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Post by twitchie on Jul 28, 2012 19:40:49 GMT -4
Silver hung in the sky, as if to mimic a harmless cloud. The strings trickled downwards, glittering as if began to fall.
Purple flashed, hide shimmered then was gone.
The lithe figure reappeared and a licking flame chased hungrily after the burning rays.
If this wasn't so deadly, this might almost be beautiful. If the flecks were not shearing the rider's cheeks, this could be a game... But it wasn't.
This was thread!
Ka'mond held Abyrath's neck, screaming in pain as she did, bellowing in rage and triumph as the amethyst roared.
They were one! Sharing their eyes, minds, gains, pain....
Thread hissed as it met Ka'mond's flesh, sizzling as it mixed with his tears. Blood almost ran down his face, from sparks of thread.
You still ok?
For a moment Abyrath said nothing, only thinking of flames. Death to this madness that had her tender belly, nose and eye ridges stinging! This plague that ate the new and still healing skin of her previously healed wing had to die!
This pain was worth it. Every torrent she spit and belched saved dependent lives below.
I am fine Mine. We are fi-- [/color]
She let another stream of fire hiss from her jaws, then snarl as a missing chuck burned her tail.
Mine, I need help... I'm tired and scored... But we must continue. Think of the weyrlings who have little protection. We are their protection. [/color]
The pair bled green and red, and with bravery or stupidity they kept on. Help was needed, but they wouldn't back down. This was their chance for victory, AND SHARDS THEY WERE TAKING IT !
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Post by Wish on Jul 29, 2012 1:10:22 GMT -4
Shouldn't we be helping them? They're all getting hurt and I just lay here Mine.
Majoriith crooned unhappily as she watched the dragons in her mind's eye, connecting with them and sharing their pain. The Gold hissed as she felt yet another become injured. Still, Rikula felt even worse as she tried to wrap up an arm that had been threaded to the bone. "Go and sleep now. Okay, who's next?!?" The Goldrider did a quick survey to see who was around her before shaking her head. They were in a momentary lull between waves of injured riders it seemed.
The young woman straightened and walked over to her dragon, a hand reaching to touch the hide. "Easy Maj...." You can't go out there. We only have two Queens and the Subs even aren't being allowed to fly right now. Not this early in Fall today. Maybe they'll let us later when there's less Thread to worry about. Riku knew it wasn't true though, no Weyr would allow two Golds and a handful of Subs to fly when that's all they had by way of clutching dragons. No, it was better to wait it out here like this and help those that returned.
Or at least that was what had been drilled into Riku time and time again. The rider shook her head and sighed, sinking down against the Gold's forearm and putting her head into her hands. She was tired, so tired and the ordeal had just started really. This is going to be a very long day...
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Post by Elessar on Jul 30, 2012 10:57:32 GMT -4
Thread. The menace of Pern since the dawn of time. And it was falling again. The Red Star had been knocked back into orbit, or was following some natural, erratic course of action. Either way, the Star Stones had told true, and thread was back. The wings were out fighting, but there weren't enough dragons. There never were.
CrazyMine! There is someone there, fighting! They need help![/color]
Iro'ris, better known as Iro, could see the struggling amethyst pair from where he stood. Shards and shells! Where was the rest of that deagon's wing?! Never one to think rationally, Iro began to run. "Call J'degar and Syphraelth, Saekath! Now! We don't know how to between but that dragon needs our help!"
Syphraelth! J'degar! Mine is right, you must help us![/color]
Iro grabbed a flamethrower. Saekath don't know how to go between or chew Firestone, but he did know how to work a flamethrower. Making sure the straps were right, he mounted up. "Go, my Lion Queen! Fly!" Saekath took off with ease, and soon they were in the air. Iro'ris wielded the flamethrower with deadly precision, but still, the threads were closing. "Ka'mond! Abyrath! We can't stay here or we'll all die! Where is your wing?! Pull back to the Weyr! Now! That's an order!"
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Post by twitchie on Jul 30, 2012 11:13:38 GMT -4
Abyrath turned her head to stare at the Topaz, eyes showing bewildered shades.
Ka'mond was enraged. If they were to die, he wanted to die saving lives. And what the shades was a weyrling doing out here?! Abyrath could between and flame....
"What the hell are you doing?! You may be my boss one day but not if you kill yourself! I'd have hoped my future leader would atleast think through such a feat!"
He growled his words, eyes flashing. This man was crazy! The weyr needed his Topaz!! And here he was trying to be all hero! Stupid stupid stupid!!
Oh, Lion Queen! You should not be here! Thread is bad for even the biggest little ones.... Please do not risk your life. Mine and I are trained for this. Our wing is not here, it is a small wing anyway... [/color]
The amethyst angled her jaws to eat the hungry strands nearest the Queen, ready to throw her little body in the way.
"We cannot stop. It is our job to save the people below. Isn't better I die than hundreds of innocent people are lost?"
Ka'mond didn't have the appearance to support his challange. He was bloody and burned, but his eyes were firey. Rank or no rank, they had a job to do.
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Post by Zirin on Jul 30, 2012 22:21:17 GMT -4
Shard it all, the wings were a mess, they always seemed to be these days. He needed the golds to rise, needed to get himself the rank he wanted so he could make changes, starting with the useless group of Wingleaders that they had. Focus, J'degar. Was all the brown said before opening his maw and burning another tangle of Thread from the sky. The ash stung J'degar's cheeks, but the dull pain only served to fuel his determination.
He was, for once, in the real wings rather than with the Weyrlings. The elder group was split between assisting on the group and flying firestone to the safer low wings. It should have waited until they could between, but the Weyr was lacking numbers and had little choice in the matter. The youngest were working solely on the ground.
Saekath joins the fight. She has called for us. Syphraelth had passed on the message to their Wingleader without even bothering to wait for his rider's response; the little queenling needed him, and he would not disappoint. With practiced ease, the pair skipped between and reapeared not far from the weyrlings, sweeping overhead and charring some of the Thread in time to hear Iro's command. It was strange, J'degar realized, to hear such authority in the voice and for a moment he had to remind himself that Iro'ris was not yet his superior. Shards, that was a weird thought in and of itself! The goofy, fellis addicted, carefree chef was coming into his own, and he was doing it with a vengeance. He would have to berate Iro later on, for endangering himself, but shard it all, he had to give the man credit for defying orders to protect a fellow rider.
"To the Weyr, both of you!" J'degar called as Syphraelth charred another batch. The longer they were separated from the wings the likelier they were to face injury. His voice was not angry, simply stern and professional. So focused on keeping Thread from hitting Saekath (since Abyrath could blink between if she was hit), neither J'degar or Syphraelth noticed a clump of wayward Thread, blown by a sudden shift of wind, coming right at them from behind.
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Post by Wish on Jul 30, 2012 22:57:24 GMT -4
We can't let them get hurt anymore! Please, Mine we have to do something!
The Gold was being uncharacteristically worried, and Rikula honestly didn't mind one bit. The moment she saw the young Sub-Queen take to the sky and head toward the Amethyst despite not being able to flame or between, the rider was already moving toward the dragoness, not caring one bit she had no riding straps on. The young woman could hold on with her sharding legs for all she cared! Swinging up onto the bronze-gold neck, Riku snapped her head upward to where a brown had gone to them as well.
It is the Weyrlingmaster and his Brown. We help still? Riku nodded her head. They'll need someone to help guide that Amethyst down, she's injured and Saekath will need cover as well. The rider held onto the flamethrower she had pulled onto her shoulder, checking the device to make sure it would work before giving the signal for the Gold to get airborne. Sweeping her massive wings down, Majoriith did just that and trumpeted a quick greeting to the trio. You should head back Saekath, you as well Abyrath. We will help cover your decent Amethyst, that way if you suddenly feel like you're going to fall you have a wing to lean on. Mine has a flamethrower.
To clearly show that, Rikula narrowed her eyes at the missed clump of thread and got Majoriith to raise her neck so she could blow fire at it, watching it with satisfaction as it fell to the ground harmlessly as dust. Oh yeah, take that! The rider smirked as she motioned toward the ground and then at the three dragons, knowing full well that she outranked the brownrider here and he would need to listen to her. Well, in theory he would...technically the old fart can do anything he wants. Sighing, Riku waited for some signal that the others understood and would begin their plan of descent.
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Post by twitchie on Jul 31, 2012 1:12:09 GMT -4
Ka'mond frowned again. More rankers....
Abyrath turned from the silver, dipping her her head. She was half offended half honored by the attention.
Teacher brown! Behind [/color]
Fire flew a foot from the brownrider, scorching the worst of the thread above him.
Are we landing or betweening?
Rankers or not, I'm not betweening. I'll fly down, and continue my job. [/color]
Ka'mond smiled at his amethyst's seriousness.
The pair swerved, looping next to the brown and behind the gold. Abyrath let herself drop a yard to show she would follow.
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Post by Elessar on Jul 31, 2012 10:09:37 GMT -4
He wasn't trying to be a hero. He wasn't trying to earn a badge of honor or bravery. But Saekath had been in his head for nearly nine months. Nine months in which she drilled it into him that there was no point in being a Quee, even a Lion Queen, unless they could perform their duty. Right now, they couldn't. Saekath couldn't blink between, but it was their duty to protect Ka'mond and Abyrath... even if it meant their death.
Iro'ris could have screamed with fury when the Amethyst rider defied his orders. He was only a weyrling, it was true, but Abyrath's life was just as precious as Saekath's, despite the difference in hide color. About to yell another command, Iro was relieved to find J'degar had joined his cause. The weyrlingmaster called a stern order, and Saekath waited to see if Abyrath would obey.
When the amethyst moved a different direction, Iro'ris had the violent urge to strangle not only the gold rider that had joined them, but also Ka'mond. With both of them aiming for the same patch of thread, either one of the, or both, or even J'degar could have died. "You fools!" Iro bellowed. The queen ordered everyone down, and Abyrath dropped a bit to indicate she would follow.
His heart racing from the near call with thread that could have cost J'degar his life, Iro tried to calm himself. About to yell at Ka'mond to stop screwing around and between back to the weyr, Iro missed the tangled clump of silver headed right at him. He charred most of it with his flamethrower, but the few strands that hit his leg and Saekath's topaz hide were enough.
One anguished yell from Iro'ris and a bloodcurdling screech from Saekath were suddenly silent as the topaz dragon seemed to fold into herself... And blink between.
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Post by Zirin on Jul 31, 2012 11:08:54 GMT -4
It was habit, more than conscious choice that had made J'degar and Syphraelth fly in a position that, despite the lack of a wing, proved he was still managing to stay in a formation of sorts with the other two riders. He had hoped it meant that he'd be able to watch their backs as he ordered them down. However, due to the makeshit formation, J'degar had no one to truly guard his own back, so the call of warning from Abyrath was actually well received and, skipping between to make sure the clump missed him, it was only when he reappeared that he realized how dangerous a situation he had narrowly escaped.
Two dragons flying for a single clump, a single clump that would have been mere inhes from his tail when they skipped. He could have been flamed; an injury worse than Thread, since the menace would at least die between. He felt furious, even moreso as the damn goldrider came in and overruled his orders. Between to the Weyr! You may fly down from there but this in neither the time nor place for useless heroics. Get OUT OF HERE! Syphraelth roared, fueled by his rider's anxiousness.
They had no wing above them. No one to truly guard there descent... No, the amethyst and gold could and should have betweened to the safe air above the Weyr and done their stupid maneuvres there. The sound of Iro's angry bellow touched him, in a way. the topaz weyrling, inexperienced as he was, knew better than the other two; a thought that brought both pride, and sheer disappointment to J'degar.
The bright flash of flame caused Jdegar to look just in time to see the Thread hit, to hear the screech rip through his mind. His blood ran cold as the topaz disappeared.
"TO THE WEYR!" He bellowed again, his words echoed by a furious roar from Syphraelth. How could he have let his little queenling come to harm! The seconds ticked by slowly. On the first, J'degar fed Syphraelth another chunk of firestone. By the second, they had gained a slight hint of altitude, the rider's face grim as he watched the skies, prepared to guard Saekath from Thread the moment she returned.
On the third, he could feel Syphraelth reaching out, searching for them within the darkness, and on the fourth and fifth he could only wait in terror. Had eight seconds always felt so long? A trip between happened in the blink of an eye and yet J'degar felt as if everything was in slow motion as he waited for the telltale sign of an orange hide. They couldn't be gone! Not because they were queenriders, not even because they were his weyrlings; Iro was more to J'degar than that.
His eyes remained stern, unblinking as Syphraelth charred another clump, the ashes stinging his eyes as his posture became more worried. He had already lost one important person to the darkness of between; he couldn't lose another. Iro would return... he had to.
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Post by Elessar on Jul 31, 2012 12:58:59 GMT -4
The immense cold of between was terrifying in and of itself. He hadn't been prepared for this. Was anyone ever prepared for the sheer terror that lay in the ice-cold black of between? It was a dragon's natural response to danger, Iro'ris knew that... But it was far from natural for a human being. The topaz rider was panicking.
To think he had once begged J'degar to take him on a ride on Syphraelth, and to take him between. It had all seemed to exciting then, like a grand adventure. This, however, was far from grand. The only good thing about between was that he could no longer feel the pain of the thread eating away at his flesh.
Eight seconds. It was only supposed to take eight seconds. Had it been that long? Longer? Iro hadn't been counting. He mentally screamed for his dragon, for Saekath, for his beautiful Lion Queen. He yelled for J'degar, for Syphraelth, for anyone. He just needed someone to hear him, so he would know he was still breathing... still alive. Without that knowledge... Iro'ris did not want to think.
Suddenly, miraculously, there was true air around him again, and sunlight... And thread. Despite his currently broken mind and crazed mental state, he was quick enough to char the clump of thread next to him. He turned, eyes wild, seeking J'degar. He found the man, and moved to Ka'mond and Rikula. All were still alive.
But they wouldn't be for long unless they moved. "J'degar! Ka'mond! Rikula!" He knew he had no right ordering any of them, but unless they moved, they were going to die. "Between back to the Weyr! That's a sharding order, this is no time for heroics!" Saekath pressed her will on all of the dragons, echoing her rider's message.
And then she skipped between again, back to the Weyr and safety, where she appeared in the sky like a bright beacon signaling the coming of dawn.
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Post by Wish on Jul 31, 2012 13:06:50 GMT -4
Rikula gritted her teeth as the foolish amethyst hit for the same spot she had, the cross-flames making it larger than necessary. Just one would have been fine, and the flame from a 'thrower was smaller than that of a dragon's and more concentrated. Riku didn't make mistakes like that, she had gotten Majoriith close enough, she would not have harmed the brownrider, but with the added effect of the fighter's flame it became a dangerous dance with death. The rider shook her head, running a calming hand across Majoriith's neck as the Gold crooned worried thoughts to the other three dragons, concerned only for their safety.
When Saekath moved between though, Rikula froze, Majoriith's mind instantly searching as the brown's was for the missing topaz. Saekath! Saekath! The Gold trumpeted as the topaz burst back into the air, her rider flaming a patch of thread that drew near. Good job Saekath! Now let's get out of here. It was useless for a single Sub-Queen that was still but a dragonet to try and will a Gold to do anything, but then again this was Majoriith and all she wanted at the moment was for her companions to return to the Weyr safely. Pulling mentally on the brown and amethyst as well, adding to the command, the Queen betweened back, arriving just after the topaz and landing in the safety of the 'Bowl.
Rikula stayed up on Majoriith's neck however, waiting for the others to land before she figured out what would happen. No doubt that brownrider would have words to say, and Majoriith had already moved to inform the Weyrwoman and Maelath as well despite Riku being a moment away from saying not to. Maelath, Maelath'sOwn! Saekath betweened and we helped bring back an injured amethyst....please, don't be angry, we all just didn't want anything bad to happen to them.
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Post by Kitsuneko on Jul 31, 2012 13:43:34 GMT -4
While Iskra was busy helping to organize the ground crews, Maeleth had noted the gold taking off, though not the topaz. When she had seen brown Syphraelth heading for them as well, she had assumed things were handled between the Weyrlingmaster and the goldrider, so she hadn't told Iskra about what was going on, thinking it would all be resolved shortly. There wasn't much point in upsetting Iskra, as was bound to happen, if there was no harm done.
Of course, as soon as Majorith contacted her and Iskra, she realized how wrong that was. Not only an amethyst injured, but an inexperienced weyrling forced to between? Her eyes whirled quickly with the reds and yellows of anger and worry. Iskra had immediately dropped what she had been doing to join Maeleth in the Weyrbowl. By the time they arrived, Saekath and Majorith were already back in the Weyrbowl, though J'degar and the amethystrider had not yet landed.
"So tell me, what sort of disaster could possibly require the presence of both a gold and an untrained topaz weyrling?" Iskra's voice was cold as she stared between the riders. Rikula she could understand, even if she should have known better; there was a possibility she could do something to help, and at least she was armed with a flamethrower and experience with betweening. She knew for a fact the older weyrlings had not yet practiced betweening, though, so there was no reason Iro'ris and Saekath should have been up there. She wanted to say a lot more, but at this point it would only be ranting, so she held her tongue. She'd better hear from the other riders involved first before losing her head.
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Post by twitchie on Jul 31, 2012 19:33:21 GMT -4
Abyrath screamed in sheer terror, watching the beautiful queen disappear.
The queen! The princess-lion-queen! She's gone! Gone! Its my fault!
Her body twisted to try and retreat to watch for the very large dragonet.
Abyrath. Between. Now.
The image was unclear a moment, Ka'mond could hardly focus. He breathed in, but refused to allow himself a second calming breath. The pair was only doing their job... there was never a chance yo exceed, only fall.
Mine.
Abyrath uttered one very firm word. J'degar expected this much of them. Atleast they had to prove they weren't stupid.
The tiny female was gone, the silence and chill greeting them. Ka'mond shook, the seconds dragging. They were dead. Yes. They were ceratinly absolutely positive--
Light, sun, warmth touched them. The scene was home. They were alive. They were safe...
Dammit. Shard it all... This had been their chance.... and once again they'd screwed it up...
Abyrath dropped to the ground, sniffing her burns distractedly. Her nostrils jerks and smelled Hers wounds.
Mine. You look horrible. [/color]
I guess I feel like I appear then... How's your wing?
The amethyst tried to hide the weak previously broken limb, but relucently showed it.
Ka'mond winced, shaking his head. The soft new hide that had covered the mend was raw and wet with inchor.
Dammit. Just great.....
The pair looked for the golds, brown and topaz, feeling meek and wrong.
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Post by Zirin on Jul 31, 2012 21:54:52 GMT -4
There! Syphraelth called, immediately shifting to a position that would allow them the catch any new clumps of Thread before it reached the weyrling pair. It was an instinctual movement, an act of protectiveness from Syphraelth, but J'degar was not about to argue. He opened his mouth, intending to yell again, when a combination of Iro's yelling and Saekath's orders reached Syphraelth, and without a moment's hesitation the brown blinked, unable to ignore the order.
Arriving in the air skies above the Weyr, J'degar stopped Syphraelth from landing and forced the brown to circle, waiting for Saekath to land first, and Majorith and the amethyst weren't far behind. With Saekath on the ground, J'degar finally allowed SYphraelth to land, and the man launched himself off his dragon's back the moment they touched down. Ripping his helmet and goggles off, he bypassed the weyrwoman without a second glance, stalked up to Iro'ris and, with an expression that was a combination of rage, stress and worry, punched that sharding weyrling across the jaw.
"You little shit!" He yelled, not at all caring that Iro'ris was significantly older than most weyrlings were. He opened his mouth the scream, to yell at Iro for being so irresponsible, for putting himself and Saekath in danger like that, for not following his instructions to return to the Weyr right off the bat. All that came out however, was a groan of annoyance as J'degar grabbed the sides of Iro's head and pressed his forehead against the topazweyrling's. "I'll kick your ass later dumbass. Just tell me you both are alright..." He remained where he was only a moment longer, his hands shaking slightly from the fear of a moment ago, before finally stepping away and turning to address the rest. His glare levelled at both Ka'mond and Rikula and he moved to be able to include Iro and Iskra in his line of sight as well.
"You and you," he hissed, jabbing his finger at Iro and Rikula, not at all caring that he was intending to tell off someone of higher rank. "You had one job. One Job. That was to stay here and assist on the ground. Why was it so hard to simply call for another rider to assist the brat? And you, Ka'mond. You never fly alone. I don't give a shit how heroic and brave you thought you were being, but if your fellow weyrling hadn't endangered is own life and that of Saekath's, then you would be dead, end of story." He paused then, remembering that he was, in fact, ranting in front of (and at) the Weyr's two goldriders.
"Weyrwoman Iskra." He finally said with a salute, "Loathe as I am to admit it, both of these idiots are my students. Clearly my teachings have failed to make it through their thick skulls. If it please you, may I have the honouring of dealing with the punishments and extra lessons they no doubt require?" He tossed Iro a look, one that left no doubt he wanted to see the weyrling in his office regardless of Iskra's decision. Ka'mond received a similar look.
Are you alright, little one? Syphraelth looked at Abyrath before moving to look over Saekath silently, his eyes whirling in concern. The topaz received only a questioning croon.
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Post by Elessar on Aug 1, 2012 23:55:22 GMT -4
The topaz virtually ignored the gold that called to her, telling her she had done a good job. Saekath's mind was, first and foremost, on her rider, whose mind was still unsound after his terrifying skip between, and whose leg and part of his back and side were burned raw from thread. Saekath was relieved when the others landed safely beside her.
The topaz, however, snarled at Majoriith as she called to the senior gold and the gold's rider. If they thought to punish her for saving her rider's life, as well as the amethyst and his rider's... they were going to face a lion's fury. Iro'ris, overwhelmed by Saekath's anger, laid a hand on her neck as he slid down to the ground, shaking visibly. "Easy, Saekath. She didn't mean any harm..."
His voice was weak and unsteady. As his feet touched the ground, he wobbled, and winced as he saw Iskra striding towards him. He didn't react to her words, however, for he barely had the chance before he was suddenly knocked backwards by a very, very angry J'degar.
Falling backwards into Saekath, Iro was startled to find the other man's hands on the sides of his head, shaking. Looking up, Iro'ris sensed fear in the Weyrlingmaster's eyes. Was there something else? The Weyrling couldn't tell. He did, however, know... J'degar cared. The thought made him even weaker, and when J'degar let him go, he fell forward and sank down onto his knees. He was so tired. Couldn't he just sleep?
"I... I'm scored. My side and back. Saekath's shoulder. See to her first."
If anyone even came near him with numbweed, no matter how tired he was, he was going to punch them and fight them off until they saw to his dragon, who had curled herself into a defensive position around her rider. At J'degar's ranting, Iro wrinkled his brows, but Saekath answered for him. What use,[/color] she asked, Is being a Queen, unless you help your subjects? I would be less of a dragon if we called for someone else when we could handle the situation.[/color] The topaz ended her statement with a low hiss.
Iro wasn't sure that getting them both nearly killed and scored and him being terrified out of his mind was "handling the situation," but he wasn't in the mood to protest. "No one else... was there..." He added, wincing. The look J'degar gave him was one that meant he'd be running extra laps until the day he died. Curling up against Saekath, he closed his eyes. The topaz wrapped her tail around him protectively, and made no move to speak to anyone else.
Crooning at her rider, Saekath extended one large paw out, so she could strike if anyone dared come near her injured rider or intended to do him more harm. No doubt, a healer would be needed. "No, Saekath... You first..." The topaz snorted. It was the problem of both rider and dragon being stubborn, but... she crooned again, worry in her eyes. Okay, my WonderfulBraveCrazyMine.[/color]
The topaz turned to Syphraelth. She did not speak, only turned back to Iro'ris, exposing a large patch of thread-scored hide.
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