now attached, for better or (more likely) for worse, to the little green monster that was peering up at him from beside the little cot he was sleeping on. He missed N’reh’s bed.
I hunger, she said simply, blinking her eyes at him in an owlish manner that had Cazelarias (Z’lar) groaning softly and flinging an arm over his eyes, before wringing both hands through his hair, brushing it forcefully out of his face while holding fistfuls of the soft strands, tugging on them slightly to try and ground himself as he stared up at the ceiling above him. What had he done to deserve this? All he had wanted from life was to support his sister. He didn’t need anything himself; he was happy to hide and pretend he didn’t exist. He was happy to be the wallflower that let Cazan be everything she was destined to be. Why did she have to drag him into her shenanigans? He didn’t want one of the nasty monsters for himself, he never had, and now he had one, and he had no idea how to cope with that, or what to do with it.
Feeding me would be a fantastic start, love, Harakath said cheerfully, and Cazelarias (Z’lar) slowly lowered his hands and peered over at her. They blinked at one another for several long moments, and then Harakath got up languidly, stretching out her limbs in what was a definitely feline manner, chirping to herself as she extended her wings and rustled them, then peered at him once more. Cazelarias (Z’lar) blinked again, and slowly sat up. “What time is it?” he asked, his voice hoarse from lack of use – Cazelarias (Z’lar) really didn’t speak any more than he had to, at the best of times, but last night he might have spent several hours crying, which hadn’t helped with the whole speaking coherently thing now.
Harakath gave what could only be considered a draconic shrug, tilting her head at him. Food time, she said simply, and Cazelarias (Z’lar) finally became aware of the painful pangs that were tormenting his stomach, aching for the delicious fulfillment of food. His eyebrows furrowed together, and one hand absently rubbed at his stomach. There was an itch, too, somewhere behind his ear that was growing more annoying but he ignored it. Cazelarias (Z’lar) sighed, and slowly pulled his legs over the side of the small cot, feeling the cold bite of stone under his feet as he stood up. He didn’t remember climbing into the bed, never mind removing his boots and socks. He was still clothed, though, in his hatching finery. Cazelarias (Z’lar) sighed, running his hands down the rumpled and quite honestly ruined outfit.
Venseth says there is food for me outside. Her cheerful voice was a low hum of appreciation as Cazelarias (Z’lar) blinked and then frowned again. Who under the sun was Venseth? He says that there is food for you, too. Come! Cazelarias (Z’lar) sighed to himself once more, as he pulled his socks and boots onto his feet, and stood up. There were no mirrors in the tiny room, so he had no idea how terrible he looked. One hand, and then the other, went up to fuss with his hair, pulling the long locks into a rough braid and tying it off with a strip of leather. Another sigh. Cazelarias (Z’lar) knew he must look a terrible fright, and that was saying something. But he was a Lordling, and he usually put a lot of effort into maintaining a proper appearance.
Well. He had been a lordling. Now he was… ugh.
Cazelarias (Z’lar) followed the little green monstrosity across the room, sighing when she waited patiently for him in the hall – why was there no door? Honestly! – and let her lead him through the halls. Cazelarias (Z’lar) had no idea where he was going, and had no idea how the little monster knew where she was going, either, but eventually they made it out into sunshine. Cazelarias (Z’lar) blinked, flinching at the bright light and holding one hand before his eyes as they adjusted. Harakath looked back at him over her shoulder; Come! – he would have called her tone imperious, but honestly, her voice was so damned sweet and gentle it wasn’t possible. Cazelarias (Z’lar) sighed once more, and set off after the monster.
To say that Cazelarias (Z’lar) hadn’t paid a lick of attention to the people around him since Impression would be a huge understatement. He didn’t know who his classmates were; he didn’t know the names of his teachers; he didn’t even remember the hours between Impression and finally waking up that morning, a full day after Impression. He knew he’d seen Cazan. Knew he had been in N’reh’s presence. Knew, even, that there had been other people coming up to him. That he’d been introduced to his teachers and their dragons. But none of it had stuck, and Cazelarias (Z’lar) was too well trained in lordly duties to go around asking for a rehash of his last twenty-four hours. Better to just push on like he had a fucking clue… just like old times, he sighed to himself.
Still trailing after Harakath like a lost puppy, Cazelarias (Z’lar) found himself at the buckets of meat, which was enough to make his stomach clench uncomfortably. He was glad he didn’t have to actually handle the meat, because it was bad enough pushing a bucket of the chunky slops under the nose of the little monster. He couldn’t imagine getting the blood and gore on his hands, or his clothes, oh fuck. Cazelarias (Z’lar) clamped his teeth down firmly, biting his bottom lip as his stomach attempted to force him to retch uncouthly. He was not going to puke. For all he knew, some disgusting monster would deign to dine upon – oh fuck. He retched again.
Oh that is very nasty... You should eat too, though, so maybe you shouldn’t think of such things? Do you need me to show you where the people food is, or can you find your way there yourself? I am sure I can finish my meal without you. She made a good argument, but as much as Cazelarias (Z’lar) didn’t want her, the idea of leaving her on her own while he went to feed himself made his skin prickle uncomfortably. Frowning, Cazelarias (Z’lar) looked towards where the ‘people food’ was located, and saw a handful of his classmates sitting around some benches and tables, their own monsters eating from buckets near their Bonded’s seat. Sighing, again, Cazelarias (Z’lar) picked up the bucket when Harakath’s little green nose was no longer in it, and began to walk towards the table. The little dragon trotted along behind him, chittering about what a fantastic idea that was.
Picking a seat far away from the others, Cazelarias (Z’lar) set himself down, the bucket by his side, and let his dragon continue her own breakfast as he eyed what was available. After a moment of consideration, he got some of the porridge with fruits and berries in it, mixing in some extra honey as he went out of his way to avoid meeting the eye of anyone that was already there, or (please no) might be joining them, and potentially them. Cazelarias (Z’lar) shoved a spoonful of fruity grain into his mouth, and chewed silently, trying not to cringe at the sound of Harakath munching beside him, or the annoying chittering of half-heard conversations of the little monsters around them.
RE: 743.08.04 | Into the Unknown - Z'kel - 08.Aug.22
All things considered, Z’kel thought he was handling the last day and a half or so fairly well. And sure, he was mostly avoiding thinking about just about everything other than ‘feed dragon—oil dragon—sleep,’ but considering how all consuming those things were with a baby dragon, at least it definitely wasn’t just him who wasn’t thinking about much else. It meant he could pretend it was just that he was busy with Seravath, and not that he was actively ignoring all the things about how his life had changed that kind of terrified him.
At least the class people had the good sense to insist on waiting a few days before bringing any of his family out to Telgar to see him. Z’kel knew they’d been informed; T’ryn had told them, and the bronzerider was kind enough to only pass on the message that he’d spoken to them and not how any of them reacted. Good man, T’ryn. Z’kel owed him at least 3 nice bottles of wine or something equally appreciative. When he was able to acquire such things, anyway.
That made him start thinking about whether or not he still had any marks to his name, and that was stressful, so Z’kel tried to stop that line of thought immediately. Seravath, sensing this, decided to help by whacking his shin with her tail and demanding more food.
“Oof, all right, let’s go,” he said to her, wincing as he stood up from the bench and went to grab her another bucket of whatever they’d chopped up for the babies. Z’kel considered for a moment and grabbed some more food for himself, some bread and sausage.
They were headed back to their previous seat, but on the way Z’kel happened to see a familiar face who hadn’t been seated there a minute before. Z’kel had wondered who the little green Seravath had boosted into the Stands had chosen, but he’d been rather distracted at the time. Since then he’d learned she’d Impressed Cazan’s twin, Cazelarias (or whatever he was to be called now). They’d briefly interacted a few times before the Hatching, but had never really spoken to each other much. If Z’kel thought about it, they were kind of indirectly family. He was with Mylo whose brother was with Cazelarias’ sister. Or something like that.
Cazelarias was now sitting alone, and looking rather disgruntled. Z’kel figured he ought to say hi at some point, and there was no time like the present so he brought his food and Seravath’s over to Cazelarias and his green.
“Hey,” Z’kel said, and Seravath chirped a greeting to her sister before diving into her own food. “I figure we Lordlings ought to be friends, since we’re in this whole weird situation together.” He gestured at their two dragons, Seravath looking positively subtle next to her bright sister. Z’kel didn’t quite say ‘maybe we can help each other cope with all the major life changes,’ but he was thinking it.
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