Bonding, Binding [D'hys]

Only when Z’ia was sure his dragon’s trembling had lessened, and the poor creature would be able to manage it, did the tiny bluerider begin the task of coaxing his dragon into standing, and finally into the timid walk back to their home. Both Aveleth and Z’ia would have preferred the swift journey that a trip between would have offered them, but neither were willing to risk becoming lost in the endless black void while emotions were riding so high. Generally, Z’ia would be able to counter Aveleth’s timid and antsy nature, but his own flighty emotions over the events that were unfolding had the bluerider unwilling to further the events by adding a(nother?) death to the toll.

Plague chittered quietly in Z’ia’s ear as he walked beside Aveleth’s shoulder, the young dragon hunched up and pulled in on himself as he slunk timidly along beside his lifemate, flinching and twitching whenever someone ran past or a dragon flew over-head. His high-strung emotions were wearing Z’ia thin, who was jumping and twitching himself whenever someone yelled or dashed by. Between the pair of them, by the time they managed to make it to the hut Z’ia was trembling from the mental exhaustion of keeping his dragon calm and relaxed, green eyes wide and slightly wild as he finally caught site of his own hut. The sight of the icy blue dragon making himself at home outside it sent a rippling effect of relief through Z’ia, an effect that relayed heavily on Aveleth who gave a half chirp, half squeak and trotted swiftly over to his friend.

Z’ia was still trembling, his face a pale green as he pushed open the door to his hut, searching eyes easily spotting D’hys’ form making himself at home. A half-hearted wave was tossed toward him as Plague fluttered over to land on the table and stare at D'hys with one eye and a tilted head, as Z’ia made his way to the kitchen, his pace neither here nor there in terms of speed, though he made it to the sink in just enough time to scoop his hair back from his face before heaving up his dinner. It wasn’t an particularly unusual example of how strongly Aveleth’s emotions could affect the young man, but it wasn’t especially common either. The bluerider groaned unhappily on an exhaled breath as he rinsed his mouth, refilling the cup with fresh water from a jug and wiping his face on his shirt sleeve.

“Fucking dragons.” It was grumbled, without any real malice, as he wandered back into the living area to join D’hys. An eyebrow arched slightly as Z’ia finally had a chance to take in the less than attractive state of sweat and dirt his friend was currently enamoured in, and then frowned. “Don’t you dare go near my bed.”

Don't ask me what the title means. I have no idea XD
... and lets try posting with the right fucking account shall we?

Zeianth greeted his friend with the affection that was reserved only for a select few and passed on their arrival to D’hys. He gave the younger blue a once over before deciding Aveleth was physically fine but mentally would likely be another story entirely. His poor sensitive friend! It would be so much easier on him if he was rather unaffected by everything that happened around him daily but Zeianth supposed the way the young blue cared and worried was part of his charm and he wouldn’t be Aveleth without it. Being of the same size, Zeianth couldn’t properly comfort Aveleth like he would a petite green by curling himself around the little female but he silently waved a wing in invitation for his friend to press up as close and as long as need be.

D’hys said nothing when Z’ia entered but gave a slight nod to the wave he was given. He tracked Z’ia’s movements until the little demon Plague landed before him, causing the bluerider to stiffen and eye the creature suspiciously. Plague liked to stare at him and D’hys was pretty sure the thing knew how much discomfort he caused which was why he usually did nothing more than sit close by and stare. Z’ia knew about D’hys’ opinion on the firelizards but D’hys had never made Z’ia keep Plague away from him either. Only during the first few days had he specified the creature stay away from Zeianth but now that they seemed ‘safe’ D’hys didn’t fuss over that either. That didn’t mean he fully trusted them now though!

At the sound of Z’ia losing his dinner, D’hys frowned and looked up at his friend busy at the sink. That wasn’t exactly a pleasant form of distraction from the staring firelizard but he’d take it. The explanation he received a moment later may not have been enough for most but D’hys knew Aveleth and he knew the strain on the bond between dragon and rider. The poor kid had to be mentally exhausted from battling to keep Aveleth functioning as usual and given the murderous rage Ronarth was in and the turmoil it stirred within dragons and humans alike, D’hys wasn’t at all surprised that Z’ia reacted as he did from the stress and emotions through the bond. Even Zeianth had trembled briefly at the start of the rage but for the most part remained unaffected; it had just been the human that had panicked. Both were far calmer now and seeing the man he counted as a close friend had helped alleviate the last remnants of stress and fear. He was seen by D’ren’s hut, yes, but no one would truly suspect him of causing the drama currently unfolding, right?

“I wouldn’t want you near a bed either after that display,” D’hys knew Z’ia was referring to his sweaty and dirty state but it was far more fun to pick on his friend and avoid the drama that had brought them together that day, “but I’m just as skilled on a couch as I am in bed.” A smirk accompanied the claim his fellow bluerider would already be well aware of thanks to the turns of knowing each other but D’hys didn’t push it any further by offering to demonstrate or even pull Z’ia to him. Instead, he sat up properly on the couch and gestured to the other half in an innocent invitation to join him if Z’ia wanted.

“I ran into some unexpected difficulties recently but nothing for you to worry about,” D’hys took the chance to strip off his shirt – something he was going to do when he first arrived at the hut but he was still a bit rattled and it seemed like far too much work to free himself of the damp material – and let it drop to the floor by his feet instead of tossing it on Plague like he truly wished to do. Already he felt infinitely cleaner and leaned back into a comfortable position. “This day is seriously fucked up though.”

Aveleth rubbed his head against Zeianth’s neck, before tucking himself against the older dragon shamelessly, quivering and still extremely skittish; he flinched when the door clicked shut behind Z’ia and gave a soft whine of distress when he felt his human’s physical reaction to his own distress. Poor Z’ia! Trembling and stressed, sad and worried, Aveleth curled up into the smallest ball he could make his gentle blue body conform to, and buried his face under one wing. His body was pressed against Zeianth, taking comfort from his friend’s steady and reassuring presence. What a horrible day!

Plague radiated smug amusement as she was rewarded with D’hys’ lack of delight at her staring presence, the tiny green creature practically preening though her focused one-eyed gaze never left his face and her eyes swirled with malicious delight. She chirped questioningly when Z’ia re-entered the room, the young man picking the little green up and holding her delicately as brushed his fingers tenderly over her joints, checking for cracked skin. A snort was given in response to D’hys’ comeback and Z’ia threw himself onto the couch, flicking one leg onto the seat and across D’hys’ knee while the rest of him curled into the couch’s less than intimate embrace. Putting Plague on her back, he checked her belly for signs of drying or cracking. The little firelizard seemed completely immune to the man handling, her focus still resting completely on D’hys as she stared at him with the same deviously delighted expression.

“So you claim,” Z’ia smirked back at D’hys, green eyes wide with teasing amusement. He enjoyed poking at his friend’s ego, even if the man were completely immune to the prodding. Life would be so boring without a good sense of humour – or will to fight like a bitch! Feisty greenriders and humorous blueriders – that was the secret to a good life!

Z’ia gave D’hys a droll look. “Since when have I ever worried about you? What did you run into?” He ignored the comment about the days crappieness; his stomach was still churning unhappily and he was more than aware of how screwed up it was. Gentle reassurance was sent to Aveleth, caressing the still trembling dragon mentally with loving affection Z’ia would be hard pressed to ever actively display physically, let alone to anyone other than his draconic babies.

D’hys didn’t spare a glance to the leg that was sent to rest on his lap as he had an evil firelizard to stare down. It was obvious Plague enjoyed doing it and knew how much discomfort she brought a lot of people, especially the man that seemed to be a good friend of her human that foolishly bonded to her. That Impression was something D’hys still questioned. Why would Z’ia allow it to happen? The shorter bluerider tried to hide his affection for Aveleth but D’hys had been around both long enough to know their bond was just as strong – perhaps even more so than some – as any other pair and they looked out for each other. Then again, he had answered his own question. As he watched Z’ia examine the creature, D’hys knew it was just natural for Z’ia to enjoy the draconic companionship and needed to have someone to look after.

Still, like Z’ia’s sense of humour suggested, the little beasts were plague-carriers and it was hard to be near them now – especially ones that purposely tried to up the discomfort level.

D’hys finally managed to peel his gaze away from Plague as he tried not to give her more motivation to continue haunting him whenever they were in a room together. “Good. I want you to worry over me when it’s actually something important and on a large scale,” although being suspected for the attempted murder of the Weyrleader certainly qualified for that, but Z’ia didn’t need to know the details, so he simplified it, “I was seen where I shouldn’t have been seen at a most inopportune time.” The worst part was, he was good with names and faces but couldn’t recall who had seen him so he couldn’t try to explain himself and convince people of his innocence.

“Zeianth is helping Aveleth. This really got to him, didn’t it? I haven’t seen you react to his emotions this badly before.” There had been times that had come close and D’hys wondered how many were hidden away from him after Z’ia’s triumph and excitement over a daredevil move was shown off and the pair slipped away but right now, Z’ia looked drained far more than usual. “Has anything else happened?” There was a suspicion that some of the emotions roiling through the bond were on the human side and not the dragon’s but that was understandable when the Weyrleader was close to dying. Even he, D’hys, who was known for being as cold as ice had been upset though that was more for his own safety since he still wasn’t a fan of D’ren.

Plague purred happily in Z’ia’s lap as she continued to stare at D’hys from her less than elegant position, eyes swirling between happy contentment to teasing self-satisfaction at D’hys’ delightful dissatisfaction with her staring at him. If Z’ia was aware of the firelizard’s attitude, he gave no indication as he leaned backwards over the couch arm and picked up a small container of oil he’d set aside for Plague.

“Uh-huh,” Z’ia mumbled, undoing the screw on lid and dipping his fingers into the oil, spreading it over Plague’s belly and smiling crookedly as she gave a croon of delight. “Fucking around near D’ren’s hut?” An eyebrow rose mockingly as Z’ia looked up, though his eyes were shadowed with sudden worry, eyeing D’hys thoughtfully. Z’ia worried his lip silently as he oiled Plague’s foot, the firelizard chittering in a manner that implied she was either enjoying the massage, or was ticklish.

Z’ia looked up, his expression warring with various emotions and he frowned seriously, jaw muscles twitching slightly. “Yes,” the word was drawn out, spoken slowly and thoughtfully, before Z’ia shrugged slightly and threw it aside. “He’ll be fine, when he calms down. The event took me by surprise, and Ronarth startled me. Aveleth did not react well to my surprise, and as a result I was unable to curb his terror until he’d slaughtered me with it. It was very unpleasant. I-” Z’ia cut off as Aveleth whimpered, reassuring the young blue. Plague crooned questioningly.

I’m sorry! Z’ia sighed softly, frowning in a slightly pained manner. “Plague.” The simple word had the firelizard chirping cheerfully as she threw herself into the air and vanished between, reappearing a moment later from the same deep nothingness, right over Z’ia’s lap with a full bottle of wine. The item and the firelizard toppled straight into his lap, Plague squeaking with success as Z’ia looked up at D’hys, and smirked with satisfaction.

“Isn’t she great?” Popping the cork, Z’ia took a swig, before offering the bottle to D’hys.

The little beast was so unnerving! All he had to do was stop giving Plague the attention she was aiming for and she’d leave him alone. That was the theory, anyway. No doubt the creature would just try harder to make him squirm if he did that which left him at a stalemate and D’hys hated that almost more than he hated losing. Plague was lucky she was Z’ia’s or she might just find herself punted across the weyr and the glare his eyes narrowed into said as much as well when she chittered over her massage.

D’hys didn’t give any confirmation to Z’ia’s guess about where he had been. It was obvious given all the commotion around the weyr though it would have been the perfect time to cause other types of chaos. But no; Z’ia had the right of it and they both knew it. Thankfully, his friend opened up about his own problems via Aveleth which took some of the heat off of him. Neither one of them trusted easily but they had some sort of understanding in their friendship that led to what D’hys thought counted as trust, even if it was sometimes blind. All he had to do was say he was innocent and Z’ia would stand up for him and not even care that it wasn’t true. The same was said the other way around as well; just like D’hys knew Z’ia opening up right then was genuine. To anyone else, especially the way the confession was delivered, it would seem as false or insincere but D’hys certainly wasn’t like anyone else.

He held his tongue when it was clear Aveleth had joined the conversation and stole some of Z’ia’s attention but when Plague vanished, D’hys sighed a breath of relief. About time she took off to parts unknown! “Z’ia,” he began with a drawl of his friend’s name as something donned on him, “say the word and I’ll,” he’d back up, that’s what he’d do. Plague reappeared as D’hys was about to move in a bit closer to Z’ia but he nearly recoiled back into his position he held during the creature’s oiling. At least she came back with wine, so that was something.

“Looks like she has one decent reason to hang around,” he had to admit, having a little beast ready to play servant and fetch him wine, ale, food, or a misplaced shirt would be handy but it still wasn’t worth the risk or headaches of keeping one constantly nearby. He supposed he could handle Z’ia keeping one a bit longer though. As wordlessly as it was offered, D’hys accepted the bottle and took a long drink from it. Some days called for a good long drink and some bottles of wine were enough to forgo previous conversations.

“I’m staying the night,” D’hys announced and passed the bottle back. “Zeianth says it’s best for all of us to have someone near tonight and I’m never opposed to an idea that involves your bed.” He gave a wicked grin but that night, D’hys was fine with them both simply crawling under the blankets and doing nothing more than sleeping.

Z’ia gave D’hys a cocky look, treating Plague to a gentle rub of her eye ridge while the tiny green purred her delight. The wine bottle was reclaimed and Z’ia tipped his head back, drinking deeply before finally answering the comment his fellow bluerider had made about the little creature; “She’s a prime green,” Z’ia smirked, petting the lizard again and watching with amusement as she slump over his lap, her wings and legs stretched out in every direction though her eyes were glued firmly on D’hys and coloured with smug delight at his reactions. She would never tire of abusing D’hys, and that alone amused the fuck out of Z’ia, who smirked mockingly at his friend.

“Really?” Z’ia drawled, the scowl that flickered across his face barely retaining upon his features for long enough to be picked up on. What did claim the features was the look of droll amusement, a dry sideways look being given to the older dragon rider from under his lashes. “I’m sure,” He added, rolling his eyes as another long draught was taken of the alcohol. It wasn’t so much that the young man disagreed – having Zeianth keep Aveleth company while he was so upset would be beyond helpful, a fact that had been proven many times in the past. But Z’ia didn’t like being spoken to as if his opinion was worth as much as a greenriders.

Passing the wine bottle back to D’hys, Z’ia gave the other bluerider a smirk, narrowing his eyes as they tracked over the other man’s figure. “You’re not going near my bed,” Z’ia pointed out as Plague stood up, climbing along the leg that was rested on D’hys still to stare up at him evilly, “covered in dirty sweat.”  A wicked smirk pulled the young man’s lips up.

Shitty tag is shitty. ;;

Plague was about two seconds away from being shooed away or even shoved away if D’hys was willing to touch the creature but he held off on doing either. He hated firelizards but he was doing his best to remain civil to Z’ia’s pest at least. All others were given cautious attention and kept an eye on but D’hys refrained from outwardly showing his disdain for the creatures since it could be used against him as either a weakness to exploit or to show he wasn’t the fun and friendly guy he led people to believe he was. Instead, the usual staredown ensued before D’hys finally broke first and shoved Z’ia’s leg aside so he could get off the couch. It was done mostly to get away from Plague but D’hys figured it was time to move around anyway.

“Gonna give me a sponge bath then, babe?” D’hys smirked wickedly as his hands went to the waist of his pants. He wasn’t in the mood to go to the bathhouse and he doubted Zeianth was willing to leave Aveleth’s side right then either. So that left Z’ia’s little stand and if the brat wanted his guest nice and tidy before bed, then he could tend to the issue himself. Shoes were toed off and clothes were soon removed leaving D’hys standing proud and nude in the centre of Z’ia’s hut. He wasn’t one to run around the weyr in barely any clothes but he also wasn’t afraid to flaunt what he had when circumstances called for it. Now definitely called for it.

“Seriously though,” D’hys dropped some of his cocky assurance and crossed his arms over his chest, “after I clean up, I would like to stay. We need it as much as the dragons do tonight, I think.” That was as close as he was getting to admitting he was a bit rattled by everything that had happened. To show he didn’t want to talk details, D’hys headed for the water bowl to start cleaning up even as he fully expected Z’ia to assist in some way that would likely end up as a needed sexual distraction.

“You wish,” Z’ia drawled in response, not so much as fluttering an eyelash as D’hys’ proceeded to strip down to nothing. An eyebrow arched and a meaningful look was given to the clothing on the floor, only for Z’ia’s green gaze to find D’hys’ arse when he lifted his eyes one more. Irritation and amusement warred for a place on his features, and his voice was droll when he spoke again. “And pick up your fucking clothes.” Z’ia had standards, and dirty clothing spread out all over the living room weren’t upholding them. The only time clothing should be spread out all over the place was when it was removed in the heat of the moment. Since D’hys’ were not, they had no reason to be left like a slob on his floor!

Z’ia hummed, not willing to commit either way as D’hys insisted he’d like to stay the night. The tiny bluerider wasn’t really surprised, nor did he have any particular issues. If he were honest, however, he have preferred to spend the night alone. He had things to think about, and he was worried. Those weren’t think he felt were particular topics to be discussed, even had D’hys’ been the type of person that invested in such things. Instead, Z’ia rose lazily from his seat and made his way after D’hys; he kicked the taller blueriders clothes into a shabby pile as he passed them, before making himself comfortable on a bench top near where D’hys was. “You missed a spot,” he drawled lazily, pointing at his intended spot. Green eyes sparkled playfully, but it was quite clear Z’ia’s attention was scattered at best.

Plague gave a squeaky cheap, and Z’ia banished her to the dragons with a wave of his hand, swatting her away much like a fly. Touching gently on Aveleth found the young dragon trembling but cuddled securely against Zeianth, the warmth and protection of the older dragon doing much to reassure his poor, trembling wreck of a dragon. He’d been surprised – and yet not – by how deeply Aveleth was rattled. Z’ia was willing to bet that was why he was still feeling so out of whack and lacklustre; the alcohol may or may not have been contributing. Letting his dragon tumble into a trembling and distinctly peace-devoid sleep, Z’ia recognised a night of impending nightmares.

“C’mon,” he chirped, forcing his persona into a more usual Z’ia-range, and throwing a devious look at D’hys over his shoulder as he bounced toward his bedroom. Maybe a good tumble would bar out the nightmares; and, well, if not... that was D’hys’ issue and he could cope with whatever bruises he was issued by flailing limbs. While his nightmares weren’t overly common, Z’ia could return a time or two he’d been shaken awake after decking the other man in his sleep. At least D’hys didn’t ask him about them.