I Can Count Every Star in the Sky [Bushy, Nia]

[theknightwhosaysni]

It was noon, the hottest time of day during the hottest season of the year. The lake moved slowly and lazily in the hardly stirring breeze, leaves rustling as Rukbat's rays beat down without regard for anyone who might want to go outside. Not a cloud in the sky, it was a perfect day, save for the heat.

Settled on the earth, Amara lounged against Veejarth's back, tiny waves lapping against her feet. The black had recently been oiled, as his gleaming hide revealed, and though he wasn't growing as fast as he had as a much younger Weyrling, oiling the black had become a ritual between the two.

The black gave a quiet croon, AmaraMine,

[/i] he said softly, I am hungry. I am going to hunt.[/i] His eyes whirled with soft colors as he got to his feet, lumbering away from His and launched himself into the air, wings stirring up a lovely breeze in the hot air.

Amara watched the black go with an air of amusement. He was trying to get her to branch out and talk to people, wasn't he? Sometimes her lovely black was just a little too obvious. All the same, once Vee got back, they'd be off to do . . . something. Veejarth kept saying he had a plan.

All the same, now she was alone. Leaning forward to trail her fingers through the water, Amara smiled to herself. The simple things in life still pleased her, like meeting with P'rth and hanging out with Jasra and all that stuff. Now, though, it was just her and the sky and the stifling heat. It was worth it, though, to be alone for the first time in ages.

She might not ever want to go back to before Vee, but every once in a while it was nice to not have his nose poking in on her thoughts with this idea or that one for an adventure. A gleam of amusement coiled across their bond, and Amara snorted, So much for eating, huh? she laughed, mental voice reaching out to the black.

Hush, AmaraMine. Your Veejarth is trying to concentrate.[/i] and indeed, she could feel his concentration narrow, locking on a single herdbeast as he swept towards it. Amara laughed to herself, turning her attention back inward. The waves lapping was a hypnotizing sound, and Amara slowly let her eyes drift shut, head propped on her knees as she drew her legs closer to her body, wrapping her arms around her legs.

A lone figure on the beach, she looked more vulnerable than anything else, small when compared to the world around her.[/size][/blockquote]

[Nia]

Ah... the sun. Every wherhandler's mortal enemy. Kio shieled his eyes with his hand as he walked along the beach, having finally ditched his fur-trimmed jacket and opting for a short-sleeved black v-neck instead. How annoying. He really did like that jacket... ah, overly hot weather did put him in a rather foul mood, and it wasn't because of the lack of his jacket. Kiosk was also absent, having opted to stay back in their room and sleep, and Kio really couldn't blame him. The black-haired boy was very tempted to give up his wanderings and go back to his room as well. It was a disgusting day outside. He habitually tried to put his hands into his pockets, only to fumble when there was nothing there, making him frown even more. Stupid warm weather....

A Black dragon fly away caught his attention, and he watched it go from where he stood in the distance. So that meant there was someone else around. He smirked. Good... that meant he had someone to take out his frustration on. Well, or amuse himself, either one worked. Amuse himself sounded less spiteful, and Kio was definitely not spiteful. No, of course not. He hummed to himself, suddenly cheered up at the prospect of messing with another person, and continued walking along the beach, searching for the rider of the Black.

There was another lone figure there, and no one else around, so Kio had to assume that it was the Black's rider. A girl? Interesting. There were quite a lot of female Blackriders though, so he figured it was nothing. Not worth poking at, either way. The lower ranked dragons didn't exactly care much about sexuality. He smirked wider as he approached her, waving a hand to attract her attention as he walked towards her. "Hey!" he yelled, as if his waving didn't get him enough attention.

"What's a girl like you doing here all alone on such a nice day?" he asked, his voice at normal volume now that he was within earshot, "Where are your friends?" he asked, already knowing the answer. She most likely didn't have any. What normal human spent a warm summer day wandering all alone? ...no, Kio wasn't normal, don't use him as an example. "Oh... do you not have any friends?" he made a pitying noise, "How sad." Though his voice sounded like he pitied her, his smirk definitely said otherwise.

Ah... but he didn't quite know what to say about her yet. He didn't know her well enough to poke at her weak points, but depending on what she said next he'd have a good idea. Ah... this was bad, wasn't it? Being so rude. Well, bad or not, it was interesting. He wanted to see how she'd react. It was his hobby. A bad hobby, and one that Kiosk scorned, but that didn't matter. Old habits were pretty difficult to break.

[/size]

[theknightwhosaysni]

Amara's eyes picked up a figure waving its hands exuberantly. She blinked, rubbing a hand across her eyes. Surely she was just imagining it - no one she knew would be looking for her. Nope. Someone was yelling hey. The same someone, no less. "Hey!" she yelled back out of pure politeness. She didn't want anyone disturbing her privacy, and while that voice sounded distinctly male, it wasn't P'rth's voice. P'rth and Jasra were the only people she was really interested in seeing at the moment, as she hadn't seen either in ages. As he approached, Amara scrambled to her feet, hating to seem impolite.

When the boy went on talking, Amara turned her attention towards him absently, blinking her eyes absently. His words struck a chord in her, though. What was she doing out here all alone? Did she have any friends at this point? How long had it been since she'd seen either of the two people she'd called her friends? Even after he was done talking, she was still mentally struggling to come up with words. "I . . . uh . . . um . . ." her voice was hesitant when she finally spoke, eyes wide. He was smirking at her, but his tone was pitying. The signals clashed. Amara frowned, momentarily distracted from thinking by the male in front of her.

"Well..." she began hesitantly, "I just wanted to be alone!" she yelped defensively. All the same, her voice was unsure, as if she weren't quite certain what she was saying what was the truth. "And yes, I do have friends!" she said fiercely, voice cracking on the final syllable. Probably a dead giveaway that she was lying, but somehow, Amara was beyond caring. This boy had dragged up some very awkward questions she'd been trying to avoid, and he didn't even know her. "They just . . . just..." Amara exhaled quietly, "Just have been rather busy lately, I guess." She finished lamely.

AmaraMine, calm down. I'm sure he didn't mean to be cruel.

[/i] The sudden, sure voice of Veejarth made Amara relax her stiff muscles slightly, her eyes taking a more vacant look as she replied.

I...guess... she said hesitantly, glancing up at the one who'd intruded on her privacy. What did he want, anyways? Surely he didn't just want to talk with some strange blackrider who was trying to be alone.[/size][/blockquote]

[Nia]

This girl was perfect. Absolutely perfect. And not in the way most people would call perfect... oh, definitely not. She was just hilarious. In a perfect way! Kio's smirk only widdened at her cute little responses. He'd definitely hit the mark with the "no friends" thing, because she clearly didn't have any. He almost felt bad, and if Kiosk had been there, the wher surely would have felt bad for him. But Kiosk wasn't there, so there was nothing to hold Kio back. It'd been a while since he'd really verbally killed someone's confidence. He supposed that would be a fun way to kill some time, too....

He tilted his head to the side as she spoke, as though considering it. His smirk faded to a more contemplative smile, though it didn't lose it's... meanness. Was she going to cry? Ah... making girls cry... that wasn't really one of his hobbies. Maybe he should lay off? No, he was still rather bitter from a certain... something a few nights ago. He needed an outlet for his frustration. Though perhaps he could just take another angle? No, shard it, he wasn't becoming soft. Besides, it wouldn't hurt his reputation all that much, not if this girl didn't have any friends she could run to. And if his words themselves were repeated they probably wouldn't sound all that bad. It was all in the tone. Yeah, he was fine.

"I guess it's... normal to want to be alone," he commented, though his tone made it clear that no, it most certainly was not normal to want to be alone. People craved human contact, didn't you know? He smiled again, "Are they really busy? Usually when someone says they're too busy to hang out... they mean they just don't want to," he continued, twirling a lock of his tied-up hair in a sort of absent motion. He swept his hair back behind his shoulders. "But I'm sure they're still your friends... even though they left you on this beach all alone," even if they hadn't, she was alone on a beach. And her dragon had left her, so maybe that counted as something.

Her reactions were so typical, even if they were perfect. The typical shy girl with no friends. He'd seen countless of them. Gotten some of them to like him, some of them to hate him... same old, same old. It would have bored him, if she wasn't the only person he'd come across all day.

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[hatori3070]

With Izkeeyerdath flying overhead, Jasra had been out for a nice little walk by the lake, hoping to maybe run into someone she knew and liked, when she spotted Amara and a boy she hadn't met. Initially, she had been smiling when she walked over. Hearing the boy's words wiped the smile from her face in an instant and filled her with anger and tuning her face into a mask of hate. How dare he! He didn't know Amara at all, had no right to speak to her in such a way, and she would make sure he knew good and well what happened when a person acted in such an arrogant, rude, and disrespectful manner!

"Excuse me." She said, her voice dangerously quiet and laced with anger. Izkeeyerdath swooped down, feeding off of her anger and rage toward the boy and amplifying to the level of a Red. She hissed as she landed, wings partially extended to increase her already impressive size. If Jasra wasn't accustomed to the look of her, and if she hadn't been completely focused on the puddle of slime in front of her, she would have been afraid herself. The large Red's eyes were whirling a dangerous red as she stared straight at him.

"How dare you speak to my friend like that." She said, hands balled into fists at her sides as she tried to keep some kind of reign on her and Izkeeyerdath's anger with the boy. "Who do you think you are?!" She yelled, losing her control for a moment, which was all Izkeeyerdath needed. His false bravado and unyielding arrogance angered the dragon to no end. There was no hint of any color but red in her eyes as she roared and ran at the boy, knocking him over and pinning him to the ground with one paw. Foolish, stupid little wherling![/color] She screamed into his mind, her voice full of the rage that had her body tensed. Her claws dug into the ground around him, but one had met its mark in his left arm. It cut a nasty gash along the outside, scoring to muscle but halting before it hit bone.

"If you EVER say one WORD to her again, I promise you she will do more than give you a cut!" She yelled at him at Izkeeyerdath pressed him into the ground hard enough to severely restrict his breathing. She had lowered her head to inches from his face, mouth full of fangs bared, exhaling deep angry breaths into his face.

Jasra let her stay like that as she went to Amara. "Amara." Was all she said before pulling her into a hug. Oh, the girl was so fragile! Her confidence needed bolstering, not tearing down like this! Angry tears gathered at the corners of her eyes as she squeezed Amara tight. "I will always be your friend Amara. Always."

[theknightwhosaysni]

More mixed signals. This boy was confusing Amara more than anyone else on the face of Pern could right then. He was saying it was 'normal' but his tone stated clearly that it wasn't. She wasn't really paying attention to what he was saying, instead, she'd withdrawn inwards to mull over what he meant. "Um..." she began cautiously, "Aren't . . . you alone on the beach, too?" Amara looked in his direction, proud of the fact that she'd managed to say something that didn't sound entirely stupid. It wasn't the smartest thing she'd ever said, but at least she'd said something.

His words were merciless, though. Amara blinked, wrapping her arms around herself silently as the male in front of her spoke. "I haven't really talked to them in a while and stuff, but I think they're honestly busy." her words were unsure, and it was clear that kernels of doubt had filled her mind. "I mean, I didn't do anything wrong, did I?" The calm Veejarth had instilled upon her evaporated as the boy went on, "But... They didn't leave me all alone on the beach!" Had they, though? Had she been all alone out there just because P'rth and Jasra were busy, or because they just didn't want to hang out with her anymore.

Luckily, someone was there to come to her rescue, saving her from needing to reply to that. A familiar voice, dangerously quiet, rang in the sudden silence. A hiss echoed her words. Amara risked a quick glance over her shoulder, eyes locking on a huge red dragon, and the comparatively tiny girl at her side. Jasra! An expression of pure joy crossed Amara's face, and she turned towards Kio, ready to say that yes, she did in fact have friends, but paused. What if Jasra weren't still her friend? What if the other weyrling was there to take the boy's side? The thought left Amara unsure as Jasra began to speak, anger obvious in her tone. Any semblance of control faded, though, as Jasra yelled.

Izkeeyerdath lunged towards the boy, and Amara's heart pounded in her chest, hoping that the red wouldn't move towards her. What if Jasra really were defending that boy?

But, judging by how the red snarled in the boy's face after pinning him to the ground, Amara didn't have to worry about that. The anger was obvious in the pair as Jasra went on, and if Amara had been thinking straight beyond the worry that the red might reveal any second now that Jasra was only kidding about defending her and round on her, she would have felt happy that someone was leaping to her defense in such a manner.

It was while she was thinking of this that she heard her name. Amara turned her head towards the source, only to be pulled into a tight hug. Without a second thought, Amara wrapped her arms around her friend and blinked back the traitorous tears. "Thanks." she whispered, a nearly silent admission of how much Jasra's words meant to her, "Thank you very much."

Behind her, there was a muted thud as a black landed on the ground, though he was careful not to intrude on Izkeeyerdath's space. I had hoped to give him the benefit of the doubt, but this will not go unpunished.

[/i] Veejarth's voice brushed Amara's mind softly, anger clear in his tone all the same. Red shot through his rapidly whirling eyes as he growled in the back of his throat. Foolish child.[/i] the black directed his words towards the one who'd been tormenting His, You not only angered me, you also angered a formidable red pair. I do not envy you.[/i] He did not have to do anything, though. Izkeeyerdath had it covered, and he respected the savage red. Anything Veejarth could do, Izkeeyerdath could do tenfold.

An even wider smile spread across Amara's face. Almost all of her friends were defending her, and were proving to this boy - and to herself - that she did indeed still have friends.[/size][/blockquote]

[Nia]

Kio had been about to smirk and reply cheekily to Amara's comment. He was alone by choice, she was alone because no one wanted to be around her. However... he never got the chance. Before Kio could even open his mouth to reply, a girl began to walk towards them, but more importantly than that... a Red dragon landed. Kio's heart dropped to his feet, but he forced a smirk anyway, his eyes filled with pure amusement as she went off on him as well. But he definitely wasn't prepared for what came next. His smirk was whiped off his face as the Red pounced, and of course... he had no time to dodge. It wasn't an attack from a human.

His vision went white as he was slammed down by the Red's paw, and all the color drained out of his face. His arm hurt. It hurt a lot. He cursed outloud, trying to focus on the Red above him, but his head was spinning. His back was sore from where he'd been slammed against the ground and his arm was in unbearable pain. He winced, not even wanting to look at it's condition. If he lost his arm due to this sharding, disgusting dragon... he didn't know what he'd do. But he couldn't even think or plan, there was so much pain. He barely heard Jasra's words, though he heard Iz's echoing through his mind just fine.

Kio still stared Iz in the eyes, feeling unnerved with her face so close... but not stupid enough to say anything. Pride? Hah, who needed pride when he was about to die? Kio, while arrogant, knew when to stop. And now... was definitely time to stop. His breathing was getting heavier and his arm was in so much pain. He had to get to the Healers and now if he wanted to keep his arm. Sharding, sharding dragons! He hated them. He was the arrogant one? Hah! He wasn't the one... ah, shard it. Whatever. He didn't care anymore about either of these two.

"Fine," he breathed, "I won't. It was a bad thing to do. Please let me go," he said flatly, his voice a monotone as he choked out his version of an apology. It wasn't spiteful, there was not hint of mischeviousness or hatred in his voice, just a flat, breathy voice. He wanted to fix his arm. He didn't want to be here anymore... and he especially didn't want anyone else to see.

He wasn't even going to pursue either of these two for revenge... right now he just wanted to get far, far away from that crazy girl and her crazy Red.

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[hatori3070]

Jasra gave Amara another squeeze before releasing her and smiling at her. "Give me just one second" She said, giving the other girl a pat on the shoulder before turning around. As she did so, her face lost its smile and any trace of kindness vanished as her shoulders stiffened. She was horribly glad to see that Iz hadn't merely pinned the boy, but given him something to remember this encounter by. Though it would be hard to forget a large, angry Red slamming him into the ground.

Izkeeyerdath hissed and snarled at Kio again, not satisfied in the slightest with his half-done apology. She did however slightly lessen her pressure on his chest so he would be able to voice a proper apology. You will give the friend of Mine a real apology, or I will keep you here until someone thinks to fetch a healer for you. Which could take some time. Despite the simplicity of her words, they were said in a volume loud enough to give the boy a resounding headache, and with her fangs still bared in a threatening snarl.

Veejarth behind her registered on the edge of her senses, but he was smart and didn't intrude in her special brand of discipline, so she paid him little mind other a flick of her tail in acknowledgment.

"You'd better listen to her. I won't be sending for a healer for that arm, and I don't think Veejarth is in any kind of mood to be helpful to you. Now say. You. Are. Sorry. To. My. Friend. Like you mean it!" Jasra's anger was still red-hot, worse than her anger had been with Dekistee when she demanded she get rid of her firelizards. She hadn't known she could be this mad with someone, and knew that she had to get control of herself before Izkeeyerdath did something worse. That uncharitable part of herself said that she wouldn't care much if Iz made him lose his arm, but the more reasonable part of her reminded her that an injury that serious would not go unpunished. No more injuries Iz. I mean it. His lesson should stick with what you've given him already. Jasra put her will behind the order, reigning in her fiery dragon's temper while she did the same with her own.

If he crosses me again, I will do worse. She told Hers, snorting a hot breath full of the stench of raw meat into his face. Hers knew she was serious, but she had also grown stronger since Izkeeyerdath had gotten the upper hand on her their first night. She would not hurt him further at the moment, but only because Hers reminded her that Kalith might not appreciate her taking weyr justice into her own paws.

[theknightwhosaysni]

She could give Jasra a second. She could give Jasra an hour. She could give Jasra as long as it took as long as they were still friends. Grinning slightly at the thought, Amara stepped back, "Okay." she nodded her head at the thought, hair that she had forgotten to put up in its usual bun falling across her face. Amara paused, bringing a hand up to her hair, before giving a mental shrug and letting it fall away again. "Are you going to let him go?" she asked belatedly a moment later, reminded of the apology she hadn't paid much attention to.

Watching Izkeeyerdath's tail flick, Veejarth gave a satisfied, but quiet croon, and yawned, showing a mouth full of sharp teeth, just in case the wherling boy was getting uppity. Izkeeyerdath would certainly be able to handle the boy, but Veejarth didn't mind defending His a bit around the edges. Hearing his name spoken by the angry redpair, Veejarth blinked, listening to the rest of the statement. I am in no mood to fetch any healers,

[/i] he gave another lazy yawn, So I would suggest doing as they ask.[/i] Despite being angry, his voice was still mannerly and calm. Even when he got angry, he could still remember that there was no point in talking unless he could sound like this.

Meanwhile, Amara was watching the scene unfold with wide eyes. She didn't want the wherling boy to get hurt, but it looked like he already was, and Amara was hopeful Jasra wouldn't let Izkeeyerdath hurt him any more. Hopefully, anyways. No matter what he'd done, he didn't really deserve this. She didn't envy him one bit, nor did she feel bad enough about it to get involved. Izkeeyerdath might be Jasra's dragon, but she was still a red and much, much larger than Veejarth.

Eh? What was that? Veejarth's head snapped up and he swung his gaze in the direction of the Weyr. A moment later, he was relaxing again, though. It was nothing but his imagination painting a picture in the corner of his eye of a shapeless monster that would need fighting. Funny how even though it had been nearly a turn since he had found His, he still hadn't outgrown his imagination, even at times like this, which needed to be serious.[/size][/blockquote]

[Nia]

Kio was growing more and more panicked the longer Iz held him down. He didn't dare try to struggle his way out, as he didn't want to make the cut in his arm any deeper, and he especially did not want to lose his arm. His heart pounded in fear he'd never really experienced before, and he did not like it. This was only serving to make his hatred of dragons even stronger, and he bit his lip to hold back any sounds of pain. He wasn't going to give them that satisfaction. But his face had a completely unguarded expression of fear... he was visibly scared of both dragons hovering above him.

He closed his eyes as their words invaded his thoughts. He'd made his best apology and he had meant it... in a way that meant by saying it he wanted to save his skin. Kio ground his teeth together in annoyance, his head was pounding and he wondered if he was even going to be able to stay conscious much longer. He gave a sort of wry smile as he noticed Jasra and Amara off to the side... ah... so that was what having real friends was like? Kio wasn't jealous, not even a little, but the concept interested him more than Amara's earlier reactions had been. If he wasn't face-to-face with an angry red he'd love to observe their reactions and mental state... too bad....

The wherling winced at Iz's breath and sighed, giving in. Whatever. Anything to get himself out of this annoying mess and back to doing what he liked to do. He really should stick to just observing next time... as boring as that was... but he certainly wasn't going to let these dragons ruin his fun. No... he'd apologize and he'd mean it, but he'd relapse as soon as he saw another interesting human walk by. It was just how he worked, really. Nothing personal.

"I'm sorry!" he finally yelled, eyes still closed so he wouldn't have to look at them, "It was a mean, cruel thing to do, and I'll never bother you again! I'm sorrrrryyyy! Please let me go!" he whined, sounding almost pitiful in the way he apologized. This was... extremely annoying, but Kio had enough pride in himself to take a... small blow like this. Honestly, he'd rather keep his arm than worry about his stupid "manly pride" or whatever it was called. He was smart enough to realize that, at least. He aimed his apology more at Amara than the two dragons or even the other girl.

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[hatori3070]

Jasra watched with a sense of grim satisfaction as a look of unrestricted fear played across Kio's features. He had better be afraid. She would've thought there was something wrong with him if he hadn't been afraid with a large red Iz pinning him to the ground. She turned back to Amara and smiled at her. "Once he actually apologizes to you, he'll be able to go." Jasra said before turning back to face Kio, but not before she noticed Veejarth showing off his sharp teeth. If she hadn't been looking stern so Kio wouldn't get any ideas, Jasra would've smirked at her friend's Black. He was an interesting thing. She could remember his antics on the sands the day he hatched, how he had seemed to be having an adventure all on his own in the middle of the sands. He had matured into a fine young Black now, a dragon she could be glad was by Amara's side. But she was getting side-tracked, Kio had yet to apologize.

Izkeeyerdath would've snapped at Veejarth for thinking he could do anything more if it hadn't been His that was attacked by the uppity little wherling. Even so, it annoyed her that he had to do anything at all. She was the one who had the boy in her claws, and she was the one forcing some sense into that thick skull of his, not Veejarth. She kept her annoyance to herself for once, focusing her energy on Kio with a snarl. He was finally showing the correct amount of fear, and his apology was just frantic enough to satisfy her. She gave a snort and released him at last, turning her back on him and giving him one last smack with the tip of her tail. He wasn't worth any more of her time now that he had learned to give a proper apology. She settled on her haunches next to Veejarth without a second glance at Kio. Hello Veejarth.[/color] Izkeeyerdath said, all traces of her anger gone.

"Next time, just leave her alone in the first place." Jasra said to Kio before also turning away. She smiled at Amara. "Now that that's over with, how have you been Amara? I'm sorry I haven't been able to spend time with you lately. Learning how to work with Iz takes up so much of my time these days." Jasra's mood had switched just as quickly as Izkeeyerdath's, showing no hint of the anger she had felt just moments before. After all, Kio was taken care of, and she was talking to Amara for the first time in ages. What was there to be mad about now?

[theknightwhosaysni]

Amara blinked when Jasra turned towards her, a smile in her friend's face. "Okay!" she grinned up at Jasra, any concern over the treatment of the wherling boy gone the moment the girl had smiled at her. Jasra was her friend, so why would she bother worrying over the wherling boy? She trusted that the redrider would handle the wherling properly. Besides, she couldn't say that she felt too bad for the boy, even if he probably didn't deserve it. As long as he was able to get up eventually, she was willing to forget about him for a while in the light of a certain redrider's smile.

The black rumbled to himself, an amused draconic smile gracing his face. Silly Mine.

[/i] he commented absently, twitching his tail in the air. It hit the earth with a lazy thump as he eyed the wherling boy, listening to his apology. The panicked words seemed good enough to him, but he certainly wasn't going to get involved with it. If Izkeeyerdath chose to punish the wherling boy for longer, he didn't particularly care. Nor was he foolish enough to intervene.

Anyways, it didn't look as if he'd have to. Rumbling in the back of his throat, Veejarth gave a croon of greeting when Izkeeyerdath turned towards him, having already allowed Kio to flee. Greetings, Izkeeyerdath.[/i] he answered his greeting with one of his own. It was nice to see His' friend's red.

When Jasra turned back towards her, Amara glanced up, distracted from her musings over the insect crawling over her foot. "Oh!" she blinked, debating quickly over the answer before speaking. She didn't want to make Jasra wait too long, did she? "I've been well!" she bobbed her head briskly. As long as she was with her friends, there was no need to reflect upon how lonely she'd been feeling less than a candlemark earlier. And there was no reason to bother Jasra with such mundane matters, either.

"It's fine." Amara grinned, "I mean, I'm seeing you now! So there's no need to apologize!" Kio was already gone from her mind, just like that. She fairly easily distracted, really. All it took was a well placed word, and her mind had jumped from one topic to the next.[/size][/blockquote]

[Nia]

Kio would have been red with embarrassment if he hadn't already lost so much blood. He'd made such a whiney apology and the two girls hadn't even spared a second glance at him.... Shard it all. That didn't mean that the Red was going to finish him, off did it...? For even though Kio tended to act like he was invincible... death... and the lack of existance... terrified him more than anything. There was nothing worse than being dead and forgotten. Nothing....

He relaxed noticeably when the Red looked away from him, ignoring the slight pain from her tail. He simply laid there and breathed for a moment, reveling in the fact that he was actually alive. That he'd encountered an angry Red and escaped... though, not unscathed. He was losing blood rapidly. This was not good... much longer and he was going to lose the use of his arm completely. They might even have to amputate....

But at least he wasn't dead. That was important.

Without looking at the two girls or their dragons, Kio struggled to his feet. He wasn't plotting his revenge and he wasn't angry. He was just tired and scared. Wincing, Kio reached over and put his hand over the cut, keeping pressure on it in an attempt to keep his blood inside him. Shards... the Infirmary was so far away from here.... He cursed inwardly and started off, walking as steadily as possible and making sure he wasn't going to pass out. Stupid sharding dragons... how he really hated them....

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