It Was the End And the Beginning All In One {Zero}

[Bellatora]

The woman looked at her inventory list again, feeling an anger in her that was rising again. This was why women didn't lead - and why rider's died so often. A garnet rider had been in here, the Weyrwoman had become very sick and died after giving birth to her little girl. She should have made the woman rest. She should have made her stay in the infirmary. Then maybe she would have survived and none of this would have happened. This was why the Weyr system was so flawed. The Halls and Holds had a better idea of how to do leadership than the Weyr. And the Holds were actually respectable - men and women didn't sleep around or get into this kind of mess. Women could be leaders if they were well trained, but a woman like Iirla wouldn't have even made a fit wife at how unhealthy she was most of the time! And she had been Weyrwoman!

There had to have been something she could have done! Something she still could do. But what.

"AH!" It was a loud cry as she slammed her hands down against the counter, causing a container of numbweed to fall to the ground and spill. She gave a hiss of irritation and knelt down, picking it up, but not bothering with what had spilled on the floor. Instead she headed for the doorway, just wanting to get out of here and have a quick little walk. Maybe go to the beach and let the waves wash over her - knock her around a little bit. That sounded wonderful right now.

She was left the Infirmary behind her, an intense, irritable energy radiating off of her as she left and finally reached the Weyrbowl. It was starting to rain just the slightest bit - a slight drizzle which would soon turn into a much greater storm, she was sure. She looked up at the sky, feeling the water on her face. She was not crying. She hated that she knew so many of these rider's now... She had despised them for so long, but she couldn't help but care for them. At least a little bit.

It was hard not to know the names of all of them - espeically those she ahd treated. She kept walking towards the stables where the runner beasts were kept where she would get Taero ready for the ride... she was already planning, though she still was only about half way across the 'bowl, walking with determined, quick steps.

She had to get out ofher. she needed to remember why she had even agreed to go to the Weyr as a Journeyman. She had plenty of reasons not to...

[Zero]

When had things become so completely screwed? When did it start? Was it the numerous lives taken by early threadfall already? Or was it by chance the preventable loss of their Weyrwoman and only gold? Either way things were royally screwed around Trelis as of late. Hell, they might as well just roll over for the Rebellion right now and save them the trouble. It wasn't as though the mess of leaders were doing them any good. A weyr being led by a bunch of inexperienced sub-queenriders and children at that! Add in that old bronzer whos moral compass was completely wrecked and you had the leading stars of Trelis.

S'val groaned at the thought and dragged a hand down his face. He needed a vacation. Hell, maybe just a new weyr entirely as it was almost painfully clear this one was going to the dogs. Rubbing tiredly at his face, the half blind rider adjusted the black cloth wrapped around his head and covering his left eye before tilting his head up to the sky as rain began to fall softly on him. The sky had been threatening them with the promise of rain all day and of course it would have to hit just when he happened to be outside.

"You're not going to eat quickly, are you?" The large bronze dragon rumbled lowly as he tore another piece from the heardbeast he had just taken down in the pens. "I didn't think so..." S'val sighed and looked over to where his young epidote and blue flits were playing in the puddles and the mud. However before he could tell the two to 'knock it off' a lone figure, seeming to move with a purpose for the stables he stood under, caught his eye and he turned to look. "Hey! Don't you see the weather's turning bad? Now's not the time to be trotting off into a storm!" He was simply assuming that was her purpose for coming to the stables after all. Leave it to a woman for wanting to go out from the safety of the weyr in a storm.

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[Bellatora]

Amaeli frowned. "And what of it, Rider? Why do you care?" Her answer was a low hiss of irritation. "Besides, what's wrong with taking care of your horse, hmm. you take care of your dragon." It was almost as if she was trying to start a fight. Maybe a fight would make her feel better.

She sighed, but simply squared her shoulders and went to continue on her way, though the rain didn't seem to want to agree as it picked up all the more with every step she took. She already was feeling drenched and shook her head, pushing her hair back behind her ears with a sigh. "Okay... so you're right." She was still irritated and it showed.

She was quiet for a long minute. "You know.... it all seems... to have gone to crap. All of it - the Weyrleadership is horrible... and Weyr is in dire strains... I have frequent visits to the infirmary and a lot of them not even thread related injuries!" She was just complaining now. Due ot the fact that she was irritated. And very irritated at that.

She watched the bronze, frowning. If she liked dragons and riders, she might admit that he was a handsome bronze. She hadn't really taken in the rider yet. she knew that his name was S'val and he was a good leader. In fact, he probably would have been a much better one than the ones they currently had. hmm... that made her mind spin with the possibilities. What a terrible thingi t could be.

[Zero]

He scoffed and turned his attention back to Solarith with a shrug. “I don’t.” The brown on his shoulder rustled his wings as he paused in his duty of watching the two youngsters and glanced in the girls direction, eyes a steady swirl of blue and green. “Ah but see now, my dragon is not a mindless beast like your horse. He can very well look after himself in this weather, not get lost or spooked by thunder and lightning, and can quite easily find his way back to the Weyr at any point he so desired. I doubt you can say the same about your horse.”

Glancing at the woman once more from the corner of his eye, S’val smirked as she seemed to battle with herself before finally admitting to defeat just as the rain began to fall harder. As it was the bronzerider was simply content to ignore her and head on his way back to his weyr once Solarith had finished eating. So you can imagine his mild surprise when she spoke up and, apparently, began spilling what was on her mind. Another soul who was displeased with the way Trelis was being run; no surprise there. He listened though, as there was nothing else for him to do at the moment, and S’val found himself grunting in low agreement.

“So it would seem.” S’val shook his head and leaned against the wooden fence, quiet for the next few moments as he listened to the rain falling on the stable roof. “Unfortunately that’s how these things turn out sometimes. Everything always goes to hell for a while when we lose a queen, more so when the queen was still very young. I’ve seen it all happen before.” Absentmindedly the blind rider reached up and lightly scratched Reign’s brown chin, eliciting a small, yet pleased, croon in response. “Not any of my wing, I can guarantee that. Save for the three who charred each other the past day, that is.” As much as he would have liked not to have held any sympathy for the girl, after all she wasn’t up in the sky and chancing death on a daily basis, he did know some of the frustration she was feeling. S’val had been a healer himself many turns ago before he managed to Impress, so he knew the headache some of the resident hypochondriacs could give.

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[Bellatora]

She sighed and rubbed her hands over her face. "Well... your wing is unique in that fact. It feels like hundreds have come through these days." She was quiet for a long time, looking up at the sky again. "I should have made her rest... Should have saved her... It's all my fault..." She sighed and scratched her cheek subconsciously. She felt guilt like no other at Iirla's death. The Weyrwoman didn't have to die. She brushed her wet hair back down her back, frowning irritably at the sky again.

She had done this to this Weyr. Whatever happened now, she was stuck here watching it. no matter if she wanted to run away and get out of here. Why was she assigned here again? She should have gotten assigned to some hold or something. Would have been better than this. Anything would have been better.

And what was worse was that she really was starting to see rider's in a different light and she really didn't want to. "My runner may be like that as any horse would be... but I can't imagine life without him." She sighed slightly and looked at him almost suspiciously. "It won't be long til they bring in another gold though.... I'm sure." She leaned back against the fence.

[Zero]

S'val half listened to the woman as she spoke, his attention having wandered back to where the bronze was finishing his meal. Solarith licked his jaws and shook the water from his head as he climbed to his feet and wandered closer to where His stood. By now the bronzerider had connected the dots enough to deduce that she had to be one of the weyr healers and quite possibly the one who had been responsible for the former Weyrwomans care. "I sincerely doubt her death was anyones fault but her own. The woman was entirely too stubborn for her own good."

He stifled a yawn with the back of his hand and rubbed lazily at the back of his neck. "Her own mate couldn't even convince her to stay bedridden, you lot had no chance. But the past is just that...past. No point standing around blaming yourself if you did all that you could." Shrugging, S'val reached to scratch his dragons eyeridges as the large wet head came to hover beside him. "Anyways, you'd do well to get out of this storm soon. Last thing we need is sick healers when Thread's near." With that the blind rider stepped out from the overhang, instantly becoming soaked in the downpour, and slowly started on the trek back to the weyr with Solarith attempting to keep some of the rain from falling on His head with a partially outstretched wing.

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