It's no big deal [R'nya]

Most of her bruises had faded in the last week and she no longer walked with tiny, mincing steps. All but one was nothing more than a spattering of color on her arms and legs. A sharp hug from Rislan no longer elicited a painful wince and the boy was home instead of staying at the creche. She should've just lied or at least lied better anyway but apparently she hadn't. He never used to be like that. Never once, in all the years she'd been alive, had he laid a hand on her, never shouted in anger. Until the failed rebellion attempt, the one that had gotten him lashed for his troubles. It seemed Ameris would pay for his failure for the rest of her life. At least until she impressed - if she impressed - anyway.

Mud crooned softly at her from where he lay on the ground. The little brown had nearly lost his life that day, trying to protect her. A tear in his wing sail was all he'd gotten for his trouble. Ameris knew it could've been worse if she hadn't rolled the firelizard beneath her and sheltered him with her body, taking even more of the blows. Luckily she'd gotten him to someone who was adept at sewing up the thin membranes of dragon wings. Firelizard's and dragon wings were much the same, she'd been told and he'd have a small scar but would eventually have full range of his wing. She was glad for that. She couldn't imagine what the busy brown would do if he couldn't fly properly.

She leaned back against her hands as the rush of the river lulled her into relaxing. Her face was tilted up soaking in the rays of the sun before it got to hot in the day for such things. The dark coloration along her jaw was stark in the unforgiving glare of the midmorning sun and Ameris was thankful not many were out and about. Too many people meant too many questions. Questions she had no desire to answer and was afraid she wasn't clever enough to excuse. The same questions her son had asked last night when he'd finally come home, questions she'd cleverly evaded. Of course evading a question from a toddler didn't take much cleverness but she'd properly diverted his attention anyway.

She could've simply fallen asleep in the warmth had her thoughts not been jumbled and frantic. Busy trying to think of excuses and clever lies to cover the bruising on her clear skin just in case someone did find the time to stop and ask. There were only so many times the excuse, "I fell into the door" would work. That lie got old fast and twisting it into a new one took too much effort. Her chaotic thoughts shut down as an indignant squawk from Mud broke through. Leaning her head to the side, Ameris glanced over as the little brown tried valiantly to struggle into the air. The shadow beside her went unnoticed as she reached out to hold the brown firelizard down with a sigh, "I really wish you'd stop trying to fly. I have no desire to take you back to the healer to resew your wing."

She finally told me her secret. Decided to reveal to level headed R'nya instead of a solo ;)

He had stood back, silent and watching, when he’d first seen the colours painted on her face. He had lifted an eyebrow, and waited, only to have his gaze avoided and no answer forthcoming. Dragons were gossips, and Xyreith was good at listening, as good as his people-watching rider, and while he didn’t know the details, R’nya knew enough. It wasn’t his place, though, particularly not without invitation from the young woman. R’nya would protect them from the sun itself, but there was a line when family was involved.

Despite that, R’nya waited, hoping the girl would opt to open up to him – they all did, eventually – but the longer he waited, the more tight-lipped the girl appeared to become. A narrow eyed stare at the man he knew was responsible had elicited no further answers. With a frown, R’nya had, to all intents and purposes, chosen that moment to give up. Clearly, he was not going to receive the answers he wanted, and publically pushing the girl for a response was likely to do no more than provoke her father once again. R’nya had turned on his heel and walked off, ignoring the way several of the other girls exchanged glances.

Biding his time, R’nya had gone about his days as per usual, though he took particular pains to be sure not to look at or treat Ameris any different than he would have on any other day, waiting for the young woman to stop looking as if she expected the nine million questions he really did want an answer to. Waiting for her to relax, waiting for an opportunity to present itself. When it came, the bronzerider was ready.

He approached quietly, some early blooming summer fruit in hand, watching Ameris with a steady expression. Her quiet comment to the firelizard was taken with a slight twitch of one eyebrow, and R’nya carefully lowered himself to the ground beside the woman. He was somewhat surprised she didn’t notice him until he was there, but made no comment on it as he placed a piece of fruit in her lap, and a gentle hand on one shoulder. “Stay.” It wasn’t an invitation, but the voice that gave the word life was a far cry from mean. Pale eyes shifted to study Ameris’ face, and his hand shifted, touch brushing just barely above the colour on her jaw. It hovered there for a few moments, before R’nya retracted his hand.

“Talk to me.”

Mud hissed and Ameris started with surprise when R’nya dropped a fruit in her lap. She hadn’t even heard him come up to her, much less settle himself on the ground next to her and a lack of awareness in her surroundings was a far cry from normal. Her body tensed preparing to jump up and flee but the single word spoken in a tone that brooked no argument froze her where she was. Dark eyes widened, the whites visible around the near black irises, as his hand lifted to the stark bruise lining her jaw. She twitched, flinching as his hand touched the skin above the bruise softly, gently and she trembled.

She had avoided R’nya, avoided him like the plague and had been closed mouthed and silent when she couldn’t. Of any person in the weyr, whether subconsciously or consciously, Ameris knew a simple lie or excuse wouldn't fly, so had heaved a sigh of relief with the stoic bronzerider had seemingly given up on finding the answers. But if this very moment was anything to go by, that sigh of relief was short lived.

A scathing retort and denial was on the tip of her tongue  but when she opened her mouth to say the words she wanted to, R'nya's calm even tone broke her. A tear slipped down her cheek, followed closely by another and then another until with a choked cry she buried her face in her hands. Her body shuddered with the force of her sobs as she cried out ten years worth of tears. Tears that had been buried deep under mountains of armor.

She didn't know how long the sobs wracked her body when she finally stopped but stop they did. With a sniffle and a quick dash of her fingers she mumbled an apology before turning tear bright eyes to R'nya. "It wasn't always like this, you know. He used to be nice and full of fun," she started before stopping abruptly as she tossed the small fruit from hand to hand. She was breaking a cardinal rule. One that could very well make this all worse than it had been.

Surprise shimmered through him at the appearance of tears, though R’nya was careful to give no such response away as the girl crumpled next to him. Reaching out gently, R’nya wrapped an arm around Ameris’ shoulders, and held her gently as the girl cried, taking note of the depth of emotion she invested, but not uttering so much as a single word. He did not try to calm her, or make shushing noises, just sat there as calm and collected as ever, silently waiting for the storm to pass.

Ameris had always been one of the stronger girls; a backbone of the group of rag tag holders R’nya had collected and sheltered under his own influence from the other riders within the weyr. They were mostly delicate little things, and while several of them would rather bite off their own fingers than admit to needing any form of protection, R’nya knew they all appreciated it. If they did not, they would not come to him when riders were giving them a hard time, or someone looked at them ‘like that’, or when they had questions or concerns about Weyrlife.

Ameris was not usually one of those girls, and as he rubbed her back gently and let her cry herself out, R’nya was not surprised by the blanket of explanation that slowly settled around them; the tears, and the strength behind them, gave lie to the world the girl had been living in. A mask of confidence, and her desire to do things herself, for herself, suddenly became transparent as he caught a glimpse of the girl that really resided behind those walls.

“Of course not,” R’nya murmured lowly as she seemed to gather herself together again, and offer an introduction. He was not surprised by that; he doubted she’d be hurting quite so much if it was ‘the way things always were’ in her life, but that it had not always been so was, he expected, a large part of what had her all tangled up. “Many of us did,” R’nya added gently, referencing the plague and how many lives it had affected, and very few – if any – for the positive. It wasn’t an excuse for the way many people had taken to coping with it, or how they had been changed by it, but it was a reason for many of them.

He waited patiently as she tossed the fruit between her hands, watching quietly for a moment before raising his own to his lips and taking a bite, chewing slowly, waiting for her to continue without getting in her face about it. His entire air indicated he was not about to move – or let her move – until he had more of the story, likely all of it – but he wasn’t going to be pushy about getting it, either. They had all day, after all.

There wasn't much in this world that Ameris truly appreciated but when R'nya declined to shush her or give her the false promise that every thing would be alright Ameris appreciated it more than she could imagine or voice. Had he done so she would've stood and left. She had no room in her life for empty promises. Her absent minded fruit tossing paused for a moment as she lifted a hand to her face to wipe away an errant tear.

She hated crying. Hated showing the weakness that would bring more wrath onto her head. Her father hated when she cried or screamed and she had long since learned to be silent when he was in a mood. A mood.. If that's what you wanted to call it. The rages, the outbursts, the threats were nothing but a simple mood. Random and violent his moods were. She could only thank Faranth that A'mad always saved his moods for when Rislan was away.

How much did she tell R'nya? Did she spill the entirety of her childhood and teenaged years into his lap and allow the bronzerider to clean it up for her? She contemplated doing just that as she listened to him murmur to her of all the changes the plague had wrought. She knew about changes. She'd gone from happy and carefree to a sullen angry child when her mother had perished. But the change in her father was killing her. She tossed the idea of throwing her problems at R'nya out the window as she watched him calmly bite into the fruit in his hand. No, expecting him to take care of her problems would no doubt create even more.

She would tell him of the most recent problem, "Apparently he disliked what I had to say about the touching." Her voice was calm, even and without inflection but inside she cringed and flinched at the kaleidoscope of memories rushed about her mind. The first blow had caught her unaware, eyes downcast as she'd haltingly told him of her day. The second and third had landed during the cusp of surprise. From then it had been a whirlwind of movement and screeching as Mud moved to protect her only to be injured in the process. "Its all about failure and success, I think. He's failed at so much that it boils him inside when I fail," she said quietly. 

R’nya’s expression was clearly sceptical as he frowned at Ameris, eyebrows slightly raised and furrowed together and the bronzerider shook his head. “That is stupid.” His voice and words were matter of fact, and R’nya leaned back a little, resting his weight on one hand as he considered Ameris with a sideways look. “You cannot fail at a Touching. A’mad knows that.” Irritation lingered in the bronzerider’s tones. The idiot brownrider had been around Weyrlife long enough to know that the Touching was designed to remove fear from the candidates, not pre-Impress the dragonets.

Stupid fool! You expect better from men that beat little girls? Xyreith’s tone was caustic, and the dragon snorted, his shadow overcasting the two humans as he coasted overhead, and landing tidily several lengths away. You’re smarter than that, sir. With another snort, as if dismissing human concerns, Xyreith slid into the river, ducking under the surface and sinking down, making sure his entire bulk was covered.

Turning his attention away from his dragon and back to Ameris, R’nya watched her quietly for a moment. Tossing the core of his fruit into the river, the bronzerider rocked up onto his knees and waddled to relocate behind Ameris, sitting down with a polite distance between them, but close enough that he could pick up the length of her hair, and, pointedly ignoring any negative reactions, lazily started combing it with his fingers. She might object, she might even kick up a stink, but everyone loved having their hair played with – women especially… Right?

“What happened, when you touched the eggs, that displeased your father?” R’nya was having a hard time imagining what type of reaction could be so dramatic as to throw the other rider into a tantrum. True, some eggs responded less positively, but Ameris had not run off the sands crying, and Kahleena would have been distraught if either egg had combusted or dropped dead. Most likely, he reasoned silently, the result was not all that bad but the man was having a bad day, and the news tipped the scale for the brownrider.

That only made it more unforgivable.

Haha, they come from the same Weyr xD

She raised her eyes to watch Xyreith glide overhead and considered the exclamation that R'nya had voiced. Of course it was stupid. She knew it was stupid and deep inside A'mad knew it was stupid but he considered it a failure anyway. Irrationality was just that. Irrational. A'mad hadn't listened to reason even from Midranth the day of the touching. He refused to remember that touching meant nothing and considered her words as abject failure. "I know you can't fail at a touching, you know that and without a doubt he knows that. He's just blind to the fact," was her quiet reply.

A small smile touched her lips as Xyreith sunk below the surface. Such simplistic creatures, dragons were. Content to love and be loved and she could never figure out why people couldn't be content with what they had the same way a dragon could. What she wouldn't give to see her father with such an air of peace about him. There were times she yearned for the carefree and light hearted father she'd started out with and she seemed to do so much more frequently.

With a light shake of her head to dispel that false hope, she sat in silence until R'nya moved abruptly. She couldn't fight the stiffening of her body as he moved up behind her to reach for her hair, an unconscious fear causing a light sheen of sweat to break out along her body. She held herself rigid and still as she waited for a blow that never came. Instead he began to slide his fingers through the thick mass of her hair. With a gentle sigh her body relaxed bit by bit until most of her tension was gone. Her hair hadn't been touched by another is such a long time she'd nearly forgotten the pleasure to be got from it. A'mad often used it as a leash. She should cut it.

She closed her eyes as the soft feel of his fingers chased away the dark thoughts in her mind. "Mmm?" she hummed before her eyes flew open as she realized what he was asking, "Oh. I.. I upset one of the dragonets. I didn't mean to. I swear I didn't mean to." She well remembered that barrage of indecipherable emotions that had rattled through her mind as she'd touch the unadorned sunlit egg. The reaction had been one she had never encountered in the other touchings she had participated in and she hadn't known what to do except stand back out of the way and run the reaction in her mind over and over again.

“How did you upset it?” R’nya asked quietly, watching as the stiffness melted out of her muscles with a placid pleasure, and the way the girl relaxed. Good. Had he been sure he would not have done more damage to healing bruises, R’nya would have extended the gentle finger combing of hair to massaging the girl’s shoulders. He had learned young, growing up in the Weyr, that those of lesser ranks were often covered in the bruises from those of higher, and even a friendly clap on the shoulder could result in downing a grown man. He was not about to risk hurting the girl trying to be kind.

He braided her hair, starting up at the top of her head and working down the length with deft movements. His motions were sure, though there was a frown between his brows as he thought ahead on how to do it without screwing it up, and at the end, he paused, eyeing the result with a slightly bemused, critical eye. It was a mess; he had somehow switched the order over part way down, and caused an odd twisting of the strands. Rolling his eyes at himself, R’nya gently brushed it out and resumed combing the girl’s hair.

“Do you ever compare stories, with the other girls, after a Touching,” R’nya asked gently, leaning forward a little to speak lower and closer to the girl, though not so close as to spook her. Most of the girls came to him to discuss the results, and while he knew some where friendlier with others, he also knew some of the girls liked to keep more to themselves than they were comfortable sharing. He gave her hair a very gentle tug, playful and teasing.

“You should speak to lady Rhaedalyn, my dear. Her Touching had her convinced she’d fail.” Well, it also had the girl convinced she would be exiled, and forced to live in a tree on the outskirts of the Weyr, begging for pie; but he would leave that for Rhaedalyn to explain, if she so chose. The amusement in his voice belied that there was more to the story. “And look at her little Aradissicath.” Who was hardly ‘little’ any more, but was unimportant in regards to their current conversation. Still giving off a quiet air of amusement, R’nya tried his hand at braiding the girl’s hair once more.

Her face flushed at his question. She had been childish and rude during that touching and the memory embarrassed her. She had pouted and whined - mentally to be sure but whining all the same - and hurt the feelings of the tiny hatchling that resided in the egg she had touched. "I was pouting," she muttered quietly hoping he didn't hear the words that were spoken. It had not been a proud moment for her, pouting to rival Rislan. She rarely bucked against the rules but she never could understand why all the girls couldn't touch which ever egg they wanted especially since a touching had no baring on impression.

Her head tilted back as his hands tugged and twisted at her hair. Was he braiding the mass? She'd never had a man braid her hair before and the sensation was a little unnerving. It did bring back childhood memories of her mother though and she was grateful when the calm, stolid bronzerider seated behind her brought them forth. She chuckled quietly when he unraveled the mess to begin finger combing it once more, "Not as easy as it seems is it?"

She'd never considered speaking to the other girls about their touching to be honest. Always she was demanded to come straight home and speak to no one only A'mad. Every year she'd stood it had been much the same. What had she felt? Did the dragonet speak to her? How did the other girls react? This time, though, was the first to end with her bruised and injured. She was certain her father had been drinking heavily and was having a horrid time of it. She should've lied better.

A grin lit her face at the amusement that R'nya's voice held, she couldn't remember a time when she'd heard such a thing in his voice. The grin didn't last long as her face quickly fell, a frown turning the corners of her lips down. "No. I've never spoken to the other girls. I don't really speak to many of them," she said as she raised her knees to wrap her arms around them. She couldn't make friends. Didn't seem to have that ability. She wasn't sweet and innocent like Rhaedalyn and Kahleena. She wasn't sturdy and firm like Peorray or gentle and kind like Jisralna. She was just a broken little girl hiding behind a mask. She sighed as Mud crooned softly at her side.

R’nya gave a soft exhale that was not so far off a soft snort of laughter, but not quite there. “It has been a long time,” he countered gently, fingers weaving between the long strands of hair as he once more started at the top of the woman’s head to braid the dark hair, watching the braid form with a mild expression. It was getting easier, as the remembered process came to the forefront of his mind instead of lingering somewhere in the realm of ‘I could do that once’.

“You should correct that, my dear,” R’nya spoke with gentle rebuke, finishing the braid and holding the end lightly as he considered his handy work for a moment, quite pleased. He did not have a sliver of leather, though, and when he let it go the soft hair sprung away, loosening and coming undone once more. He placed his hands lightly on her shoulders, giving a very soft squeeze of reassurance – wary of bruises that may be lingering under the material of her clothes – before removing them and shuffling to take a seat beside her once more. “Most of them are very lovely,” not all of them would get along easily, but R’nya was surprised by the number that were wary of the others, for fear of not being good enough or some silly girly nonsense.

Stretching his legs out before him, R’nya relaxed backwards onto the ground, staring up at the sky for a moment before shifting his pale blue gaze to look at Ameris. “Some of them have kiddies,” he teased, “you could set play dates and match make.” Blue eyes sparkled cheekily, quite sure that match making wasn’t on Ameris’ list of priorities.

A nearly overwhelming urge to wrap herself in the safety of R'nya shimmered through Ameris as the man carefully placed his hands on her shoulders, accompanied by a gentle squeeze. An urge she did not act upon. Instead the woman raised a hand to give one of his just as gentle a squeeze, "You're a good man, R'nya." And he was. He took such good care of the girls that were a part of his little group and it was something Ameris had always looked on with favor.

She grimaced lightly as he moved away to seat himself beside her once more, declaring most of them lovely girls. "I'm sure they are. I just.." she shook her head. She couldn't decide if she was just to shy - which wasn't the case - or if she was afraid of those other girls. If she had bothered to actually reflect on her feelings she would find that fear was something that she carried deep inside, but she refused to delve that deep within herself.

She couldn't contain the full throated laugh that spilled forth at his suggestion of play dates and match making. Eyes bright with laughter and mirth, she looked at him and said, "Rislan has his own ideas about match making. The little heathen has it in his child mind that he will marry Kahleena one day."  Not to mention it was always so hard to get the youngster to engage in play with those of his own age group. The sturdy little boy was much happier digging in the dirt or rolling about the floor with Mud than actually playing with the other kids of the creche.

Ameris’ comment took several quiet moments to process, and R’nya’s eyebrows slowly inched up his forehead as he shifted his head slightly, peering up at the girl with widened blue eyes. “Does he now?” the mellow tone, the bland expression, and the way he was still lying on the ground as if without a care in the world all gave off little more than mild interest. Inside, and hidden where it wouldn’t be seen, R’nya was deeply amused. Children were amazing little things, and the ideas they came up with were usually spectacular in their innocence.

“What does she think of this?” That time, hints of amusement whispered around the edge of his words, and R’nya folded his hands over his stomach, fingers entwined, and gaze shifting to stare up at the sky, patched with clouds. Kahleena was oddly twitchy around young children, and R’nya had watched her pull all kinds of excuses out of thin air to avoid holding an infant, before turning a longing eye on it when the mother’s back was turned. He had not managed to urge the story out of the girl yet, and careful questions of Rhaedalyn indicated the other girl did not know. If they did not, R’nya was quite sure no one else did.

He didn’t think it was the girl simply missing children of her own – he’d seen the stretch marks on her stomach when he’d pulled her from the bathtub when Okalinath took to the skies for her maiden flight – since the girl was willing enough to speak about her husband when nudged in that direction. Why speak of one’s husband, but not one’s children, unless one no longer had them? Why indeed? Xyreith’s bronze head rose above the surface of the water, breathing out deeply and spraying water across the surface. R’nya ignored him regally.

“Children are wonderful little minions.” The bronzerider spoke mildly, reaching out to tug the back of Ameris’ top lightly in an invitation to lay with him. “They come up with the most interesting games.” He peered at her sideways. “Have you ever looked for shapes in the clouds?” Folding his hands over his stomach once more, R’nya’s attention shifted back to the sky, blue eyes searching lazily. He enjoyed the simple game, usually played with Rhaedalyn who was more relaxed about relaxing and less inclined to get fidgety from lack of running around. “That one is a jug of water, spilling.” He pointed lazily in the direction of a cloud, shaped vaguely like a tipping jug.

She shrugged with a grin on her face, "I'm not sure she even knows. I pretty positive Rislan hasn't even met Kahleena. He just decided one day she was going to be his wife and there was no deterring him." Her son was a hellion and so independent that she often shook her head at his antics. If he wasn't bossing around riders, he was running amuck in the creche. Not that the creche workers put a stop to it nor did most of the riders. The boy was spoiled in every sense of the word.

Minions. The word brought another laugh from her. Children were certainly minions. "Indeed," she replied between chuckles, as he tugged at the back of her shirt. She couldn't bring herself to lay flat out beside him, so instead she leaned back until her upper body was supported with her elbows.

A game? He wished to play a game? The more she spoke with him the more he surprised her. He was to much of a proper sir for Ameris to ever imagine R'nya to be content to finding shapes within the clouds. But here he was, wishing to do just that. "I did when I was a child. Before things.. Well you know.." she trailed off.

She tilted her head back, hair trailing in the sand as she scanned the clouds for a simple image. It had been years since she had played such a simple game. Things had gotten to heated when she was a child with the plague, the loss of her mother and by extension her father. Now she just didn't have the time for such things. "There!" she said pointing at the rough shape of a runner, "A runner." She looked sideways at him in consideration. "Do you often plays games like this?"

“I?” R’nya asked lightly, turning his attention from the cloud shaped runner the young woman had pointed out, to look at her curiously. His expression bland, R’nya nodded slightly. “More than I should,” he answered lightly, eyes studying her face in amusement. He was surprised the girl was not aware of his quirky love of children’s games. Then again, her father had probably barred her from watching his wing practices, for fear the girl would see him playing ‘dragon-dragon-wher’*.

“Children’s games are fantastic for strengthening bonds,” he explained quietly, watching her face. “Thinking outside the box, and bringing arrogance down a notch or six.” He paused, and turned his gaze and attention from the young woman and back up towards the sky once more, blue eyes searching for shapes among the fluffy white blobs. “My wingriders all pretended to hate it, of course, but most of them enjoyed themselves.” He knew, from the little comments that floated around, the secretive flash of grins, and Xyreith listening to big-mouthed dragons gossip and rat their riders out. He had even caught a small smile on S’kef’s lips at one point, which R’nya considered a quiet win.

The most important thing, however, was the simplest. “And I enjoy them.” Children’s games were a great way to unwind and to relax; to take time off and forget about anything and everything. They did not require any particular effort, and were rewarding in the simplest of ways. R’nya loved them, and found no shame in that fact. “Egg,” he added, pointing to a particularly well shaped cloud.

[sup]*duck duck goose xD[/sup]

Her brow arched in surprise when he told her about using the games during wing practice. She never knew that the wings did things like that. She always figured it was flight drills and firestone chewing and the like. It wasn't so much her father barring her from watching because he did. She just always felt out of place with the girls who swooned and adored watching wing practices. Maybe if she had tried to make friends with the other girls maybe she would've heard more about R'nya's fascination with children's games but it was just so difficult for her. Too many years of being alone but for A'mad and too many years of pity cast her way.

"I suppose it would make sense," she commented. It did in a way make sense to her, especially the arrogance part. She'd learned first hand how arrogant a dragonrider could be. The rider's around Katila just never seemed to be able to get past that part of themselves. Not that the rest of them were much better. Her eyes drifted to the cloud he'd called an egg. It had taken a different shape for Ameris.

"Hatchling," she said with a grin, "Not an egg. A hatchling." She glanced back towards the water where Xyreith still drifted below the surface. One day if all went the way it was planned she'd be able to call a hatchling her own. Be able to banter back and forth with the beast and watch her dragon loll about in the water. "What's it like?" she asked, "Being bonded?"

“So it is.” There was a breath of amusement in the bronzerider’s words as he shifted his gaze to take in the hatchling, blue eyes amused. The upcoming Hatching would certainly be interesting, with the two gold eggs on the sands, and R’nya was excited to see which of the girls would Impress to the little creatures. The bronzerider was not one to bet, and he certainly was not going to ‘pick favourites’ but attempting to guess on who would Impress and who would not. He would just wait, and watch; two things he was particularly good at.

Grey-blue eyes shifted, turning to look towards Xyreith with mild surprise but in the same breath, no surprise at all, when Ameris asked her question. How to explain a bond to someone? Never having been in possession of a firelizard, R’nya was not sure how much similarity it held to being bonded to a dragon. He hummed softly, a thoughtful sound as his gaze shifted back to the sky. The clouds above were remarkably more interesting than watching his dragon wallow.

“I can hardly recall what it was like, before I Impressed,” R’nya answered slowly, his voice thoughtful and expression slightly contorted as a ghost of a frown etched over his features. “It is very… natural.” He ended lamely, after a rather long silence, and he threw the girl an apologetic look. He had no idea how to explain what it was like being bonded, and it had been so long since he had been without Xyreith… how was he supposed to remember that time? He did not say any such things, of course, simply mulled over his thoughts some more.

Mud chittered softly as he moved to climb into Ameris's lap. She smiled softly at the injured firelizard as she moved a hand to scratch him beneath his chin. Like a small canine, the little brown gave three circles before laying himself down. Ameris chuckled quietly at the silly antics of her firelizard and the amusement she heard in R'nya's voice yet again. Three times now in little more than an hour she had heard that simple thing, something she didn't think he was capable of and it amused her to no end.

She watched him as he dug for the words to explain what it was like to be bonded. She'd asked her father before and he'd always said it was like finding something that was missing and you didn't even know it had been. You didn't realize you had another being living inside your mind, you just did. Remembering those times brought out a man Ameris missed with most of her being. The man A'mad used to be before everything had changed.

"I don't understand," she said quietly, "it's not as if that point in time ceased to exist when you impressed Xyreith. So how could you not recall it?" She didn't understand. Impressing would change things in her or anyone's life but there had been a life before that time, one not easily forgotten. She did suppose that if the person's life had been meaningless, impression would do the opposite, bringing meaning to it and they would want to forget and blank that life out. But Ameris couldn't imagine she would want to.

R'nya frowned, gaze flickering to glance at Ameris before returning to the sky. "I was a child." He stated it quietly, but firmly. "It matters not." And really, it didn't. Not to R'nya, and not to Xyreith and it had been followed by so much death it was better not to wallow in what might have been or could have or even should have been. What he felt before impression was not worth worrying about. He had Xyreith, they were alive and well, and that was all that mattered.

He changed the subject, slightly alarmed by how her innocent question had affected him.

"Did you take Mud to a healer?" The little thing certainly looked as if he'd been taken care of, and while R'nya knew there wasn't much a healer could do for a dragon (or their tiny cousin), it was better than losing the little tyke because of some internal damage she wasn't aware of. R'nya frowned when that, too, brought up spikes of the past, and the bronzerider say up fluidly, running his temples with one hand. Damn it.

Xyreith's head angled towards the pair, usual grumpy gaze fixing on the two humans silently as he weighed up the situation before climbing out of the water and walking towards them, dripping water in waterfalls. He stopped a few feet from them - far enough that Ameris wouldn't be girlishly afraid he'd step on her (girls were useless creatures; why R'nya bothered with them Xyreith couldn't figure out) - and the bronze stared down at them as R'nya stared back up, the bronzerider lifting one hand and mouth opening to say something.

He was too late, and Xyreith planted his feet firmly, half extended his wings, and shook a rainfalls worth of water over them both.

*phone.

She had upset him. She hadn't meant to with her silly question but she had nonetheless. She said nothing as he uttered a few words to answer her question and when he was finished, she reached out and with a gentle hand touched his arm before retreating with a simple apology. She didn't say the words for fear he'd just shrug them off, certain the tough pride every bronze rider seem to have would be unwilling to accept them.

She stroked a finger down Mud's neck as R'nya deftly changed the subject. "Yes. He has a small tear in his wing membrane. It could've been worse but I took the brunt of it," she smiled at the little brown as he crooned to them, "He's fiercely protective, the little moron." The words were said with affection, though true, as she scratched him beneath his chin once more. And she frowned as the man beside her sat suddenly, a hand wiping along his temple. He was upset again. It seemed to be a regular theme with her lately, upsetting everyone.

Before she could dwell on the thought, Xyreith lumbered from the water. The great bronze stopping short of them and Ameris's lips parted in a quiet gasp of wonder. He was much, much bigger than Midranth and Ironth. The browns were the only dragons she'd actually been up close and personal with and compared to Xyreith they both looked like firelizards.

Her appreciation of the dragon ended rather abruptly when the great bronze flared his wings slightly and began to shake the river's water off his body. It would've been comical had she been standing on the sidelines, the rider silently imploring his dragon not to do it and the dragon ignoring him and shaking like a canine as he soaked his rider and the man's companion. As it were it happened so quickly she only had time to open her mouth on a gasp as the cold water hit her skin. The gasp was replaced by giggles that quickly devolved into laughter as Mud squawked and bounced about with more indignation than she felt. "Does he always ignore what you want?" she said between bouts of laughter.

The bronzerider grimaced slightly, running a hand over his wet face to slick the water away before glancing at Ameris. The poor girl was soaked. R’nya shook his head. “It depends,” he said mildly, shrugging and raking his fingers back through his hair, shaking out droplets of water from the short length and then flicking his fingers towards Xyreith so little splatters hit the dragon’s nose. “On my mood.” He finished. Bright blue eyes shifted to watch the girl instead of the dragon, and he reached out gently to scoop up Mud.

“Did you get wet, little Mud?” He raised his eyebrows at the indignant firelizard, petting him gently on the head. Most of his time was spent babysitting Rhaedalyn’s trio, and while R’nya had no issues at all with the assorted firelizards within the Weyr, he wasn’t overly sure he wanted one himself. Ever. Xyreith’s opinion on the matter was much the same, with the bronze regularly threatening to eat the little mites when they irked him more than usual. He had yet to do so, so R’nya wasn’t overly worried about such an event occurring. The amusement that thought brought out of his dragon caused the upraised eyebrow expression to be turned upon the dragon. That’s what you think… Sir. The dragon’s tone was smug and R’nya rolled his eyes.

The bronzerider’s attention returned to Ameris, and both eyebrows quirked just a little. “I give as good as I get.” While the words were spoken with very little emotion tied in, there was very subtle air of mischief about the comment, like a light breeze that cannot be felt, but is seen in the tiniest shimmer of leaves. Xyreith snorted in response to that, and gave his left wing a last flick before walking away with airs of dignity to sprawl in the sunshine and let himself both dry and warm up; he was not in need of a bath, and R’nya was in no mood to spoil him after being doused in water.

“You should not have to take the brunt of it, you know.” He spoke gently, turning his head to watch her face, searching to catch her eye. He could not help her, if she did not let him, and he firmly believed that her attempts to pretend like it had never happened, or was not an issue, were far from good for her. In their own way, likely they were worse for the girl than the bruises that caused the attitude. He waited quietly for a response, not looking away from her face.

Her eyes twinkled with merriment as she watched the man beside her grimace with distaste. It was a fine trick Xyreith had played and she wasn't bothered in the least by it. It was rather warm out and the impromptu shower had cooled her some what, though her clothing was drying rapidly in the heat. Her head cocked at his words. "And what kind of moods, exactly, does a man like you have?" she asked curious. She didn't know much about R'nya other than that he was the champion of the gold candidates, a bronzerider and as closed mouth about himself as a clam. She'd always been incredibly curious about R'nya the man, maybe she could wheedle a story from him.

She was a touch surprised when he reached out and scooped Mud into his arms, the action rather unexpected and she wondered for a moment if the firelizard would squawk and create a ruckus. But the little firelizard did nothing to dissuade R'nya from picking him up. In fact the brown cooed and crooned as he cuddled into the warm lap of the man. He wasn't above cuddling with another and the brown nearly purred with the pets he was receiving. Ameris shook her head at the antics of the firelizard. Definitely a cuddle whore, that one.

"Do you now?" she said in response with a light chuckle at his twitching eye brows. Who would have thought it possible? Amusement and mischief all in one day! Her eyes canted sideways at the snort from Xyreith. Clearly the dragon did not agree with his rider in that statement and it was amusing. She grinned and shook her head as the dragon sent more droplets flying with one last flick of his wing before flopping in the sunshine.

Her face quickly sobered at the quietly spoken words. If she didn't, who would? Would her father risk taking his anger and frustrations out on another? She couldn't risk it. She couldn't risk that her father would do something unforgivable. She could forgive him his angry outbursts, the bruises and the irrationality of it all, but she could never forgive him if he took it all out on someone unable to take the brunt of it. No. She would continue to deal with it, hide it away and pretend it didn't happen.

Her hand reached up of its own accord to gently trace the tender skin of her bruised jaw. She was lucky nothing had broken the day of the touching. The need to go to the healer would've made everything worse. Different. It would've made it something that she would be unable to hide, with too many delicate and touching questions from the various healers about. "Its nothing, R'nya. I can handle it," she said though she didn't truly believe a word she uttered, "Truly. It's no big deal."

R’nya watched the way Ameris’ sobered and seemed to withdraw in on herself, the bronzerider’s lips pursing unhappily, particularly displeased with the answer he received from the girl. Though he was a far cry from angry at the girl, there was a certain rider he would be very inclined to deck, as soon as he was sure Ameris wouldn’t be at the receiving end of the man’s retaliation. R’nya focused on the gentle pets and soothing cuddles he was lathering on Mud as he considered the girl’s words and how to deal with them. She was not making it easy!

“Do not lie to me.” There was no real emotion in the words, but it was clearly an order. She needed to stop lying to herself, but she would not be able to do that until she stopped lying to everyone else. He knew that would not be an easy habit to break. She would start by not lying to him, and he would call her on it every time she did so. He was smart, and determined, and R’nya turned his gaze upon Ameris with slightly raised eyebrows, as if daring her to contest his statement.

He studied her face, eyes lingering on the slowly fading bruise before seeking out her own gaze. “I have many moods, Ameris, but none that would ever hurt you.” Certainly not physically, and those that took such measures were not men R’nya thought high of, though it was certainly typical of brownriders. Stuck in the rut between bronze and blue, many seemed to find their strength though beating down the smaller colours, and manhandling women. R’nya typically did not care what went on, until one of his were involved – girls, friends, family.

Reaching out gently, R’nya tilted Ameris’ chin, frowning at the bruise. “I give as good as I get.” He repeated, brushing his thumb lightly over the tender flesh before withdrawing his hand gently. Blue eyes flashed; he gave even better when his own were the ones doing the getting, and his pursed lips said as much as R’nya took to petting Mud once more, touch light and gentle on the little firelizard.

Her blithe words and nonchalant attitude shattered as she blinked at his words, face flushing under her embarrassment. One of these days she'd learn to lie properly but obviously today was not that day. "But.. R'nya I'm not lying!" she stuttered as she fought to keep her voice even. She wanted nothing more than to flap around like a confused wherry and insist that her words were not a lie, that they were never a lie because she didn't lie right? She remained as she was sitting with her arms wrapped around her damp legs. Along with striving to keep her voice even Ameris, with determination, strove to keep from sticking her tongue out at the raised brows.

Deep brown eyes met clear blue as his gaze travelled up her face. Deep down she knew he would never hurt her. Knew he would never hurt any of the women and girls under his care but it didn't stop the fear that had begun to creep in beneath her childish mood. But what if she was wrong? What if the things she had heard and learned of his character were nothing more than a charade? Would he turn on her suddenly and swiftly in much the same manner as her father? All the questions. So many questions and fears with nothing to answer them.

She couldn't stop the new flinch that twitched through her body as he reached a hand out to cradle her chin. His face looked so fierce and so angry when he uttered the same words as before. A pinch of tender flesh as he gently rubbed a thumb across her jaw and his hand withdrew and her body relaxed.

She watched him pet Mud, scratching the firelizard here and there as she pondered what next to say. Certainly not another lie. He'd just see right through a new one just as quickly as the last. "If it happens again I'll come straight to you, R'nya. But please. Please don't go to him it will only make it worse," she begged. Shame wrapped around her as she begged. She never begged for anything and to do so now ate at her.

The bronzerider chose to make no scene nor comment on the girls twitching and flinching as he handled her face gently. Getting upset with the girl would do no one any good, and R'nya was well aware that it was neither her fault, nor him specifically that was the cause of such reactions. She couldn't help it, and getting upset with her for it would only encourage the reaction to become a part of their interactions. That would not do at all! R'nya's expression was gentle as he turned to look back up at the sky. "Good." There wasn't really anything more to say on that particular portion of the topic. The fact that it shouldn't happen in the first place, let alone happen again, was left alone for the time being. R'nya would get to that, later, and the other person in the conversation wouldn't be the young woman sitting beside him.

"My dear," R'nya turned to look at Ameris, one eyebrow arching slightly as he studied the girls face with just a hint of dark amusement. "I would never endanger you." When he sought out the brown rider, R'nya would make sure the bastard never hit anyone ever again, whether he did so by breaking the man's bones, or getting Xyreith to simply drop the man between. It wasn't all that complicated to the bronzerider, and his simple black and white emphasis was likely why he was less reluctant to work with S'kef, and the Weyrleader's often blunt methods of dealing with things - even if the Weyr at large were not yet aware of how many steps S'kef had gone to to secure his position.

Considering that part of the conversation well and done, and content for the moment that Ameris would come to him if such an event repeated itself, R'nya placed Mud on his shoulder (not really expecting the little critter to stay there) before he pulled his knees in, and stood up. Blue eyes glittering, R'nya offered Ameris his hand. "Come! Xyreith is in need of a exercise!" Winking at the girl, R'nya watched as Xyreith picked himself up lazily and slipped back into the water, submerging all but one glaring eye.

I am not a pony to take for rides!

"Nonsense," R'nya snorted, well aware that Ameris would not have heard a word of what his dragon had said. "Now come here. The girl needs some entertainment." I am not for entertainment purposes. "I am quite sure you are. You were born entertaining, you will die entertaining. Today you will entertain Ameris. Come here."

Xyreith made a great show of huffing and puffing as he sulked and climbed out of the water, eyes swirling an odd combination of entertained and annoyed as he stopped before the two humans. R'nya's eyebrows arched up, in time to have Xyreith open his jaw directly over R'nya's head, emptying rather a lot of water there. The bronzeriders expression didn't so much as twitch as he stared up at his dragon. Is she entertained, Sir? the dragon's words oozed innocence.

"Oh, I am quite sure she is." R'nya's oozed future revenge.

---

Xyreith doesn't talk to anyone but R'nya, but Ren tried to make sure Ameris wasn't totally in the dark xD
Lol, oops. I still had Ren taking his shoes off. I was originally going to have him demand her help bathe Xyreith, but he didn't brink dragon bath-time stuff xD

Gentleness softened a person, made them more human was the thought that flowed as she watched his face take a gentle expression. She hated how dehumanizing life could be. Hated how exile and expectation could take a normally loving person and turned them into something only fit to live in the wild without the company of proper people. She never viewed gentleness as something less, never thought less of someone capable of it and she was glad R'nya was still able to express the simple emotion, even if he didn't realize it. She said nothing at the softly spoken words, heart still unwilling to believe what her brain told her.

Her face was ripe with curiosity as R'nya placed a chittering Mud on his shoulder and stood. The little brown didn't stay for long, twittering his annoyance at his displacement from the rather comfortable lap of the bronzerider as. And with a final huff to get his annoyance across, the firelizard hopped and glided from R'nya's shoulder to land unceremoniously on the sand beside Ameris. His indignation was even greater when the dark haired girl took the hand offered and hauled herself to her feet. "Exercise?" she echoed quietly as R'nya winked at her.

She turned to glance at Xyreith, who made a comical appearance with one eye visible above the gentle waves he'd created. Did she even want to take a ride on the bronze? He was awfully big and it was rather high at his top. A grin began to split her face at the one sided conversation that began. Entertainment! They'd already entertained her with their easy relationship and fine tricks so more wasn't necessary. "Its quite alright R'nya," she began only to be interrupted as once again she was awed at the sight of the great bronze so very close. He was indeed a beautiful creature and she would have to make a note to visit with him and R'nya more often.

She hadn't expected Xyreith to kneel or offer a leg up, not really anyway (hoped maybe) but what the dragon did next as he stopped in front of his rider, amused annoyance plainly seen in his eye, was something she would remember for the rest of her life. She doubled over with laughter as, rather smugly, the bronze opened his mouth and several gallons of water spilled out to soak R'nya. Oh she was definitely entertained now! Her laughter echoed across the water as she tried valiantly to rein it in but nothing she could do could make the sight of the soaking wet R'nya and smug Xyreith any less hilarious. "She is indeed," she said between chuckles, "very entertained."

---

So sorry if that sucked mighty balls!

@Honey Love Jenn

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SP Team