Letters From Oz (Maru, Azzy, Chek)

[Cathaline]

Yamarashi popped out of between back to the place she called home, and careened around the bedroom for a moment before she landed on Newt's bed. It was neatly made now, for perhaps the first time since he'd moved in several months ago. She huffed a little and ripped up the blanket until she could burrow in a pile of fabric. There, that was more like it. Nice and cozy.

By the time Letorin arrived, she had had a nice snooze and almost forgotten what she'd come for, so it was a good thing he got back when he did. Yamarashi crooned at him and bumped her message tube repeatedly into his forehead until he took it, and then vanished, her job finally completed.

Hi, Letorin! I actually did it: I went on sabbatical. I mean, you knew that because I told you I was going to do it and we hugged and shed manly tears, and then things kind of just got away from me and now, to make a long story short, I'm home. My mother says hi, she thinks you sound awesome. I think if I give her half the chance she'll start writing letters to thank people for being my friends - I don't know if that's sweet or ridiculous or just plain demeaning, like people are doing me a huge favor by being my friends. Not that friendship isn't a favor. Is it? Can you quantify friendship?

Anyway, Jazz said that she'll try to keep the room empty for me unless we get a ton of candidates and she has no other choice. ROOMMATES FOREVER. I don't know, I'm finding it weird to sleep alone. Not that I'm alone, because Yamarashi won't get out of my face - actually she's currently hanging out on my arm for some reason. What are we going to do when you Impress? I'm going to have to follow you around like a lost puppy. I'll do my best to be there for the next hatching, so you have to let me know when there are eggs on the sands, because if I missed you Impressing I would never forgive myself.

Enclosed are some blueprints I thought you might like for this weird wind-up toy man some kids were playing with. I bet you can make it work even better. I expect the room to be completely full of awkward toy men when I get back. Do this for me. Do it.

Yamarashi just bit me and I'm trying really hard not to bleed on the page, so even though this letter is terribly short, I'm going to stop writing it and feed her. She obeys better when she's newly fed.

Ever yours,
Newt

PS

Seriously, I miss you more than I can say. Science for life!

[Cathaline]

Yamarashi had to make several testing attempts at L'xon before she finally caught him alone, at which point she punished him thoroughly for this crime by stuffing her message tube down the front of his shirt, not caring if she clawed at his collarbone in the process. Served him right.

This message, unlike the last, came in code. Sort of.

Found that ballad you were asking about, copied out the text. Hope it helps.

In the bay of Ista, on a lovely starlit night
Met two friends long absent and missing the other's light
Istask, a mighty brown, his hide scored with turns of Thread
Sergei, a fearless hunter who had never touched his head
See, the two were old chums, friendly as could be
"You have never talked to anyone," said Sergei, "but
Oh, you know how to talk to me."
"Ungh," said Istask, the sound a commentary
Hopeful that his pal would help him defend his territory
Once powerful and feared, his reign was challenged now
Peerless bronze demanding that he be paid his due
"Egad," said Sergei, "how do you intend to fight this beast?"
"Yar," said Istask, which translated basically means "with claws and spite and teeth."
Oh, but Sergei had a person's mind, and he was very clever
Underneath the hiding sun, he set a trap, you see
Reds are feared, he thought, so I'll make a red for him to flee
Evening came and seeing the gleam upon a crimson hide
Our nemesis the bronze did yield and choose elsewhere to abide
"Keep yourself safe, my friend," said Sergei to his precious friend
"Aye," said Istask, saluting him, and lumbered off again
Yes, this is the tale of a beautiful reunion.

I'm sorry your chosen poet is so bloody terrible at it, but it is what you asked for, after all.

- Your friendly neighborhood Harper

[Cathaline]

After all the times Newt had cheerfully crashed Kalenna's lessons with Yhimere, it was no surprise that the tragedy happened during one of these. They were working on responsible firestone usage when a tiny green bullet fell out of the sky, screaming, and managed to grab hold of Yhimere's shirt with her trembling paws. One wing had been completely torn off, marks scored all along her left side; the other dangled pitifully, crumpled and oozing ichor, and her back right leg was completely missing. Yamarashi screamed again and draped herself over Yhimere's shoulder, where she could finally go limp, panting, in pain, and crippled.

She didn't have a message tube; what she had, clenched tight in the curl of her tail, was half of a bloodstained hide, ripped apart and a little shredded. This was not of as much immediate importance as the one image, wavering and blurred from her emotional distress but strongly projected into the greenwherling's mind, of her last glimpse of Newt. Reaching out after her, his glasses askew with one lens cracked, clothing torn and stained scarlet in patches, his hand looking more than a little mangled. And a definite glimpse, in the background of the mental picture, of a crimson behemoth.

What existed of the letter she'd managed to escape with was unclear, the handwriting even more illegible than usual and often blurred with blood or ichor. And it cut off in the middle, missing the beginning entirely.

probably going to be able to build some kind of rapport with them! I've never seen reds get along the way these three do. It's astonishing the way creatures adapt to their surroundings, and this is a very unusual situation. I might be gone a little longer than I planned, because there's no way I can just leave this behin

keeps threatening to feed me to them but I kno

might be a little bit concerned about certain aspects of everything that is happening here. PS do you think you can get me another pair of glasses? I'll pay you back, but obviously mine got broken when he PUNCHED ME FOR NO REASON

LIKE NO REASON AT ALL I'm more mad about that than I am about the kn

I might not be entirely safe here, but as I explained at the beginning, I feel like I have everything completely under control. By the way, when you send Yamarashi back, can you

Scrawled at the bottom, heavy-handed and in haste, was a different message, added some time later.

Yhimere, I don't think I'm coming back from this. But if I do please remind me to never, ever, ever, ever, EVER get involved with {redacted due to bloodstains}
EVER AGAIN.

But if I don't, you were so

[maruset]

When Letorin got the letter, he had to chuckle. Yes, he did remember the manly tears and such, though it was good to see that it appeared to be doing his friend good. Given the last few sevendays before him going off, Letorin had been seriously worried.

Still, time to write back, and he grabs the things he needed. And he took a moment to do a little sketch of Newt with Yamarashi draped on his head. It amused him, and he was sure that it would probably get a laugh from his friend. Once that was done, he set down to write.

You do still exist, I was starting to wonder. I do remember manly tears, though I think we might both deny them if asked. I'm glad you are back home, and tell your mother that I say hello back. I'm glad that you have apparently lied wildly to her to make me seem like a decent sort. Tell her if she writes me, I'll write her back, and things will only go downhill from there.

I think one might be able to quantify friendship, but that would take a lot of fun out of it, and I think we'd rather focus our attention on other things. Though I'm sure some of the candidatemasters worry about what you and I get up to. I've had a few visits while you've been gone, I think they are checking on me. Of course, I tend to keep having roommates wander off on me.

I hope that she does leave the room empty, because when you come back, we will have to much to catch up on, and science to work at. Having a lot of ideas while you are gone, and I need you to come back and bounce ideas back and forth with me.

I'll definitely write back to you the first hint of eggs on the sands. If I Impress, we'll just sneak you in with me. The dragon can have two slaves to help take care of it.

And even if I'm getting more sleep, I miss having you around. You're one of the few who can keep up when I really start going on about some project or another. Plus, you know, you are my friend, and I miss seeing you around and seeing what you are up to.

As to the blueprints, I think there is an easy way to modify them so we can have little wind up pets running around as well. I be those would be great to prank people with.

Get used to having a flit that does whatever she wants to do. Mine are all the same way. And I hope to see you soon, though don't rush back on my account.

And if the room is full of mechanical things when you come back, I regret nothing.

Always science!

Your friend,

Letorin

[Chek]

Yhimere didn’t really take well to being splattered with ichor from the screaming, maimed remains of his friend’s firelizards. Not that it had happened very often, or at all before that fateful lesson with Kalenna, but still, the point stood. He clamped a hand around Yamarashi and wrested the scrap of hide from her tail, before handing her into the ready and waiting paws of Yhisk – the green would extract every fragment of memory the flitter had in her tiny head, because that hulking red form… the blood on Newt’s clothes… well. He needed more information.

As he read the stained, partial letter, Yhisk delicately made use of her training, dragging over a cast iron pan Yhimere had been lugging back to storage when he’d been waylaid by the lesson he’d almost missed. She already had firestone in her belly, so it was a simple matter to breathe fire on the pan until it was nice and hot, then manhandle Yamarashi in her clever front paws until the flitter’s bleeding (or the stumps from which they were missing) extremities were placed on hot metal to cauterize.

She of course didn’t let the flitter Between, all the considerable focus of her intent set on Yamarashi sticking around to answer questions whether the little creature wanted to or not.

Yhimere had to cut himself off from a base, animal whine as he read the letter, his distress peaking, “Kalenna I need to go see Yuri. I think Newt might have… might be…” He clamped his mouth shut, cutting off the hysterical reaction he was already fighting down with false calm borrowed from Yhisk, and handed the letter to the goldhandler. “Yhisk, can you take Yamarashi to a dragonhealer?”

Am not stupid, yes do. The green wher picked up the maimed flitter, carefully holding the firelizrd in her mouth without biting down – for once – and trotted off.

“May I be excused from this lesson to report to the Candidatemasters, Betahandler?”