| Who | W'rin, O'ell, K'vvan |
|---|---|
| What | Tallest person gets the body parts dropped on them first! |
| When | There are 0 turns, 11 months and 12 days until the 12th pass. |
| Where | Lost Oasis |
Lost Oasis
There's nothing quite like a ordinary sweep ride that is CRASHED by one's immediate and ultimate superior. K'vvan, twitchy at the best of times, is only more so at the sudden addition of W'rin to his lonesome adventure. Nadeeth however, is loving every second of the extra attention. She curvets in the air as flys, enjoying the extra time away from the demands of work to spend time with THE BEST PEOPLE. From the air K'vvan's eyes sweep the ground below, "Down there," he yells, and directs Nadeeth to dive.
O'ell isn't actually part of a real wing. So he just sort of goes where he's needed until there are more weyrlings to torment. Sweeps are pretty routine. Pretty dull. And so the bronzerider's expression is fairly bland. And Jafyth… well, he's Jafyth. There. Like a mountain. Or maye a big ol rock with moss growing on it. A flying one. A perfectly zen flying rock with moss. That's right. So when Nadeeth dives, he sort of grunts just like his rider. Like 'what noooooow', and angles into a slow circle to try and get a better view.
W'rin isn't crash so much as tearing his dragon away from the sands so he can actually get out of the weyr for a moment. There is nothing like being trapped in a place where everyone needs something from you. So he isn't here to yell, at least yet, he's really just hanging back and enjoying the flight. And hanging back, of course, means there is no way Valiuth could keep up with the soft spoken green, even if he was trying. Suddenly he is jolted from his lazy flight with a grunted, "HuH?" Wait he has to do actual work. GOOD. And the bronze turns wing to spiral down after the sweeps lead dragon.
It's awkward enough for K'vvan to be giving directions to the pair of bronzes in the air, but this was his sweep and there had been suspicious flickers of movement down on the ground. After a moment of grapling the green rider sets aside his unease and slips down from Nadeeth's neck the moment she settles onto the ground near the sandstone rock jutting out of the desert ground. "What did you see?" He inquires to the green, stepping forward to look around.
Only after W'rin and his bronze land do O'ell and Jafyth. He's got an easy sort of confidence about him when he slides down to hop onto the ground, squinting at the surroundings before he juts his chin towards Nadeeth. "She spot something interesting?" So far, all he sees is sand, sand, more sand… maybe some sand. And rock. Not that he's dubious, no. Just curious about what it might have been.
It doesn't take long for W'rin to unstrap, half slide down his dragon's hide and then leap the rest of the way, landing heavily on the ground, a billow of sand mushrooming beneath his wait. "What did you see, K'vvan?" What she sees, he sees right? It isn't a doubting tone, but one of inquiry. The more information he has the more he has to look for. It isn't his first sweep, his eyes scanning the oasis he doesn't quite remember having ever spotted before.
"Not quite sure, just something that isn't usually there. Might be nothing, just shadows." Out of the air awkward hits K'vvan and he shifts away, moving closer to the palms and shrubs that hide the desert oasis from the sun. "I'll look and see if it is something."
O'ell definitely does not try to crowd K'vvan. In fact, he doesn't appear even remotely offended when the greenrider shifts away from him. An eyebrow quirks a little, but otherwise his expression stays pretttttty much the same. Which is curious, but patient. As does his dragon. The large snout maybe tries to poke behind some brush, and snort some sand out of the way. But otherwise, it's a 'doot do dooooo' kind of waiting period, with hands clasped in front of himself and a rocking back on the heels. "Sad day when you want to go on sweeps." he comments, idly, at W'rin.
"Trust your gut." W'rin doesn't mind not being in charge, these are K'vvan's sweeps, so rather than take control when he's basically ordered to stay he curls his arms over his barelled chest and watches after the younger male. The other bronzer is answered with only a snort at first, "Yah. Well. Having a fucking dragon on the sands is basically being grounded. When Corelle said we could have the day off…" Anything is better than not flying. He's even tired of running drills from the ground.
The normally teasing wind that plays out in the desert dies suddenly, leaving the scene perfectly calm. Not a sound issues from within the confines of the best jungle the sandy expanse can conjure.
It's almost comforting as W'rin does not try to assert any control over the situation. K'vvan relaxes, just a bit, and moves forwards towards the greenery. As the wind dies he looks upwards at the sky, confused for just a moment. "Huh, guess it's just that time of day." Nadeeth sashays away from the pair of bronzes, scooching her way the other way around the sandstone overhang.
"Fucking's how he wound up on the sands." O'ell replies, completely deadpan. -Completely-. Before his lips twitch just a little. "When the offer is made, run with it." Yep, he gets it. He also gets that it's a little weird for the wind to just suddenly stop like that, and his head tilts upward to peer at the sky. He trades a look with his bronze, but they both settle back again. This time into a more alert but still relaxed sort of pose.
"Yah, well. That's the fun part of the whole process." For both the bronze and W'rin. The assistant weyrlingmaster's humor rather compatiable with the weyrleaders. Though that dies as quickly as the wind. "Somethin' doesn't feel right." The man's eyes squint after the greenrider. Hesitation kills, its his motto, and he doesn't bother to try to figure out what propells him forward, he just follows after the greenrider. Assuming of course the other bronzer will take his lead.
Over there, under the curve of the sandstone, hidden in the shadows cast by the slowly setting sun there is a shaking of the bushes which lasts for just a second.
K'vvan places on hand on the small knife he carries on sweeps. He doesn't draw it as he moves forward. "Ho, the Oasis," he calls out into the deepening shadows. "Sweep riders from Igen, is there someone about?" He pauses on the edge of the greenery, peering inwards to catch a glimpse of the calm waters of the oasis.
At the sound of the green rider's voice greenery shakes again, this time further to the left, almost out of the protection of the overhang.
O'ell isn't going to argue with that assessment. Not even a little. Nor the next one. As he follows W'rin forward though, he does remove a knife from his boot and holds it in such a way as to obscure the fact that he's carrying it. His relaxed expression now turns stony as a rustle of the brush catches his eye. And in case the others didn't catch it, he gestures that way with his free hand.
W'rin makes no move to free a weapon, if the giant happens to be packing, yet. Despite the fact he's taken to following K'vvan he allows the greenrider to maintain control of the sweep at hand. "Want me to go check it out?" Even as the rustling of brush continues, he eyes sweep out behind them just in case they are being flanked. Trusting the other two to keep steady ahead and to the sides.
K'vvan glances back at the weyrleader, shrugging slightly. "Uh, sure. Over there?" It is phrased more of a question then a direction from the smaller green rider. He points in the general direction of the second rustling. He raises his voice again, "Fair warning given, we approach the water."
O'ell knows full-well that W'rin and his dragon are capable of taking care of themselves. BUT, he is who he is. Thus, Jafyth turns his gaze on the Weyrleader to keep an eye on him for the assistant weyrlingmaster while he follows K'vvan forward. "Getting a little bored here! So c'mon out if you're there." he adds, somehow imbueing both boredom and annoyance into his tone. It's a gift, really.
The rustling of the bushes again echos, this time from three different spots in the small area. The sound bounces off of the sandstone wall, giving the impression of something big moving within the confines of the bushes.
Rather than follow after the sound which comes after he is directed, he does as K'vvan asks. Moving out toward the brush in the direction of the second. Valiuth is a solid force against all the evil which pounds agains the vessels of light, and spreading his wings he takes to the sky to circle over where his rider his head. A slow, long oval overhead. The weyrleader himself, like his dragon, is otherwise silent. Leaving the talking to the greenrider in charge, and the sarcastic assistant weyrlingmaster.
"Uh, why don't you go that way?" He gestures in the general direction of the other way from W'rin at the other bronze rider, still phrasing the direction as a question. You never know what bronzer's will do, right As no sound other then rustling answers his calling, K'vvan moves into the greenery, Nadeeth standing a few feet away, crouched at attention.
The last rays of sunlight finally flicker their way down past the horizon, leaving the scene under the sandstone draped in deep shadows. The rustling continues, snaking closer now to the edge were the dragon-riders stand.
O'ell turns on his heel, and heads thataway. As directed. He recognizes an order even when phrased as a question; likely because his own tend to be phrased as sarcastic ones. Once he's close enough to the brush though, he kicks at it to try and force whatever might be rustling to show itself. He's the 'no fear' kind, apparently.
Fear or no fear, W'rin is on the move. Oh good, whatever it is is moving. Shoving his way into the bushes, where it is sooo easy to see, with twigs and leaves and scratchy things near the face and eyes, and any open skin. Good thing he's still got his riding jacket on. "Nothin here so far!" Is called across the oasis to his fellow searchers. Even if he does throw his arms out in front of him hard, everytime he goes to move forward.
As the large man crashes into the branches the rustling stops abruptly. Instead, there is a great splash from the direction of the water, moving swiftly away from the trio that invades the bushes.
K'vvan mutters "Bronze riders are fucking insane." to you.
K'vvan mutters, "… … … … …" to himself, apparently very effectively this time, just a step into the darkness, listening to the change in the sounds. "We're not looking for trouble." He tries to call this out one last time, just in case it was something human. "Nadeeth, take upwards 'n let me know what you see?"
O'ell snorts, of course, when the rustling ends and splashing begins! "Oh THAT figures." he doesn't bother muttering. But hey, at least it must be safe to peek within the brush right? He still keeps his knife at the ready, but this time tries to separate some of the foliage (if you can really call it that) to get some clue as to what might be going on.
Spinners have claimed the deeper parts of this desert jungle, their thin strands invisible in the deep shadows.
"At this point we might be." W'rin offers, none-to-helpfully, which may explain why he's been silent up until this point. Man knowns his strengths - and weaknesses. But whatever else he was going to say is cut off with a "GAWWW!" Surprise, the man gets a face full of web. "Oh man!" The mountain of a weyrleader bursts forth from the enterior of the bushes.
You overhear W'rin mutter, "Mother … … titty twisters!" to himself.
The wind picks up again, reaching icy fingers through the shrubbery as it moans gently bringing a slight smell of death towards the riders.
K'vvan shoots a look in the direction of the weyrleader. But this is W'rin. Clearly he can handle himself. K'vvan reaches a hand in front of his face, waving it to check for branches that might just be looking to knock unwary green riders downward, managing to brush spinner webs. Gross. He rubs the threads on his tights as he moves forward more. Do either of you smell that?
O'ell raises an eyebrow as W'rin finds spinner doom; and he also twistes when he pulls his hand back out from the brush and there's webbing sticking to his glove. "Ugh." Shudder. Meanwhile, the wind and eau de unlife catches up to him and he sniffs at the air with a frown. Suddenly, he's signalling Jafyth 'up' to circle the immediate area and keep an eye out for threats. Taking no chances. "After you, sweeps leader." Oh the benefits of leadership. You can uncover the source of dead smells first!
"Smell what?" W'rin says gruffly as he tries to play off his rather girlie reaction to a beard full of webs, spindles which he is still pulling out of his facial hair, as he plunges back into the bushes, only this time closer to where the other two are studying. "Just becareful, if its dead, it might have been for a while, no use getting a boot fool of squishy animal death splooge."
The icy chill cuts like knives through any place not covered by riding leather, and K'vvan shivers as he casts an annoyed look in the direction of the two unhelpful bronze riders. "Thanks for the heads-up." His voice has taken on the slightly grumpy cast that only K'vvan can pull off as his voice moves deeper into the foliage. "I'll go look see wha…." K'vvan's voice cuts off abruptly as there is a loud skitter from the direction the small rider had disappeared in. From above, Nadeeth hisses.
Branches snap from within the foliage, hissing echoing outwards as there is a sound of struggle.
O'ell looks at K'vvan like 'Wha??', before the man steps into the bushes. And there is hissing and struggles. "Well, fuck." Going crashing in there might make matters worse. So, instead he's more careful as he heads into the thicket of things. "Jafyth, can you see anything?" Yeah, he says it aloud so that everyone knows what he's doing. "K'vvan. Status!" Sorry, it sounds suspiciously like an order. He can't help it!
W'rin reacts, they've been here before, only last time it was in Southern with a feline, how much easier will it be to take whoever is attacking his rider. People, or animals, don't fuck with his riders. Strong strides carry him into the jungle where the boy disappeared his arm ready to fly, and it will as soon as he sees what he's swinging at that isn't K'vvan's face.
"F*ck that!" K'vvan's voice echos out from the foilage. "Stupid snakes!" There is a thump as K'vvan cuts with the diminutive knife he carries thumps with a squishy sound into snake flesh.
The smell of decay grows the deeper the riders move into the foliage.
"Hey, hey, whoah - I like my face the way it is there, sir!" O'ell protests as W'rin comes in swingin. "Now w… a snake?" He is disappointed. There was almost action. There was almost combat. Sigh. "Right. So. We keep moving, I take it?" He'll wait for the man in charge to charge forward.
W'rin's still tense for action as he hears the SQUISH of a knife into flesh, only then realizing it is a snake. He looks a little sheepishly at K'vvan, was his CARE showing. No one EVER mention this. "Gaw, what the fuck is that?" And he too continues moving. Good change of subject.
If the bronze riders could see K'vvan's face they might just notice he's looking at them with a bit of disgust. Really guys? It was just a tunnel snake! With big fangs and what not, but STILL. "The smell is over there," He gestures with his knife, swinging it wide, and fairly close to that oh-so-pretty face of O'ell. K'vvan takes the inititive again moving further into the darkness.
The ground becomes more boggy deeper into the oasis, and there is slithering to each side as tunnel snakes scatter away from the footfalls of BIGGER CREATURES.
O'ell just looks annoyed now. Grumble. "Really?" That's all he says about how close that knife gets to his face before he slogs in the direction of THE smell. He doesn't mind just wading right on in. Even with slithering sounds. He'll just scrub himself raw when they get back to the Weyr. He can suppress his shudder for the time being.
W'rin trusts K'vvan with sharp objects, which is probably a bad choice, but hey it wasn't his face. The slithering sounds are largely ignored because he is a bigger creature a MUCH bigger creature, and one who wouldn't mind stopping on the heads of things that get in the way. "This is so much better than being on the sands." Should a man sound so happy about trudging after the scent of something that smells so remincent of things that have ceased to exist and are currently decomposing?
The smell grows till it is overwhelming, and a few steps away lumps rise up in the darkness, having an oh-to-familiar shape to them. Two hands. Two feet. Torsos. No heads in sight.
K'vvan stops as his foot encounters the source of the smell, an ugly squish coming from his shoe. "Oh, gross, what happened to this poor bastard?" He steps backwwards, putting the knife back into his belt.
O'ell just…. sort of stops mid-step and stares with a blank expression at the headless body. "Who the fuck does shit like this?" He gestures with his knife towards the corpse. "Makes me wonder if someone just ran off with his head as we were arriving. I mean, the rustling." Ugh.
"Well, it seems he misplaced his head for starters." W'rin skirts to a stop just at the edge of dirt and dead guy, pausing before nudging at one of them with his bood. Just in case. Cause even without a brain, the weyrleader needs to double check. Then his eyes stray to O'ell, "Or it was an animal - I mean…they do eat these things." And by things he means corpses.
"Can't tell how long he's been dead," K'vvan shakes his foot, frowning at the human goo that now clings to it. "Looks like the animls have been at it." He steps over the arm he'd stepped on and crouches to take a closer look at the torso of man who has met his end in this lonely place.
The wind chooses this moment to pick up again, crashing its way through the foliage, sending the branches launching at the faces of those tall enough to be caught in their assult.
O'ell grunts an agreement. Because that's just how he and W'rin communicate. "Well, do we want to drag it out into the open and see if there's anything on him we can use to figure out where he came from?" They can't just leave the poor bastard there. "Ow.." A glare is cast at whipping branches. For all the good it will do.
"I dunno know if we should move him..he looks…" W'rin pokes at the corpse again and it gives just a little too much. "Like he might not hold together." A wicked grin spreads across his face, "He might just lose it, already lost his head." Okay, so he's going to take control a little now, "Uh, K'vvan, why don't you reach in his pocket and see there's anything we can identify him by." Cause. That's what he'd have to do if he was alone anyway. Right?
K'vvan casts a look upwards, really? He has to touch the dead guy? He mutters to himself "… … always … … … the … dirty …", but reaches fowards into the britches pulling his hand out as quickly as he can.
O'ell leans over to whisper at W'rin. "That's what she said.".. before he straightens, and watches the pocket-fishing expedition with a totally straight face.
There is a thunk from above the heads of riders, a rather squishy thunk. Sounds of breaking threads as a round lump is dislodged by the violent swaying of branches, downwards towards the tallest object below.
W'rin is snorting all sorts of inappropriate laughter with O'ell, when something SPLOOGES from above, only the splat sound is just a little to close for comfort, and it hurt, and then there is a sudden cold slimey feeling on his head- the man's eyes close as blood and partially decomposed body stuffs spill down his hair and face. That is way worse than spindle webs. And then whatever it was slips off his crown and instinctively he catches it. It takes him a few blinks to pull himself back to reality. "Um. Anyone missing a body part?"
"I think, yeah, something's here." K'vvan peers downwards at the scrap of fabric he's pulled from the decaying body. He almost jumps as the squishing sound falls from the sky, conking the weyrleader upon the head. Screw this. Nadeeth! I need that torch! The finicky rider slides around the now goo-covered W'rin to disappear into the darkness again, crashing loudly away to scare off any snakes that still want to tango.
The wind continues to blow, and another body part falls from the branches above, this one less gooey, and more of the bold-white variety.
"Okay. Well." O'ell pauses as even more body parts begin falling. "What. The. F…" Nope, just not going there. And he is NOT looking up. Too much chance of corpse splooge in the eye. "I think it's time to go."
Local> Nadeeth stretches out a thought on the thinnest of ribbons, this one edged in dark lace. « Mine has forgotten the torch. He wishes to return to the weyr. »
W'rin wipes some of the goop away from his eyes with the back of his sleeve. He will not be catching any more parts of the poor fellow above them. Thank you very much. "Welp." He comments rather nonchalantly, " K'vvan you find anything in that pocket?" Cause no one better be saying anything about the man's new fashion accessories. "Let's mark the spot and send some Helions out, eh? This is there job, right." It's what they are trained for, and also the man doesn't mind if someone else is dealing with gravities effects on dead bodies. A corpse on the ground is one thing, one getting there bit by bit from the top of a tree is another. " He doesn't wait for the greenrider this time, he's stomping his way out of the bushes.
The bushes continue to drop their grizzly effects in the the laughing wind, a quiet plop, plop, plop following the retreating dragonriders out.
Well, that's lovely :( Groooss! But a fun read.