[G] [P] [EVENT] 734.08.09 | Hope Amongst Despair

Rhaedalyn frowned at her plate of fruit that counted as her evening meal. It wasn’t that the food was rather tight at the moment with the destruction and therefore rebuilding of the Weyr, but something felt wrong. Dissi? Rhaedalyn reached out to her bonded and continued to frown when no answer came right away like it always did. Finally, as if to give reason for the lack of talking, a wave of pain washed over Rhaedalyn and she leaned forward, clutching her stomach. What was that all about? Had the fruit gone bad?

It’s finally time. Despite the voice existing only in her head, Rhaedalyn could have sworn that statement had been said through clenched teeth borne from pain and perhaps frustration. It only took a few seconds longer for the young goldrider to realize what the time finally was and she let out a squeal and clapped her hands in delight as she jumped to her feet. The fruit was forgotten since there were far more pressing matters to attend to than her rumbly tummy.

The temporary dining area had been set up not too far away from the new Hatching Sands in the location that was slowly becoming the new Katila. She had lost her hut in the landslide like so many others and the original Sands, so once the new Sands had been secured, Rhaedalyn had set up a little shelter near Aradissicath to keep close to her precious girl. “Of course you choose the one time I’m away for a few minutes!” Rhaedalyn lightly chided the dragon as she came to a halt beside the beautiful gold.

I choose not when they come, girl, or they would have been here much sooner than this. It went unsaid how it had been a good thing they hadn’t. Aradissicath had been able to avoid damage and therefore save the eggs from the initial wave that rushed through and only suffered a few scratches from trying to save her silly rider from the mud. If they had already been hatched, it could have been devastating, like the previous clutch had been hit. Rhaedalyn still teared up thinking about all the deaths of the dragnets and young riders but so much death had hit all ages within the Weyr. In fact, she was still coming to terms with losing two of her best friends in Mevrit and V’zire.

Save that for later. I don’t need such thoughts right now. I need these eggs out of me! Aradissicath started to pace, again working to relieve some pain. It had become something she enjoyed doing in the last few weeks of her pregnancy and Rhaedalyn always sat or stood off to the side out of the way. She made sure to stand a bit further to the side than usual in that moment.

When the first egg was laid, Rhaedalyn cheered and clapped excitedly once again and cooed encouragement at her still far too grumpy dragon. That enthusiasm stayed for six more eggs before the pain of laying each one started to bleed through their bond and Aradissicath stopped censoring her moans of labour. With her head beginning to pound, Rhaedalyn continued to urge her dragon on, promising relief soon and whispering how wonderful she was. It seemed to go on forever, the first dozen eggs coming rather quickly to her untrained eye but the pace slowed dramatically after that.

At some point during the clutching, Rhaedalyn found herself sitting in the sand with a blanket draped over her shoulders and another plate of food pushed into her hands along with a glass of water. She barely noticed who it was that had supplied the items and it was only out of courtesy and appreciation for the act of kindness that Rhaedalyn managed to eat a little and drink down the water. She was far too focused on keeping Aradissicath calm and focused while battling the pain as best as she could for them both. She was also vaguely aware that in between her words of encouragement, came some of her favourite stories. They both loved listening to and telling them and it came naturally to tell one then as a way to keep the dragon soothed. Rhaedalyn couldn’t imagine the true pain of it all!

It was well into the night when Aradissicath seemed too tired to continue. “Just a bit more, Dissi. You’ve done so well and it looks like it’s only a bit more.” Rhaedalyn was curled up beside the exhausted dragon and rubbed Aradissicath’s head knobs. They had both lost count earlier during the clutching; all Rhaedalyn knew was that it was well over twenty eggs and going by the bumps against the smooth golden hide, there were still more to come out. I’m too tired, Rhaedalyn. Let me rest a bit. Aradissicath shifted so her head could rest properly in the girl’s lap and Rhaedalyn continued coddling the gold that was still a weyrling in the eyes of most. Such a large and beautiful creature and producing an already marvelous sized clutch; yet she was just over a turn old. It boggled Rhaedalyn’s mind still to that day as much as it had at Impression that such a creature had chosen her.

“Rest, but only for a little. You need to tend to your babies still.” Rhaedalyn placed a kiss on the top of Aradissicath’s head and together they sat in content silence. That was something that had become so rare lately and both missed it. But even with how much the goldrider missed it, she still urged Aradissicath into pushing once more a few minutes later. She had been taught a bit about clutching but it was hard to remember anything thanks to emotions running wild from the landslide and then being tossed into an actual clutching.

Finally, after hours and hours of working together, Aradissicath announced that was every last egg. An attempt to sit proudly and admire the clutch she had started to organize while waiting for the stragglers didn’t go over well and she ended up stumbling from exhaustion and laid back down. It still hurt to lie like she once had before pregnancy and she ended up flopping on her side and giving a soft creel. “Oh, my sweet baby! You were amazing!” Rhaedalyn was right there within seconds and arms flung around the dragon’s neck in a tight hug. She was so proud! It had been a long experience but it was so worth it.

“This is clearly the best and biggest clutch ever!” Rhaedalyn honestly had no clue if her declaration was correct but it seemed like it was the largest one she had seen at Katila anyway and in her mind, this one was definitely the best of them all. “I wonder what the final total is.”

Sir? There was an edge to his dragon’s voice that wasn’t the norm, and R’nya paused what he was doing, reaching for the dragon. The bronze was coiled with energy, ready to spring away at a moment’s notice. R’nya’s features contorted just slightly into a frown, wondering what had his dragon so worked up, before he realised with a sudden jolt; it was the same coiling expectation and excitement that had coursed through the dragon all those turns ago, when their beautiful Cerith had clutched. R’nya’s breath caught in his throat and he very carefully put down the equipment he had been carrying out to help with the building of the new Weyrfolk housing. He turned around, nodding slightly to another ‘rider, and found Xyreith winging in to land, the bronze’s eyes a flurry of excitement and the creature as visibly knotted up with excitement as R’nya had sensed along their link. He swung up, and Xyreith leapt into the air, winging swiftly to the edge of the newly created Hatching Sands.

Neither R’nya nor Xyreith were overly keen to actually enter the sands, however, and both crept almost comically up to the doorway, the bronze snaking his head in over the top of R’nya’s as they both peered in. Aradissicath was generally a good natured dragon, but Xyreith had been snapped at enough in recent times, and R’nya wasn’t overly keen on pressing golden buttons himself. They watched in silence from the safety of the outskirts… At least until a weyrbrat approached R’nya with a blanket and food for Rhaedalyn and skittered out before he could be bullied into delivering the goods to the woman. R’nya grumbled (mentally, and never visibly!) to Xyreith as he unhappily left the safety of the doorway and made his way to the girl. He did not speak, but that was hardly uncommon, as he draped the blanket around her shoulders and quietly handed her the meal. He did not think she even knew it was he.

It was only when Aradissicath flopped over in exhaustion that Xyreith considered it safe to enter, and he strode across the sands like a smug bastard, eyes swirling happily as he approached the two girls and R’nya, chirping an almost childish greeting that belied the large dragon’s delight. The girl had done well! Xyreith stopped close enough to drop his nose to Araddisicath’s, giving her a nudge before snorting on her. He followed it up with a lick, just because he could before sitting down primly and turning his head to eye Aradissicath curiously. Hungry? He knew she hadn’t eaten properly since whenever it was he’d last brought her something, and she didn’t look hungry (she looked like she was about to fade away!) but Cerith had always been keen for food after clutching. Maybe? R’nya’s memories were a bit fuzzy in that regard.

The bronzerider was walking through the clutch, careful  not to touch any but eyeing them all carefully. At the sound of Rhaedalyn’s praise, followed by her question, the bronzerider turned to stare at her, his pale eyes wide in his face. “Forty-two!” Had his voice not been husky with surprise, and the strong desire not to work Aradissicath up, the words quite clearly would have come out a squeal of delight. The man stepped lightly back through the eggs, and extended a hand to Rhaedalyn, pulling her carefully to her feet. “And look!” Tugging on her hand, almost childishly, R’nya just about dragged Rhaedalyn across the sands to one spot in particular, pausing dramatically before stepping aside to show her what he’d found: “A gold!”

Grinning, the expression more than slightly bizarre on the usually stoic bronzerider, R’nya pulled the young goldrider to him, lifting her and spinning her in a circle. The simple motion expressing how incredibly thrilled the man was. Barely containing the urge to do something outrageous – like cartwheels – R’nya placed Rhaedalyn gently back on her feet and kissed her lightly on the cheek. “Wonderful, amazing, beautiful girls!” Flashing a bright grin again, R’nya took Rhaedalyn’s hand and lead her lightly back towards the two dragons, glancing over his shoulder once more towards the gold egg. A gold! Xyreith had never sired a gold, before!

A little but mostly tired. Aradissicath paid the snorting and licking no mind, far too wiped out from the day to give Xyreith any sort of reaction to his teasing gestures. She was used to them now and depending on her mood she would retaliate with a gesture of her own or brush him off entirely. The bronze was always amused either way so it never mattered what she ended up doing. While she was about to leave it as it was, Aradissicath found enough strength to lift her head and stretch over to a foot that she licked long and slowly before getting comfortable again.

It was hard to overlook a large bronze dragon nuzzling your golden one but Rhaedalyn hadn’t noticed R’nya, though she really should have expected the pair would have been together. She squeaked in surprise as an answer came from the eggs to her question about how many eggs there were and she turned to find R’nya standing amongst them. The man was sneaky! How did he get in without her noticing? When had he? She was as tired as her brave dragon after the long ordeal of laying what was apparently forty-two eggs so it wasn’t too surprising that she was a bit oblivious to her surroundings, but surprised she was all the same.

She was still wondering about his appearance and the total number of eggs when she was suddenly on her feet and being guided along to see something. “Gold?” She heard him but it still felt like R’nya was speaking gibberish even as Rhaedalyn took in the egg with a soft glow to it. Aradissicath had clutched a gold? That was wonderful! Everyone would be so pleased to see it and after everything the Weyr had been through, they needed that bit of good news. The size of the clutch would help cheer up everyone, especially the Candidates, as well.

She smiled at the kiss to her cheek and R’nya’s excitement. He was far more enthusiastic than she currently was but it was hard to cheer when all of her energy had been spent with Aradissicath that day. It was why she could barely keep up to the bronzerider as he tugged her back over to their dragons. Rhaedalyn was exhausted and moving around was the last thing she wanted to do but she wasn’t about to put a damper on R’nya’s excitement or ruin the mood such a clutch would bring. She was happy herself but it all seemed so unreal to her that a slight disconnect to all that was happening around her was currently gripping her.

“Dissi, your first clutch is massive and it has a gold!” Rhaedalyn smiled for Aradissicath and tried to look like she wasn’t about to keel over herself. She had to be strong for her dragon that had proven her strength that day. She had to show she was strong to the men as well. It wouldn’t do if she was the weakest link in their little connection. What if her bond to Aradissicath made for weaker eggs? What if her slipping focus made her trip and fall on an egg? R’nya was excited and Xyreith was extra smug. She didn’t want anything to go badly so she steeled herself and tried to stay alert, focused, and show the world how excited she was that everything had thus far gone smoothly with impressive results.

Xyreith watched Aradissicath flatly as the gold found the strength to lick his toes, eyes showing his droll amusement at her antics as she settled herself back down. Puffing a dramatic sigh, Xyreith stood up once more and gave Aradissicath a nip, before trotting out of the Hatching Grounds, wings spreading when he reached the outside, and the large bronze easily relocated into the sky, gracefully turning towards where he knew some of the feral livestock were herding. The large dragon hadn’t shown it, but he was struggling to comprehend the enormous clutch, and the presence of a golden egg. R’nya’s flurry of memories told him that he and Cerith had never produced gold, or a clutch anywhere near as large as the present one. Did that mean Aradissicath were a better dragon than Cerith had been, or was it because he was older and more mature that he was able to sire a better clutch? Xyreith’s mind whirled.

R’nya’s excitement over the discovery of the gold egg, and the sheer size of the clutch, had allowed him to ignore Rhaedalyn’s clear exhaustion in favour of excitedly showing the girl what he had found. The fact that Xyreith had sired a gold egg was something R’nya had never expected, nor truly hoped for. The bronze had not managed it before, why would he start now? R’nya was bubbling with delight, though he was still in control of himself not to quite show it, though as he released Rhaedalyn’s hand and watched Xyreith trot across the Sands, the man did realise just how forward he had been just a few moments ago, and he mentally scrabbled to regain control of himself as Rhaedalyn gushed over Aradissicath.

Taking a deep breath, and expelling it both quietly and slowly, R’nya stepped up beside Rhaedalyn, and while the bronzerider did open  his mouth to say something, whatever words had previously been on his lips fell away to nothingness as he narrowed his eyes thoughtfully at Rhaedalyn and considered her. “Are you okay?” Careful  not to get into her space, R’nya hooked a curled pointer finger under Rhaedalyn’s chin and lifted her face so he could study her better, eyes carefully calculating. He had brought her a tray of food earlier, but had she eaten any of it, or just picked at it and pushed it around while Aradissicath laid her clutch? Pale eyes shifted from Rhaedalyn’s face to search out the tray, before glancing back at the girl.

Lowering his hand, and releasing Rhaedalyn’s chin, R’nya crossed his arms over his chest and rocked back on his heels as he watched her, stance unconsciously defensive and withdrawn. He had already manhandled the poor girl more in the time since the month began than he had in previous turns; there was no need to continue adding to the list! Maybe he should make sure Rhaedalyn was fed, and then see her to her tent? Or perhaps one of the hot spring pools; ever since they’d been found, they had been quite the rage… You’re still hooked on baths and beds, aren’t you, Sir? The dragon’s tone was highly amused, and entirely private.

R’nya’s posture stiffened and a flush crept up his neck and into his cheeks as he pursed his lips. Just food then, was the snide reply he threw back at his dragon, the irritation flickering through his gaze before he took another deep breath and puffed it out slowly and carefully, forcing himself to relax and meet Rhaedalyn’s gaze with a more commonly accepted expression, features gentle and warm with protective friendship. “Xyreith has gone hunting for Aradissicath, but perhaps you should eat too, my dear.”

After having lost V’zire and Mevrit in the landslide, Rhaedalyn had continuously wanted to stay close to the remaining friends she had. Kahleena was amazing and didn’t mind the constant hugs or the random outbursts of tears when emotions and memories became too strong and she couldn’t contain them anymore but Rhaedalyn could tell that R’nya and even her dear Z’ia weren’t prepared for such things and she held herself back. Her old ways of building walls around herself to keep people from getting to know her too well were returning. If she didn’t let people get close again, it wouldn’t hurt so terribly when they were taken away from her. With R’nya, though, something was different. It seemed like he continued to hold himself back and Rhaedalyn worried the bumps to his head in the landslide had knocked something loose or R’nya was making sure he didn’t further hurt himself by an over exuberant girl.

It was hard to figure the bronzerider out on a normal day but it had become even harder, especially in the minutes that had him dragging her around the clutch. He seemed so excited! Then suddenly, he was stoic again and fussing over her. Had she done something wrong? It was possible, and very likely. Rhaedalyn wondered if Xyreith read her mind. He doesn’t touch upon your mind, dear. I’d call it a respect for privacy but I’m sure he has other reasons. Well, that was one theory out the window – assuming she still had those. Her tent was severely lacking in such things. Then again, it was R’nya and he knew everything. An apology was on her lips for being tired or not fully celebrating such a glorious clutch but R’nya caught her chin and examined her.

“I—yes. Should I not be okay?” Rhaedalyn tensed under the scrutiny and wondered what was seen. Did she look unwell? Was she dirty or sporting a bruise still from her ride in the muck? Maybe he meant coping with having nearly all of her long and oft talked about hair chopped off because of the knotted muddy mess it had become that night? Maybe he meant the loss of her friends and if she had finally coped and moved on? When eating was mentioned, Rhaedalyn almost laughed over such a simple concern; though it was justified given how little she did eat of late.

A shy smile and a nod were given, “I will, I’m sorry.” She hated making people worry! R’nya had enough on his plate without having to make sure a silly goldrider was eating properly or not. The plate of food that had mysteriously appeared at some point was glanced at and Rhaedalyn frowned as she noticed how little she actually had eaten at the time. She rushed over to it and dropped to her knees in the most unlady-like of ways and grabbed at a chunk of cheese to start nibbling on it.

After two bites, Rhaedalyn tried to cheer up again and smiled at the clutch before turning her gaze to R’nya. “Will they celebrate her clutch, Ren?” Aradissicath had worked so hard and everyone needed a reason to smile again. She hoped it would help but couldn’t bring herself to say her hopes and fear aloud in case R’nya laughed at her foolishness and shot it down. The question that did come out sounded innocent enough, as if she were only curious about another party happening like after their maiden flight.