Life Altered
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Xanadu Weyr - Forest
The trees grow thickly here, avians nesting in their branches and flitting about after insects. Flowers sprout up and speckle the ground between, the green of small plants and their blooms of bright saffron and cheeky rose that creep all the way up to the bases of the trees and adorn the fallen leaves and mulch of the forest floor. Those trees rise upward in their aged magnificence, gargantuan limbs casting often welcome shade, the general atmosphere and scent of the path is one of freshness and wild abandon.
A path winds its leisurely way through the trees, wide enough for wagons to pass. As it goes through into the forest, a number of other trails branch away, both more and less traveled. Many of them lead to private weyrs, but there's a few more trodden paths - notable among them a road to the feeding grounds, set against the western slopes.
The forest grows wilder the further north one goes, deep growth and ancient places, and the road splits in two against it. One branch leads to a clearing with a large stone building finished with wooden cladding, while the other turns back toward the meadow. Just before it emerges, a trail veers off to the Firelizard Theatre.


There has been the usual partying going on around the weyr, given the special events of the day. N'on maaaay have shown up for a small corner of the revelry. The truth is, the festival atmosphere has never much suited him, so he didn't last long. Just enough to congratulate the parents of the clutch and steal a couple of bottles of wine. Anyone who spotted him probably presumed he was sneaking off to celebrate with his weyrmate in private. Alas, he has retreated from the weyr with his two bottles of wine into the abandoned quiet of the forest, where he and Zhe have staked out a spot in a nice clearing. The moonlight shimmers on the gold that dusts Zhe's head and neck, while N'on slowly consumes his wine in the comforting shelter of her forepaw, his head pillowed there to stare up at the stars.

The people who were there to support Evi was just a SMALL section of her family if N'on didn't know before he knows now. She is related to half of Pern's Dragonriders, and they all showed up to congratulate her when she got to the caverns. Still wearing her white robe, now stained red with fresh blood from something she had to butcher FRESH beside the sands to please her lifemate. This is the messiest N'on will have ever seen here, stained in blood, dirty from the sands, hair a mess, and oil stains everywhere. Finally emerging from the Caverns in a haze, she wanders back to where she now lives, eyes wide. What the hell has happened? In this way, she looks as lost as she did when they first met. A full circle, she does not even see Zhel or N'on, her mind so full of whatever has occurred; she is walking exceedingly slowly.

Zhelinath notices Evi first, her head giving a bit of a tilt as she makes a quiet cooing sound. N'on looks up simultaneous with the noise, blinking owlishly under the influence of most of a bottle of wine. When he realizes who the lone walker is, he grins broadly and climbs to his feet just a /bit/ clumsily. He at least waits until he's relatively steady on his feet before he starts wandering toward her, making a quiet whistle to get her attention. Is he bothered by the state of her? Apparently not! Then again, it's a /weyr/. She's probably not the first blood-soaked Candidate he's ever seen.

The croon catches her off balance, and she walks over towards Zhel and drops down to the ground. There's no doubt she is exhausted, it was late when Neifeth was hatched, and all of the goings-on took time. Time, where an Evi who did chores, sewed, and lost sleep had little left to give. Glazed over and tired, she reaches a hand out to Zhel and starts to cry, they're not sad tears, maybe exhausted tears. "Thank you. Both." Settling her whole tired weyrling body on the ground, she shakes her head, "Nobody tells you, you know? I mean. She's… there's like. " Nope, this tired gal does not have words. Blowing out, she lays in front of Zhel, her whole body totally over it. "It's all.. shiny, and purple, her she's /so big/ in.." Pointing to her head, closing her eyes.

Does that broad grin get even broadly? It hardly seems possible, but that's a thing that happens. N'on guides the newly-minted weyrling to a comfortable seat propped against Zhelinath, who seems not in the least averse to giving Evi a place to rest her weary self. N'on plops down right beside her, listening attentively to the muddled description. "No words," N'on signs, with an apology that is slightly less sincere with the grin that he can't quite wipe away.

There's a presence slowly seeping into all the minds, it's a sleepy one, but it slinks into all the minds in the clearing. Blossoms of the brightest pink and a field of purple grass, it smells like lavender. Shaking her head, Evi stands up before she stands. It fades with a snap. "She's.. loud, I think I might have to go back." Even if she's saying this, she settles and smiles back at N'on. "She um.. she made me kill… several birds Next to the sands." Grimacing and whimpering slightly, the whimper brings back that seep of purple haze into her mind and those around her. A deep breath is taken, and she closes her eyes. "This.. might be hard." Leaning her body into Zhelinath with a small sigh, "I did it, though."

Zhelinath's mind quests out, a subtle hint of candlesmoke curling and weaving through the pink and purple blossoms, bringing with her touches of sandalwood and shadow. « Welcome. » The word is more an emotion than a word, vanishing along with the wisp of smoke as the thought evaporates and Zhelinath withdraws. Meanwhile, N'on is still grinning, in spite of the bird-killing news. "Carnivores," he signs. Whether she has the presence of mind to understand is another thing. A bottle of wine does things to his judgement when it comes to these things. Whether she understood or not, he pulls her into a sudden brotherly hug.

Nei senses Zhel touching her mind and awakens further with bright purple clouds and branches crawling in of bright chartreuse, « Evi, Where are you. If you don't kill something for me they might POISON me. » The happy meadow is now full of thorns and instead of soft pillows it's hard and cold. FOr every bright color there's a sharp edge, a field of danger. Nei doesn't say anything back to Zhelinath and Evi grimaces, "Um, we might need.. to work on manners." Pulled into the hug she leans her head on him and starts to cry again, which only further ruffles her new mate «EVI WHAT IS HE DOING TO YOU.» Shaking her head she sighs, "I…Thank you." A deep sigh and she starts to wander off towards the barracks, at a slight jog. Baby dragons are hard. Carnivore might be too much of a sign for her right now.

The noise that N'on makes is…. Surreal. He's certainly never made it in /Evi's/ presence, and if truth be told, there are only a few rare individuals who have heard this wheezy, almost crackling not-quite-noise from the herder-turned-greenrider. Judging by the squinted-shut eyes and open-mouthed smile that accompany the noise, it must be a laugh. It is most definitely wine-induced. On the bright side, Zhelinath seems as amused as N'on, and she huffs a breath of air after the new weyrling as she rushes away. « He would not hurt her, » Zhelinath offers to her newly-hatched cousin. In a rare verbose mood, she continues. « But you are right to be wary. We must always beware of The Enemy… I knew yours would need help with this, so I brought her to you. I am very pleased to see that you are the perfect one for the job. » The fact that her words are coated with a thin sheen of patient maternal amusement at a young thing's antics does not make them any less honest. But with that she retreats again, blocking all others from the knot-like bond she has with her own partner, allowing them both to safely enjoy their winey post-Hatching haze.


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