Who

R'zel, Th'res, F'kan, Z'bor

What

While out searching for the people still missing after the Big Storm, R'zel, Th'res and F'kan make a gruesome discovery while Z'bor sticks with the klah.

Dead Body

When

It is afternoon of the twenty-fifth day of the fourth month of the thirteenth turn of the 12th pass.

Where

Rocky Beach

OOC Date 25 Feb 2018 05:00

 

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Rocky Beach

Here the cliffs crumble at points, littering the beach with rocks and boulders that spread out to the waters edge an out into it. The water swirls around and gets caught, creating several different tidepools. The cliffs themselves are riddled with pockets of space where rocks have tumbled downwards and others seem fairly loose and ready to tumble, making the face dangerous. Here and there small caves seem to peek out from behind boulders, but most are much to small for anything but a small canine.


It's more than three sevendays since the evacuation of Black Rock, and the Weyr has been assisting with the search for missing survivors since then, as other duties permit. And some people have been found safe. And some people have been found dead. Hope's fading of finding the former kind, unless they're simply taking refuge somewhere where their identity isn't known, and as the Weyr's also been visiting evacuation sites and taking names, there shouldn't be too many of those. But there's still ground to cover. The river's been searched in detail now, so today's stretch is part of the north coast. Cliffs overlook a long rocky beach, and here on a high and relatively solid bit of the cliff-top, the searchers have established a rendezvous point, the better to co-ordinate their efforts. R'zel's here with Verokanth, taking reports from a couple of Ocelot searchers. One has found nothing; the other explains that he took a body back to Black Rock and hasn't covered his stretch of coast yet. R'zel sends him off to finish it.

Where Ocelot is leading the searching and rescuing, Lynx is there to support. Jedameth sails in and back wings lightly before touching down, the large blue warbles a greeting to Verokanth while Th'res dismounts. Heading over to the other Wingsecond he gives him a friendly salute, because old habits die hard, saying "My section is done, I sent F'kan a little more inland to see if maybe people pushed in away from the shore for shelter." He hands his report to R'zel and then looks around "Is there Klah? or should I break out my kit?"

It's only a few moments later when Quaverilth pops in from between over the agreed upon meeting place, angling down in a lazy spiral warbling his greeting as he comes closer. Finally with a hearty back winging of his star-dusted wingsails, he lands gingerly on the solid cliff top, quickly snappling cloak-like wings to his back to settle down. F'kan unbuckles his straps and slides from the brown's neck easily before striding over to the two wingseconds, have raised in greeting, "All done. Nothing and I went pretty far inland as well." he says as he peels off his riding gloves and tucks them into his belt.

R'zel chuckles, but gives an apologetic shake of the head. "There was klah. What's left is cold, I'm afraid, but Heri's over there with Provobeth, brewing up." He jabs a finger in the direction of the blue; there is indeed a rider who's got a small fire going in his vicinity, but as she's on the other side of him, all that can be seen is a small coil of smoke. Still, that's progress! "Heri and I have done our sectors without finding anything. X'ley's on his way back to finish his - he found an old uncle dead, I'm afraid. Someone at Black Rock was able to identify him - which reminds me; I must mark the name off. And Whitney's still out on the western stretch - she had furthest to go, of the Ocelots." While Quaverilth is landing, R'zel turns to Verokanth and pulls his clipboard and writing tablet from a clever stash attached to the bronze's straps. He turns back with them in one hand, and raises the other in greeting. "No more bodies, at least, then. But no survivors either." He gives a thoughtful frown.

Th'res nods and is happy to wait as he compares notes with R'zel "I got Trilli still out there, but Alfredomath likes to takes his time at things so nothing new there. Do we know how many are still missing?" Because alot of folks were tossed around in the shuffle. He looks over at F'kan and nods "Good job you two, take a break and relax till we see what else needs to be done."

F'kan gives a salute to Th'res, mostly cause he knows it bugs him, but also cause his manners have gotten rather impecable in the three months since transferring to Lynx. He shoots one off towards his former wingsecond just to be extra safe too, cause this is serious business time, and F'kan can be serious when needed. He hangs out though, wanting to hear any other reports coming in. Quaverilth will move over to Jedameth with a soft warble as the misty lake of his mindscape reaches out for the blue's. « Good flying Jedameth? » He ask conversationally though his tone is sombre.

R'zel tosses of a salute in response to F'kan, then holds out his clipboard to Th'res. There are several sheets of hide on it: one is a list of names in three neat columns. The sheet was originally totally full, and in tiny writing too, but as time has passed, names have been marked off as found, or deceased. "Just a couple of dozen left unaccounted for," R'zel explains. Those would be the unmarked names. Some of the others sheets that each show sketches of several faces; the Weyrharper has had a couple of his more artistic harpers trying to produce portraits from the descriptions given by people who know the missing ones. One of them shows a woman (labelled as 'Linetta') and some children. They're not marked as 'found' on the list. "But it's a lot of work to track down the last ones, and I suspect we're not going to find many alive now. Either they don't want to be found, or…." Or the 'alive' bit is the problem.

Th'res nods as he looks over the list saying "I got two riders checking in with the wildlings, just in the off chance they came across them somewhere but I agree with you or assistant" He looks over at F'kan saying "How about you? What is your take on the matter?" Because he hasn't spent months fixing the brown rider to let him just stand around and be pretty, nope time to use that brain boy! Jedameth croons happily to Quaverilth « IT was Great! there was this thermal we hit and too us SOOOOO high!!!.. Why do you sound sad? did you stub your toe, I always feel sad when I stub my toes. or my tail.. »

F'kan looks like the pernese equivalent of a deer in the headlights when he is being asked his opinions on things. That isn't in his job description. But he's getting that look from his Wingsecond and so he clears his throat and tries to narrow his eyes a bit as if he is considering something but really he is reaching for something to say. Why can't he just be pretty again? "Well…I think R'zel has a point. It's been three sevens. I don't want to be morbid, but.." he shrugs his shoulders, "Get pulled far enough out to sea and no one'll see you ever again. I'm not saying stopping the search, just, managing expectations might be in order." He looks at Th'res for confirmation that he did good as he exhales loudly. Quaverilth just huffs loudly and settles down, his head on his forepaws. « We didn't find anyone, and there are still missing. » His mind mists swirl heaily to obscrure the silent lake completely.

R'zel is nodding in agreement as F'kan speaks. "Well, we have to finish going over the ground. Even in three sevens, there's only so far they can have gone on foot. And living off the land, too." That's not impracticable in this fruitful tropical region. Verokanth hasn't been joining in with the other dragons, but now he offers his observations. « On the beach. There is something there. » with the words, he sends a picture of avians circling above a particularly distinctive point on the rocky shore a few hundred yards away, where there's a collapsed part of the cliff that looks as if it may have fallen recently. It's accompanied by the fragrance of something decomposing. At almost the same moment, there's a call from Heri, over by blue Provobeth. "Brew's up!"

Flying by on Ozriath, Z'bor spots a gathering of riders along the beach. Could be search and rescue. He thinks, having OZriath move in closer, she bugels a greeting to those on thhe beach. The patchwork green is nothing but sociable, and it's a thing that oft forces Z'bor to be social too. He does recognize a couple of the dragons, so down they go, to meet and greet, and help if it's needed. Ozriath lands daintily and Z'bor slides his long frame down her side to greet the sand with his boots. The Serval Wingsecond approaches the group with a wave. "Ahoy!" He calls, dragon rider he may be, but he was born a man of the sea.

Th'res grins when hears the Klah is up, and is half way to the pot when the discovery comes in he looks over but still moves to the warm drinks. He turns and greets Z'bor when he and his green arrive "Hey there!" Before he looks over towards where the information has been provided "Are they carrion avian's or just sea scavengers?" Jedameth rumbles to Quaverilth « I am sure something will turn up, OH look there is Ozriath! Have you met her she is very nice! and so many shades of GREEN!! » Bright colored greets are sent to the green dragon as she lands « Hello! »

Quaverilth is about to answer Jedameth about the approaching green when Verokanth makes his observations and that causes the brown to get to amble quickly over to the bronze and look in the same direction he is. F'kan straightens as he sees his dragon move, unsettled and starts to walk towards Quav, » You see anything mate? « he asks.

Verokanth knows Ozriath as their riders are friends, and warbles a welcoming greeting to the green. R'zel echoes it to the rider: "Hey, Z'bor! We were just wondering what the avians have found down there." He considers Th'res's question, shielding his eyes with his hand as he looks towards the avians. "Hard to tell what they are. If they're carrion seekers, they're not going down - don't those things circle until the carrion actually dies?" He moves a couple of steps closer to Verokanth, who obligingly extends a foreleg. "I think some of us should go and see. Who's with me?" He calls to the bluerider, "Can you keep me one, please, Heri? We're just going to see what's up on the beach."

Z'bor greets R'zel back, and Th'res, an odd sort of nod is sent F'kan's way. Someone new to Z'bor. Hmm. "That's usually the case, unless another animal is already feeding, they'll sometimes circle until the predator abandons it's prey or until the pther scavengers are gone." Z'bor cranes his neck to look in the direction they speak of. «Hello there!» Oz's usual rush of rainbow bubbles race down the yellow brick road of her mindscape and whirl about those they come in contact with. «Is someone dead?» The green asks, sounding near excited cause hey, this is some Stand By Me kind of stuff here. WHat an adventure!

Th'res is at that delicate moment when he either drinks the mug and burns himself or he leaves it and hopes it is there when he gets back.. To late Jedameth is already deciding as he moves to nudge his rider « LET'S GO!!» The blue croons back to the green again while the shorter red head mounts up calling to F'kan "Come on you, lets go see what adventure we can find." Though there is one last longing look at that Klah.

F'kan is already halfway up his dragon's forelimb at the brown's insistance when the wingseconds decide to investigate. Setting in between Quav's neckridges, the brown only waits long enough for him to clip in before taking off and winging the short distance to the recent rockfall, circling once as his brown roars at the scavngers to scare them away from whatever it is they are after.

R'zel lets Verokanth boost him to his neck, and straps in, then takes off and glides with a few lazy wingbeats to land near the collapsed part of the cliff. Like Quaverilth, he roars loudly as he approaches, and the avians scatter. Once he's landed, R'zel climbs down again, and starts walking towards the collapse, taking care on the loose rocks. Verokanth tells the other dragons, « There is definitely something here. »

Z'bor is staying put for the moment, he can smell klah and moves to grab a mug. He'll catch up.
If they look, they'll find the something - or rather, the someone. The young woman's form is emaciated, her body still and lifeless, and her golden-brown skin dull. She's lying face down, half-buried in the rocks. But there's another shape here, clinging to what can be seen of the first - a much smaller figure, of a size to be no more than five turns old, clad in a torn grey skirt and tunic. And there's a whimper of 'Please wake up, Mama, it's cold.'

Th'res does what comes natural to him, he checks the area around to make sure there isn't going to be another slide. He and Jedameth glide easily over the area, watching the slide while the blue sends the report to the other dragons, all business the solid wave of blue color washes out « Mine says the ground looks steady, but we will stay here a moment longer, Quaverilth you and yours are to assist R'zel, don't forget you have the first aid pouch. »

Quaverilth wings right over the scene before landing on the beach as close as they can, having given F'kan a good view at what it was the scavenger avians were after and his bright blue eyes are suddenly dulled as he slips easily down the brown's shoulder, grabbing the first aid pouch that's attached to the brown's straps on the way when he is reminded by Quav, and lands in the sand before he is jogging towards the two figures amoung the rocks. Watching his step, he calls out to the child, as he steps carefully over the rubble, trying to keep his voice as upbeat as he can in the circumstances to not scare the poor child. "Hello there. I'm F'kan. What's your name?" he asks in a soft voice.

As he approaches, R'zel realises what he's seeing, and breaks into a trot, or as much of one as is possible on the broken surface. He slows as he nears the child though. R'zel has a little brother, so he might be expected to have some clue what to do with a distraught kiddie, even if this one is a girl. He peels off his jacket even as he squats beside her. "Hello, love. Will you let us help you now?" As she turns tearful eyes on the riders, R'zel's own eyes widen, and as he's offering her his jacket for warmth, Verokanth asks Jedameth, « Does your rider still have the sketches? Mine thinks this is one we were looking for. » That picture of the woman and children… The girl is crying harder, but trots off her identification in response to F'kan's question in the manner of something learned by heart. "I'm Nettie of Black Rock Seahold. And this is my Mama. She won't wake up, and…" The rest is drowned in sobs.

Jedameth banks and lands down near the larger dragon as Th'res slides down clibboard in hand with the sketches. THe blue curiously croons at the girl but is quieted by his rider who makes slow moving paces there flipping through the pictures and holds it out towards R'zel "I think maybe them?"

F'kan is holding onto the first aid pouch and then tosses it in R'zel's direction since he seems to have a way with small humans. Then he smiles at the little girl before moving over to the lifeless figure. "That's very good that you know that Nettie. Good job." And he even gives her a thumbs up as he sidles slowly towards the older woman. He's bites down on his lips slightly to keep the bile from rising in his throat as he looks down at the woman. Turning to catch Th'res' eye, he shakes his head slowly before taking a step back and putting one hand up under his nose to try and block the smell.

R'zel catches the pouch but does nothing with it yet; when Th'res shows him the picture, he glances at it and nods briefly, face bleak. "Faranth. Where are the two boys?" Apparently this little one has two big brothers - somewhere. Nettie must be a helpful child: she actually answers his semi-rhetorical question. "Tiever and Lanto went swimming in the river when the big water came. Mama pulled me out because I can't swim as well as them." This doesn't seem to disturb her; Mama apparently had a way with the creative use of fiction. R'zel has pasted a smile on his face, and manages to keep it there.

Th'res hears and nods to F'kan, he like R'zel is forcing a smile. Because life is easier for people when you smile right? "Well I am sure they are good swimmers." He says as he looks over the little girl for any signs of immediate damage or danger. He isn't good with kids, because well he hasn't ever had any but he at least tries.

F'kan has his own smile plastered on his face for the sake of the little one as well. Out of respect for the dead woman, the brownrider will take his jacket off and place it over the remains, covering the woman's face at least. Then returning next to his wingsecond, he looks expectantly at Th'res' since he's the one in charge of F'kan at least. He lowers his voice for the bluerider's ears only, talking through clenched teeth, "What now? We can't start moving rubble to uncover the mother in front of the kid, who knows what state she's in underneath."

R'zel has draped his jacket over the girl's shoulders, now he adds an arm and turns her to face him. "Nettie, would you like something to eat? You must be hungry." The girl nods, and her sobs start to ease. "Well, we don't have any food here, but how would you like to ride on my dragon and go and have lunch at the Weyr, while F'kan and Th'res take the rocks off your Mama." Nice try, R'zel! At the mention of dragons and the Weyr, Nettie's eyes widen, and she asks, "Do you know my Granny? I want my Granny!" R'zel looks up at Th'res, a question in his eyes, then directs a meaningful glance towards the clipboard. "Does that say….?"

F'kan takes the clipboard from his wingsecond and flips to the picture of the woman and children, "Says here, any information should be reported to Laeiva, who looks to be this woman's mother. That's the Headwoman isn't it?" then his blue eyes turns to the little girl and he smiles again. "Your Granny works in the Weyr does she dearie?" he asks softly, getting down on her level. "Well I'm sure R'zel here will make sure you get to your Granny, how does that sound?"

"Mama come too?" Nettie's trying to turn to look at her mother. R'zel nods to F'kan, and tells Nettie, "Verokanth and I know where to find your Granny, dear." At least, they will once Verokanth has put out a frantic call on his rider's behalf to someone at the Weyr! "We'll take you to her, and F'kan and Th'res will take the rocks off your Mama." He scoops up the child and settles her on his hip, turning her towards his bronze. "Now, this is Verokanth. He's going to take us to see Granny." There is an entirely predictable gasp as the child sees the size of the dragon.

F'kan watches R'zel leave with the young girl towards his bronze. With a long sigh, he looks at the bluerider, and silently the two wingriders will work together to free the unfortunate woman from the fallen rocks covering half of her body. It's not pleasant work, and the brownrider may have lost his lunch, and his breakfast as well now to think of it at a respectful distance, but soon she is freed. A blanket acquired from some of the other searchers who waited back at the rendez-vous point is worked into a shroud as she is wrapped reverently and then secrured over Quaverilth's neck. Once the job is done, the two will return to Southern Weyr with their sad cargo.

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