Now, Where Were We? [B'run, R'ana, R'nya, Open]

Her words had been a last defiance, and it was with a tinge of traitorous relief that she saw S'kef preparing to lash her.  Punishment usually meant that the situation was over, except for the healing and the crying and R'ana knew she could take a lashing. She had taken enough of them that while she did fear the lash, it was the same as the fear as she felt for Shanith's flights.  Terrifying, often unpleasant and with lasting consequences, but manageable.

Her green shrank into Olemuth who was curling around her, nosing him and creeling in soft appeal.  She let out no other noose after that, literally tucking her face under his wing and doing her damndest to hide.  Shanith had never seen hers get lashed before, and was confused by what she felt from hers now. 

Punishment wasn't supposed to be like this...Was it?  Usually hers went into a room fine, their conenction shut down and R'ana came out whitefaced and insisting she was fine.  Shanith had tended to believe her, though was confused by R'ana often making a stop by healing hall on her way home from such times.  While R'ana was sore for a few days after, the green was usually encouraged to ignore it and go about her day.  Why wasn't this like that? 

It was a confused Shanith that curled up into a small ball of green, pressing agianst Olemuth and shaking, her mind a cacophany of fear and confusion for hers.  A mental touch from R'ana was enough to help her, as it often was.  R'ana telling her that she was fine and she could get through this.  Except if she was fine, why were R'ana and B'run so frightened of the other one getting punished?  If this didn't hurt too much why was R'ana so scared of B'run getting punished as she would?

She was babbling to Olemuth about it, her mind voice quiet scared, asking the poor bronze over and over again why hers was so scared of B'run getting hurt if being lashed was no big deal.  She was unaware of R'ana taking her shirt off and using it to cover her front until the greenrider's voice cut through her haze of fear and confusion. 

"Don't want to ruin my best shirt.  Can't replace it for a bit."  R'ana knelt, trying her best to reassure Shanith until she felt Olemuth reassure her that he had her under control.  R'ana took a moment before she knelt, taking a breath and forcing her muscles to stay relaxed.  Tensing only made any damage worse. 

Her back showed why she had charged into making things worse for herself in hopes it would spare B'run a bit of the pain that would come from this.  Old lash scars were getting too common a sight on a dragonrider's back, but R'ana knew her and B'run's were amoung the worst in the weyr. 

To her surprise, when she knelt, B'run knelt in front of her.  R'ana looked at him and he spoke quietly.  "Look at me."  It was a command, one she followed, reaction to that tone ingrained into her from years of being lowest on any given totem pole.  Her eyes showed concern for him, the greenrider fretting over him even now.  She knew her terror showed in her shaking, though she made no noise as B'run talked to her, telling her to think of him, her daughter, washing Shanith.

Ten lashes fell across her back, and she bit through her lip to avoid crying out at the last three, wide eyes locked to B'run's.  He was speaking to her, had been the entire time, though making out words was tough right now.  She got the intent and it helped, gave her warmth and courage to hold against the pain.  She flexed her muscles after, S'kef's words running together in her ears.  She got the impression that she was being scolded, but couldn't make out exact words, her blood rushing to her head as it was and her body seeming to float in a haze of pain.

She needed help getting up, B'run guiding her to her dragon.  She had to be coaxed into letting go, not hearing what he murmured to her.  Shanith touched her nose to R'ana's shoulder, her efforts to protect R'ana having been blocked by one of the three present dragons.  She now pulled just free enough of Olemuth to hook a paw around R'ana and yank her into the protection afforded by green and bronze hide.  R'ana yelped as she was yanked forward, blackness teasing the edges of her vision as she felt the impact on her back. 

She nearly fainted, but reached for Olemuth as soon as she could fight back the darkness.  Talking slurred her words, so she resorted to trying to talk to the bronze mentally.  Olemuth.  When I was lashed before...I'm fine Shanith....When I was lashed before, Shanith projected love and reassurance to me.  It...I'm fine Shanith...helped.  Maybe it'll help B'run with this.  I tried, but he's gonna get the worst of it.  I'm fine, Shanith!  She wasn't though, and the dragon knew it, trying to gently lick R'ana's back where the whip had split old scar tissue.  R'ana flinched away, but Shanith followed, doing her best to clean the wounds, creeling softly for R'ana to hold still. 

R'ana watched B'run, trying her damndest to get her vision to focus.  He was going to get hurt, and it was all her fault.  It's not your fault.  If you hadn't spoken up yourself S'kef wouldn't be so mad and he'd only get punished a little instead of made an example of but...  R'ana didn't hear the rest.  Panic overtook her at the realization that she had indeed made it worse for B'run and she suddenly couldn't breathe.

Bands tightened around her chest, causing her to gasp for air.  R'ana struggled to breathe, and Shanith panicked over it.  She reached for Xyreith, since Tyrrisath was not going to be of help and Olemuth had his paws full with B'run.  Mine can't breathe!  Yours helped calm her before, please get him to help?  Firelizards came out of between, B'run's fair settling on Olemuth and Shanith, R'ana unaware of Brat nuzzling her and trying to soothe the panic. 

[B'run and Olemuth powerplayed with permission from Rune.]