Who

K'vvan, M'noq

What

Things Lynx pauldrons are not good for. #1: …

When

It is evening of the eighteenth day of the eighth month of the twelfth turn of the 12th pass.

Where

River Cliffs, Southern Weyr

OOC Date 08 Dec 2017 06:00

 

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River Cliffs

Towering cliffs topped with the verdant growth of brilliant greenery hover over the churning, steel-grey river far down below. The winding Black Rock River crashes against the base of the cliffs, churning as speed is slowly picked up over the rapids as it spills quickly towards the Caspian Lake, seen as a glimmering jewel in the distance. When the chilly grip of ghostly fog rolls in, it clings to the jungle that grows right to the very edge, giving the whole length of the river's cliffs an eerie sense of danger. In the distance, a feline's yowl may sometimes be heard. Dotting the towering cliffs are ledges; this is one of the best spots for those who seek a view in Southern.


Southern Weyr is still a cold, soggy mess this time of the season, but if there's anyone who can find a spot of warmth and sun on the Southern continent, it's M'noq. He and Ravaith have paused in their sweeps, at the top of a rocky hill, mountains rising behind them and the jungle spread out at their feet. Ravaith is all business, watching the area for anything out there larger than a firelizard, and M'noq is bent over his notebook, scribbling quick notes opposite a roughly drawn map of the area.

Nadeeth totally was all « Where are you?» with soft ribbons and happy feels. When directions get provided K'vvan and Nadeeth ~COME~ and spiral downwards. Upon landing K'vvan slides off, stuffing his riding gloves into a pouch on Nadeeth's straps before moving forward. He's just going to see if M'noq will let him encircle his shoulders with his arms. "So. You okay?"

Ravaith sends back a location without hesitation, only afterwards informing his lifemate they were going to have company. By the time K'vvan and Nadeeth land, M'noq is standing and waiting, curious about the unexpected visit. He returns the hug, a faint smile on his lips. "Sure, fine. Did you need me for something? I would have come home if you had asked. I'm almost through here." Though he's a little worried, he also likes the visit.

"Actually," K'vvan steps away and looks out over the forest. "I was thinking we should come out to the jungle together some time soon." Green eyes dance across the view and Nadeeth is going to nose Ravaith happily.

"The jungle? Really?" Maybe M'noq sounds a little doubtful, but there's an edge of teasing in his tone too. "Anything in particular you wanted to do?" Because M'noq's mind just automatically goes to certain things. At Nadeeth's nuzzle, Ravaith croons a welcome, his head bending lower to twine his neck with hers.

"Yeah, Nadeeth's been bothering me about going hunting again out here. And after that stupid fucking bite…." K'vvan drifts off for a moment, probably distracted by Nadeeth being all <3 at Ravaith, before shaking his head and refocusing. "It seems stupid to not let her do it at least once more."

M'noq puts his palm to K'vvan's forehead, as if he could tell if the man was ill by checking his temperature alone. "You sure you're feeling up to it? You want to bring a few other people with, just in case?" Hunting outside of the Weyr pens always presents an element of risk, however minor, and M'noq is cautious by nature.The two dragons continue making lovey-dovey eyes at each other, which doesn't do anything to make M'noq feel less protective over K'vv.

"Hey," K'vvan brushes M'noq's hand away, and eyes his lover with slight irritation. "No, people are pissing me off right now." Now, or… just, like, in general? K'vvan won't spend much time on that. Instead he steps towards the edge and vaguely gestures outwards. "IF shit is going to try to fuck me over in the middle of the weyr I might as well let Nadeeth have some fun."

M'noq gives his lover a wry smile, taking that as a good enough answer that he is feeling better. "Fine. Might be interesting to see the two of them hunting together." He glances over at the two flirting dragons. Neither of them looks particularly blood-thirsty at the moment, but these things can change when they get down to business.

"Come on then." K'vvan turns to head down the hill. As he goes leather gloves get pulled out and K'vvan puts them on. "I didn't have these last time," hands coming up to wiggle inside the leather. "And I fucking hate getting my hands dirty." Seriously, dirty dirty DIRT.

M'noq follows along after, pulling on his gloves as well. Couldn't hurt, right? "You know anything about the prey in this area?" Not really the stuff M'noq pays attention to in his mapping.

"Some." K'vvan reaches out to play a hand against the cliff starting to rise to their right. It's a good thing this pathway looks more or less well established otherwise this would be STUPID. "Nadeeth will want to go after the felines though." This is what Nadeeth is doing right now, sharing excited images of diving through foliage to catch up a furry prize.

Ravaith follows Nadeeth, and if you thought one small green dragon made a chaotic mess, try adding a brown ballparking twice her size. M'noq is a little doubtful, unsure on Rav's enthusiasm for a dinner of feline, but he goes along. "They'll be lucky if they don't run off every critter within fifty clicks," M'noq says wryly.

"Nadeeth knows what to do." M'noq can take some comfort in that. "Last time we hunted," K'vvan won't mention that was a decade ago, "we were in the sky the whole time. Figure it would be safer if we flush it out instead this time.

Maybe M'noq is a little naïve, but it doesn't occur to him to ask when the last time was that K'vvan and Nadeeth went hunting together. "Yeah, I don't think I want to be on the back of a hunting dragon." Sounds like a good way to get a branch to the face, especially the way Ravaith is plunging through the foliage, chasing the glimpse of what he thinks is spotted feline fur.

« Silly! » Nadeeth teases the brown as she wings high above the foliage. « You will scare them!» A shower of fuzzy laughter spills forward. The chase seems to be what Nadeeth enjoys. An afterthought, «Or hurt the poor trees. » Another tease. K'vvan shrugs. "Nadeeth can get around easier than Ravaith I'm sure. If we could find a good clearing…" Reaching the bottom of the cliff happens quickly and K'vvan pulls out a knife, a weird look on the greenrider.

Ravaith doesn't care about the trees, though maybe he should because he does sort of get tangled up in them. With a leap, he takes to the sky, though it takes him a bit more effort than it does Nadeeth to skim carefully above the treeline. M'noq eyes K'vvan and his knife and weird look. "What?" What kind of hunting is this going to turn out to be? "I think I saw a clearing not far that way." He points off to the left.

"The kind where I would rather be safe than sorry." Not that K'vvan's inexperienced knife would do much good. K'vvan turns his feet towards where M'noq indicated and starts to walk. Absently he'll even slice at the poor trees. Maybe he is pretending to be bait? Nadeeth dips and moves back and forth over the trees. « Look for rustling, where the branches sway. Like they are pulled by ribbons! »

M'noq frowns, not having much confidence in K'vvan's pokey little knife. "Shoulda brought machetes," he comments, though he follows along, maybe making a bit too much noise. He doesn't want to be the one who runs into a wild feline. « There are too many leaves getting in the way of the rustling. Move the leaves! » At this point, Ravaith would burn down the forest if he had his choice.

Do you really want me to have a machete?" It's a good question to ask as K'vvan keeps plowing forward into the foliage. One particularly large branch he ducks under. Ravaith' s frustration makes Nadeeth laugh playfully. « It will have a pattern to it, and a whole section will rustle. » She may not have been hunting recently but feline rescues are a drill for Ocelot's search and rescue. So she knows the signs.

"Fine. You're not allowed to have a machete, but I still wish I had one," M'noq says. Of course his got left attached to Ravaith's riding straps, exactly where it will be easy to grab… right as he was dismounting, which he didn't. Ravaith is still sticking his head into random gaps in the leaves, which may or may not be rustling. « Look! I think I see something. Oh! » And that time when he stuck his nose in, he really did come face-to-face with a feline, who wasn't at all happy to see him. The creature makes a swipe at him, and Ravaith jerks away, bumping into a large tree which is half-rotten. That is enough force that the massive tree begins to fall, groaning and snapping as it goes, its dead branches taking out all kinds of neighboring trees caught beneath it.

Nadeeth's mental « Oh dear… » is not reassuring and K'vvan stops in his tracks to try to figure out what exactly would cause his lifemate to worry. "What happened?" Cuz, y'know, a tree falling isn't actually a super recognizable sound. (A'hali seems to think it is but this is K'vv.)

There's a moment of panic from Ravaith, with half the forest seeming to collapse around him. M'noq just looks towards the sound, puzzled, the foliage and other trees blocking his view of what's happening. But it is Ravaith's panic that makes M'noq move, pushing past K'vvan and towards the sound and Ravaith. "Rav! Stay still!" There is a moment of quiet… then more cracking and snapping of branches breaking as a large tree that had been hung up on another comes crashing down on top of M'noq, obscuring him from view.

K'vvan makes a grab for M'noq when he starts to head off towards Ravaith, but misses M'noq by a wide margin. There isn't even enough time for him to start swearing when that tree comes crashing down. It'll just happen inside of his own head. Search and Rescue is K'vvan's second nature now after being in charge of first Arroyo and then Ocelot for so long. He's climbing that tree and shouting out, "M'noq! Sing out if you're conscious!" Nadeeth is doing her own S&R, reaching down calming ribbons to Ravaith in an effort to get him to still enough and detangle himself from the trees. « Come back up love, the sky is more forgiving. K'vvan will take care of yours. Small bodies for small places. »

Ravaith's panic intensifies, that glow of M'noq's thoughts suddenly going dark. But then it is back, a dim flicker, and under pressure from Nadeeth, he retreats into the sky. From under the tree, there is no sound for a long moment, then a tortured, struggling gasp. « He is there! Under the tree! Make yours find him! » Urgent thoughts to Nadeeth.

Nadeeth keeps up the comforting pressure, her silk ribbons curled firmly around all the green's thoughts. K'vvan doesn't waste time with words beyond calling for M'noq. Branches help him clamber over the tree so he can try to see M'noq's exact location.

M'noq was lucky that the full weight of the tree didn't fall on him, but a whip-like branch struck him full in the chest and knocked him to the ground. Pinned, he struggles to regain enough breath to talk, but he's probably making enough noise that K'vvan can find him under the foliage. Ravaith hovers above, kicking up a bit of wind. Nadeeth's calming presence doesn't keep him from crying piteously, though it holds him back from plunging back into the trees and creating more chaos.

K'vvan pauses to listen to what he can and the rustling is what he hones in on. Vaulting off the large tree K'vvan shows an agility that isn't generally evident and takes a controlled fall to the ground. Coming to M'noq's side he puts a hand on M'noq's shoulder. "Stop moving, you'll just put yourself under more strain." A glance skyward at the dragons. "I'm going to need the ropes from Nadeeth's straps." Not moving yet as he tries to see if M'noq has more injuries. Above Nadeeth dips herself deftly under the brown even though it causes her to scrape against the tops of the trees. « We must land for a moment. We have done this before. » She attempts to imbue reassurance into every ribbon.

M'noq is still laboring to draw breath, the branch across his chest thankfully not pressing with the weight of the tree, but the initial hit knocked the wind from his lungs, and he just doesn't look well. Wide-eyed, he stares at K'vv and then up into the sky at his lifemate. Ravaith can't bring himself to follow Nadeeth, needing to stay as close as he can to M'noq. Rope or not, he looks like he is about to make an attempt to pull the tree off himself, as risky as that would be.

"Fuck, M'noq," K'vvan cups M'noq's cheek in his hands, trying to get the brownrider to look at him. "Nadeeth isn't strong enough. If Ravaith won't help we will have to wait for one of my riders to get here." Which assuredly are already on the way, but it always takes SOME time. "Can you get him to land?" Nadeeth has already found a clearing and spiraled downwards. « We need you. To get the tree off yours. »

Ravaith gives a frustrated cry of protest, but he follows Nadeeth's instructions. Of course he's strong enough, but without M'noq to give him instructions, he cannot do anything requiring a delicate operation. And M'noq is useless, open-mouthed and gasping for air, pushing futilely against the branch.

K'vvan does not want to leave M'noq but his own training will hold. When Nadeeth conveys that the brown is coming K'vvan gets off to run to the clearing. He leaves behind a small fair of firelizards though, Lance, Sonyva, and Kotiate perch nearby on a branch while gold Morningstar stays close to M'noq and keeping up a steady chirp. At Nadeeth's side K'vvan begins unhooking ropes. They turn out to be a carry harness of sorts. « Mine will put the harness on you, and ropes on me. Then we will fly to where yours is. K'vvan will attach and we will lift the branch up. K'vvan will free yours then release us. Let him put it on you. » K'vvan doesn't approach Ravaith till he is sure the brown has listened.

Ravaith needs to trust someone at this point, and thank goodness M'noq's long-trust of K'vvan has filtered through the brown, because it lets him settle and look to the greenrider obediently when it comes to rigging the harness. « Tell yours he must hurry. I cannot hear him. He must be fading! » Though M'noq tries to keep his eyes on focused on the golden firelizard, but his eyelids slowly droop and then close.

Morningstar has no intention of letting M'noq sleep (Or pass out) if she can help it. Firelizard tongue in his ear It IS. K'vvan makes short work of getting Ravaith kitted up, then does the same to Nadeeth. "Go." A command before K'vvan races back to M'noq. Bending her head down Nadeeth takes up the ropes in her mouth so they don't drag as she lifts off, indicating Ravaith should do the same. « Don't let them get caught till we are back to yours. »

A firelizard tongue in the ear doesn't do much against lack of oxygen, but M'noq struggles to stay awake and keep trying to breathe. At K'vvan's command, Ravaith launches into the air, doing his best to keep the rope from dragging, even though this is not a practiced skill for him. He follows close to Nadeeth, trying to do his best to hurry her, even though she's no doubt going as quickly as she can too.

K'vvan reaches M'noq before the dragons do, but doesn't kneel by his lover's side. Instead his eyes seek skyward. This is the most awkward part of the rescue and when things were most likely to go wrong. Nadeeth leads the way by example and mental images rather than words and drops her ropes about where K'vvan is. Some snag on branches but her jerky hover shakes them loose so K'vvan can snag them and begin to het them tied about the branch that holds M'noq.

Ravaith is impatient, though he knows he cannot drop his ropes at the same time that the green is above K'vvan. So he waits, and once she is tied to the branch, he tosses down his ropes. The hover is more difficult for him due to his size, making it difficult to keep the rope within K'vvan's reach and not jerk it away too soon, but after a couple of attempts, he manages.

Ravaith is not the only brown that K'vvan has had to work with, so while the swings are not predictable, they are expected. When he catches onto the harness he ties it to another branch best suited for leverage. With ribbons tight with strain, « Up! » Nadeeth commands. Between the two that tree will shift, enough at least that K'vvan can drag M'noq out then cut the dragons free before they can injure themselves too much.

Ravaith powers upward, desperation putting enough energy into the pull that the tree shifts substantially before the two dragons set it back down. Then even cut free, the brown does not want to settle anywhere else. He hovers close until M'noq manages to get enough air in his lungs to sit up, still wheezing and coughing weakly, obviously in pain. "Go. I'm fine…" This directive is accompanied by a mental one as well, and the brown sulkily goes to the clearing to wait.

K'vvan is tight lipped as he straight up cuts M'noq's shirt off of him. The bruises have already started and K'vvan runs his hands across M'noq's chest. If it hurts K'vvan is just going to assume that a rib is broken there. (And that M'noq will make a noise of pain.) It's a sign of his worry and fear that he isn't swearing.

Every breath is painful, and the bruises forming on M"noq's side look pretty bad. "Hey. Hey! My shirt." He hisses and looks like he wants to punch K'vvan when he starts prodding the bruised area. "Fuck off, you're not helping." He doesn't really have the breath to say much more, and he looks like he wants to get to his feet but he can't quite manage it. And K'vvan thought he was a bad patient.

"Shut the fuck up." K'vvan responds tersely. His eyes look themselves upward as another dragon comes into view, an Ocelot that K'vvan had called for. Right behind this new rider come some more and that clearing of Nadeeth's and Ravaith's is about to be very full. "You broke at least one rib. Don't move much or you could punch a hole in your lung." Which would be bad since Pern doesn't do surgery and the like.

M'noq would really like to have the energy to argue right now, but he can't manage it. "Can I at least… go to Ravaith?" He tries to keep his own anxiety down so as not to affect Ravaith, but it's difficult, if he believes K'vvan that this could be serious. He tries to take a deeper breath and immediately regrets it. "Fuck. This is the last time I go hunting with you."

"Not until my riders get here and we carry you there on a stretcher. He isn't flying you back either, we are trained in this shit." K'vvan is currently hiding all his feelings in profanity laced professionalism.

"Also, this stupid pauldron… didn't do shit to protect my off-side," M'noq complains. Because, you know, it's designed as a bit of protection against Thread, not trees falling on you. "I… don't know if I could get up on Ravaith anyway," he admits.

"Now shut the fuck up till we get you back to the weyr." K'vvan stands as his rider's come running in. Quick orders are given along with a terse explanation of the situation are given. M'noq will find himself bundled up into the stretcher unless he puts up a fight.

M'noq is in no condition to struggle, so it's almost a relief when they get him ready to head back. As K'vvan is occupied directing his riders, M'noq has just Ravaith to talk to, mostly silently but sometimes in strange mutters, which at least keeps them both calm as they are taken back to the Weyr.

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