Dragon Rider Play

Jeremiah sighed a little. "Will you let me help still?" He asked softly, keeping his eyes on his toriaun. "I will help in any way I can. I hope you know that."

Mellon caterwauled and tried to use his bulk to shake her off.

"You cannot understand!" Tithenor snapped in sudden anger, stalking a few steps away from Jeremiah.  "You cannot and I do not wish you to!"

Erika yelped as she tumbled, but she stopped before resuming her attack, distracted by the shout.

Jeremiah sighed some at the outburst. He wasn't mad at Tithenor, just sad, and hurt. "Tithenor..." He said quietly. "There is no way I can understand if you don't tell me. If you do, I can at least offer advice. Just know that this," He gestures around them, "isn't hurting just you or me. Pat's worried too, and didn't you promise Mark you would help guide Luke? We are a unit, a team, and a family. You are ill right now, and we all want to help, but you have to let us. Because if you don't, I'll have to be the leader, and I hate leading."

Mellon looked at where the shouting was and whined, letting Erika "attack" him. His rider was distraught, and it worried the dragon.

Tithenor hugged himself.  It was only then that the tremors showed.  As he hunched over, his calm attitude gone, it was suddenly obvious how underweight and pale he was, his body shivering.  "I can't!" he whimpered.  "I can't go back into the darkness.  I can't Take it anymore!"  His mind screamed, tearing itself apart.  He wasn't in the cells anymore, his punishment was over, but his mind and body still feared it.

Jeremiah sighed in relief as he pieced together what was wrong. he wasn't a horribly touchy person, but Tithenor he felt needed it. He walked over and gently hugged the elf close and comfortingly. "/No one will do that to you again. Not if I can help it. I swear it./" He told Tithenor steadily. "/I am here now, and I will make sure that they can't put you back. Even if it means I take the sentence in your stead, I will gladly do it with open arms. You are my brother, and I will protect you./"

Tithenor leaned into Jeremiah's touch, letting his head touch Jeremiah's shoulder.  "I can't," he whispered.  "/I don't want you to suffer it.  I cannot I cannot I cannot..../"  His words fell away as he stood trembling.  Being part drow, the dark, enclosed, underground space would not effect Jeremiah the same, but he still could not let his brother take his place.  He couldn't do it.  He had taken a life, and his month spent in the cell was equal to a human spending years in prison, and he would never, never let himself go back again.

"/I will be fine, I promise./" Jeremiah assured Tithenor. He rubbed the elf's back a little comfortingly. "/Besides, cells don't really bother me that much to start with. And we will get you some food, all right? If I ask nicely enough, the Head Chef (feels bad because I forgot his name DX) may let us eat outside./"

Tithenor took several deep breaths, gradually calming a little.  "/I do not wish to eat,/" he mumbled. He was hungry, he knew he was hungry, but the knots in his stomach made the thought of eating more of a torture than a pleasure.

Jeremiah smiled a little. "/We will calm you down some first, then we will get you something easy to keep down, all right?/" he continued to rub Tithenor's back. He could feel the taunt, wiry muscles, and tried to get them to relax some more. He could also feel how thin the elf was, and that pained Jeremiah's heart a little.

Tithenor managed a slight nod.  "/I want to watch the clouds,/" he mumbled, feeling child-like, but needing just for this moment someone to take care of him for once.

Jeremiah nodded and walked with Tithenor in his arms to an open clearing. He knew Tithenor needed him, and so in a reversal of roles, Jeremiah would take care of Tithenor. Jeremiah sat on the ground and laid down. "/Like this?/"

Tithenor lay on his back and stared upward.  After a moment, he let out a soft sigh.  "Yes," he murmured, "like this."  He stared at the clouds, reading their paths across the sky.  Yes, this was better.  Much better.  He found himself reaching out mentally for Mellon, needing his dragon nearby.

Erika slunk over and touched Jeremiah's hand delicately.  Was the yelling over yet?

Tithenor felt a tongue on his head as Mellon started to lick his rider again. The dragon wanted Tithenor to feel better, and since grooming made Mellon feel better, the same applied for rider, right?

Jeremiah smiled and stroked Erika's head. The yelling was at least over for now. "Okay, Tithenor, how do you read the weather through the clouds?" He asked. "Like, what does that cloud mean?" He pointed.

Tithenor reached up to stroke Mellon as he studied the cloud.  "First, it looks like a bunny.  At least that is what Pat would say.  Beyond that, it says the valley below shall be getting rain, but not us."

Jeremiah laughed softly. "Okay, so how do you read it like that?" He asked. "What makes it say that below will get rain, but not us?"

"Look at the way it flies," Tithenor told him.  "It is light and whispy now, but it is gathering weight.  It will soon grow heavy and drop until it lightens its load."

Jeremiah nodded. He kept talking to Tithenor like that, asking about the clouds and how they moved and what it meant. He genuinely was curious, but also hoped that the normal banter would relax him a bit and make him feel more comfortable.

Tithenor did finally relax, and between Mellon and Jeremiah, he felt more at peace than he had in a long while.

Jeremiah knew that they were probably skipping their first class, but he didn't care. He thought this was more important; getting Tithenor back to a more sound state of being.

Finally it was Tithenor who said, "We missed class.  Or will in a moment."

Jeremiah scoffed. "Eh. Let's just be early to our Wilderness one." He decided, which would be easy since they were already at the Wild Island.

A faint smile touched Tithenor's lips.  "I suppose we shall be.  Thank you, honeg."

Jeremiah grinned. "No problem, toriaun. I'm just glad you seem more relaxed now."

Tithenor stood slowly and shook out his long hair, noting it was time for a trim.  He never let it get beyond a certain length.  "Thank you for your patience.  I am not used to being the one who needs looking after."

Jeremiah smiled and stood as well. "Hey, I think I'd be a pretty bad honeg if I didn't try to look after my brother every once in a while, eh?" His own hair was getting a little shaggy, but he cared less about it. If people had problems with it, then he would consider getting it cut.