[SRP] Moving Day (R'bin, Huarangith, and Reya)

[Princess_Feylin]

“Shards,” Reya muttered as she began to consider how she might go about getting her son off the dragon before the dragon became too upset. Whatever that meant.

When the problem righted itself, she nearly died of fright, convinced that the apparently placid brown had just flung her son and brother to the ground in a fit of pique. Well, Eri had peed on him, which was probably not an experience any other dragon at the Weyr could claim, and it was, she knew from personal experience, extremely unpleasant to be peed on, but she’d been under the impression dragons never hurt humans.

“Eri!” she called, racing around to the far side of the dragon, who was now holding still, possibly in an effort to avoid crushing anyone, but who knew. Reya didn’t, and Reya didn’t like not knowing things. Her heart didn’t start beating again until she saw both of her relatives safely on the sand, wearing similar expressions of surprise and disgust.

“What’s the matter with you?” she demanded of Huarangith. “It’s not like you can’t just take a dip in some water and it’ll wash right off. You’re not going to be stained or anything.”

She thought, perhaps, the brown looked abashed, but he didn’t say anything to her, which she didn’t know how to interpret. It wouldn’t occur to her until later that she’d basically just yelled at a dragon. That would be a first for her. It would not be the last time, however.  

[Princess_Feylin]

R’bin sighed and set his nephew on his feet, and then climbed to his own feet while his sister berated his dragon. That was an interesting thing to see. From the underlying startlement and chagrin he could sense from Huarangith, the dragon was too surprised to have been taken to task by a non-rider to even offer an apology.

“He’s sorry,” R’bin said. “And so’m I. I forgot to warn you about Between because I’m so used to it. This whole mess is my fault.”

He could see from Reya’s expression that she agreed with him, and she hadn’t quite forgiven him, but she had chosen not to make anything more of it for the moment. He was so relieved he actually grinned, despite having a chest that was clammy with someone else’s urine, a dragon whining about also having urine on him, and harnesses to remove before anyone could do anything about the urine.

“I have to get the harnesses off of Huarangith before he can bathe,” he explained. “Then I’ll take you to the weyr and show you the way to the baths if you want.”  

[Princess_Feylin]

Reya had caught Eridan’s hand before he could wander off, but that in no way hindered her glaring at her brother and his dragon. It was true, she felt, that R’bin was mostly to blame for this state of affairs, but that last bit of acrobatics had been entirely Huarangith, and she was not through with him.

While R’bin undid the buckles and straps that kept the riding harnesses on, Reya brought her son around so that Huarangith could get a good look at him, and then proceeded to let him have it for nearly damaging her already-scared and very small son. By the time R’bin had finished, the dragon actually slunk away to bathe.

Her ire-fueled energy nearly depleted, Reya bent and picked up one of the large sacks. R’bin already had the other two slung over his shoulder. The sack had not seemed so heavy even a half an hour ago. R’bin coming over and taking it out of her hand without asking gave her just enough indignant outrage to get her back to his weyr, which was the oddest living space she had ever seen. It didn’t matter. Joha wasn’t here, and couldn’t get here. That was the important thing.  

[Princess_Feylin]

“If you want, I can take Eridan down to the baths,” R’bin suggested, noticing that his sister was swaying a little on her feet. He guessed that the emotional highs and lows she was experiencing had worn her out, and he was trying to give her an opportunity to recover herself without an audience. She’d never liked to have people see her looking tired, or weak, or ignorant.

“I really, really want a bath,” he added. “And I swear I won’t let my only nephew drown or get eaten by a dragon or anything.”

It was proof of how overwhelmed she must be feeling that Reya simply nodded her assent before moving toward one sack, as though to unpack it. R’bin wasn’t fooled. He remembered when she was a child she’d do the same thing, make exactly the same face, and then fall asleep as soon as no one was looking. He fully expected that they’d come back from the baths and she would have taken a quick nap and then begun to unpack for true, but he also knew she would have sneakily slept, too. He hoped she would.

“We’ll be back soon,” he called over his shoulder as he wrangled his nephew out of the weyr and toward the baths. “Promise.”  

[Princess_Feylin]

It was good to be alone to collect herself. It was good to be safe. It was good to...sleep.

Reya hit the furs and was dead to the world before they descended the first flight of stairs.