Going Home

Writers: AL, Heather
Date Posted: 15th July 2016
Series: Shipwrecked

Characters: Thayde, Zathris, Irabel, Endarin, R'axe, Meledei
Description: Thayde and Zathris are finally rescued!
Location: Dolphin Hall, Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 6, day 15 of Turn 8

Thayde

Zathris

R'axe

Endarin was standing beside of Irabel waiting when the two dragons landed at the Dolphin Hall. One dragon was a gold that he'd seen enough to know, and the other was a bluerider with a Dragonsfall ensignia. Although the reports he'd received from his Master Dolphineers led him to believe they were nearing the end of their search, because there was nothing to find, he hadn't had the heart to say no to Irabel for the last trip out to the Topaz area. Irabel had insisted. Generally, the woman was soft spoken, but on this, she'd not backed down.

**But this is it,** he thought to himself, **I can't spare any more time or resources for ghosts.**

On his end, R'axe couldn't believe his luck. He'd signed up for the "search for the missing Holder" duty again, although they had cut back the number of searchriders from two to one, with that rider pairing up with a searchrider from Dolphin Cove. He'd been surprised when he'd arrived at the tropical Weyr to find that his search partner that day was the Weyr's youngest goldrider.

Dismounting, he tucked his helmet beneath his arm and nodded to the two dolphineers, letting Meledei take the lead.

Meledei hadn't actually planned, originally, do any more searching. From what she understood, the Hall and pretty much given up - as had the Hold. Fewer and fewer went out and the time between sweeps was getting longer and longer. When she'd overheard Irabel approach one of the dragonriders, however and the insistence in the dolphineer's tone, the goldrider had decided to volunteer after the brownrider had refused. Now she was there, wondering what more they could do, but evidently Irabel had a plan.

To the Dragonsfall dragonrider, she offered a small smile and a polite nod, then turned toward the Hallmaster and his journeywoman. "All right, Irabel. You said you wanted to go somewhere specific and you could give me a visual...well, Elleth one. I'm going to ask you to imagine is as clear as you possibly can, okay? Then I'm going to have her pass it along to me and make sure that it's clear enough. I don't want to risk anyone in this venture."

Irabel nodded. While she had no idea what it was like to be a dragonrider or communicate with the great beasts, there was a picture in her mind, clear as day. No one believed that they could have drifted off that far, but she'd gone back and poured over the charts - then made a realisation. The ship had been lost right around the time the currents would normally have a seasonal shift. If they had shifted _before_ the ship was in the storm, then her hypothesis could very well prove right.

In her mind's eye, she could see the islands, a cluster of smaller ones that could very well inhabit a Weyr or a hold and promised to be interesting settlements if anyone was willing to try and tame them.

Meledei waited for the dragon who studied the dolphineer a moment, then turned to her lifemate. It was an incredibly clear picture, quite worthy of a dragonrider. The problem was, they were going to be coming in awfully low since the dolphineer's point of view had been from a ship, not from above. "Well this will be interesting. Think you can skim water, R'axe?"

R'axe couldn't surprise a boyish grin, clearly pleased with the thought of some adventure, "I think Jayth can manage that, and if not, at least we'll get a good swim out of it."

Elleth passed along the visual and Meledei waited for the dragonrider to be absolutely sure that it was clear enough to go. Once that indication was given, she turned to the dolphineers. "All right, let's do this."

"Good luck, Irabel." Endarin hoped, for her sake, that the dolphineer found the resolution she was seeking.

R'axe vaulted back to Jayth's neckridge and slipped his helmet back on. He was excited about the low entry over water that they would be executing. One of the perks of riding the smaller breeds, green and blue, was their agile flying skills.

"All right, here we go." Meledei checked to make sure Endarin was securely strapped in, then waited for Irabel to get settled as well. That done, Elleth launched into the air. The gold waited to receive confirmation from the other dragon that they were ready, then blinked /between/.

A couple of breath's later, water splayed out before them as Elleth appeared just above the surface. Prepared for the low altitude, she quickly beat her wings as soon as they were through, then blinked /between/, only to re-emerged at a higher position. Doing so had only taken the briefest of moments, but the gold's claws had still dipped slightly into the liquid below. Now that she was higher up, however, Meledei felt a lot more secure and the dragon allowed herself to shake off the droplets that clung to her.

**All right, let's start with this island.** According to Irabel, there were several scattered in the area, a cluster that were close enough to travel easily enough by even small boats between some of them. Rich, lush trees were set back a from the shoreline and scrubby bushes and some grasses occupied the area between that and the part of the shore that was strictly sand. Elleth drew higher into the sky, then aimed straight for the first island in front of them.

Jayth took full advantage of coming out of /between/ low above the water, allowing the very tips of his wings to cut through the water, sending up a spray of sea water on either side of them.

**Show off.** R'axe laughed, thumping Jayth's neck.

}:Elleth should know that blues have their own talents too. Let's see a bronze do that.:{ Jayth banked upward to join the gold's altitude as they cruised above the island chain below.

**This is more exciting than the rescue sweeps we went on.** Those sweeps had involved flying over mile after mile of ocean water. He'd never even seen this formation of islands before.

}:Look,:{ Jayth had been following Elleth toward the island she had chosen when something caught his eye, }:there is smoke coming from the furthest island.:{ He told the gold.

That wasn't the island they'd been aiming for, but Meledei immediately urged her lifemate to veer off toward the island with the smoke. A thin stream of grey puffed steadily up into the air, and though one might wave it off as a natural wildfire, it was far too contained for it to truly be something like that. As they changed course, Irabel caught site of it as well and her heart leaped within her chest.

}:Mine says we'll check there first then.:{ Obviously that was the case since they'd already aimed for the island. Together, the two sped over the water, though Irabel thought the trip took an achingly long time. Was it them? Faranth, she hoped so.

As they drew closer to the island Jayth dipped in altitude so that R'axe could just make out the bonfire that was burning on the top of a rocky ridge. It was clearly man made, a beacon for help. If it wasn't the missing men, then it was definitely someone. Not far from the ridge the land evened out enough so that they could land on the beach, hopefully from there they would have some sign of life.

Usually, dragonflight was so fast compared to other types of travel, but as they headed for the line of beach, they barely seemed to move, though the win whipped at their faces. Eventually, though, things came into better focus, and eventually the trees and even bonfire grew larger and larger. As they finally drew to the shoreline, they saw a man perched on the beach, waving his arms. Immediately, Meledei swung around and then came to a landing on the beach, the fellow running toward them.

"Thank Faranth!" Zathris cried out in relief. "I was beginning to think we'd be lost forever!"

R'axe couldn't believe it, they'd found someone! He'd been on the search sweeps for the missing men on several different occasions, but with never even an ounce of luck. He didn't know what Lord Zathris or Master Thayde looked like, so he wasn't sure which man this was that stood in front of them in tattered, soiled clothing, long hair and a scraggly beard.

For a moment, Meledei stood dumbstruck. Like R'axe, she couldn't believe they'd actually found them. At first, she wasn't sure if it was one of the men she was looking for. Although not a frequent visitor to Amber Hills, she'd been there before and seen the Lord. A brief moment of study, however, and she realised that his eyes, those very eyes that had struck her when she first met him peered out from over the beard that had formed. "Lord Zathris!"

Irabel, unlike Meledei, hadn't seen the Lord before and glanced over at the goldrider, then turned back to the man who was beaming broadly at them. "Well, I was when I arrived here." He chuckled a bit.

Her eyes darted over the shore, but there was no other form to accompany the Lord. "Thayde..."

Immediately, Zathris' expression grew grim and Irabel's heart twisted. Seeing her expression, he shook his head. "He's alive, but he won't be for long if he doesn't get some help. He's sick. Very sick."

He wasn't dead. Irabel's heart began to beat again, but that didn't mean she was fully relieved. If Thayde was that ill, he needed a healer, and quickly. "Take us to him."

"If you'll show us to him we'll get him loaded and taken back to the Weyr." R'axe said to cover Irabel's blunt command.

"This way." They had been found! The idea of going home to his wife and children charged Zathris with energy he hadn't had in days. Immediately, he turned and hurried away from the shoreline and to the forest, delving into it without hesitation.

They followed the gaunt Lord Holder through a well-worn path in the lush foliage. **They've really been out here this whole time.** R'axe was having a hard time wrapping his mind around the way the two men had most likely had to live for the past couple of months.

When they arrived at a rock face they followed Zathris through a vertical split that gradually widened into a cool, dank cave. A low fire burned toward the back of the chamber and beside it R'axe could make out the silhouette of a man lying on the ground.

Without a word, Irabel moved past them and dropped to her knees beside the figure. "Thayde?"

The dolphineer lay unresponsive, his skin dull in pallor and beaded with sweat, no doubt from fever. "I've always heard taking a feverish person /between/ is risky but," R'axe lifted his shoulders in a shrug, "I don't know what other choice we have."

"Could we bring a healer here?" Irabel wasn't sure if that was an option. "We brought two jackets, but..." Would it be enough?

"Let me go back, get some blankets and a healer. If nothing else, we can get him as warm and stable as possible to take him back. I don't think leaving him here, even with a healer, would be wise." Meledei offered, glancing between the others. "It won't take me long. There's a place Elleth can land not far from here.

R'axe wasn't one to normally question someone of higher rank, but it came out before he thought about it. "I can get him on my dragon no problem. He's been lying here by this fire, he's not going to get any warmer on a tropical island. I say we put him in a riding jacket and get him back to the Weyr now."

Meledei frowned, but nodded in agreement. She would have preferred to get more layers on the man, but she supposed it was better to be fast. With help, Thayde was eased into a jacket. Irabel remained silent while the men carried the unconscious dolphineer to the small grove not far from where he and Zathris had holed themselves up. It was there the dragons met them, there he was strapped carefully onto the blue, Irabel behind him and acting as a brace for his limp body.

"Hold on Thayde." She murmured, her lips brushing against his ear. "We're almost home…"

Last updated on the July 21st 2016

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