Spirits of the Night [Z]

[Mikki]

Luminous and heavy, the three moons of Pern hung full in the sky. Stars, so distant and unreachable winked in gentle scintillation like a celestial shawl. The world below slept, dreaming in the comforting embraces of their warm beds. Some drifted through whimsical worlds made of pure delight. Others braved horrors and completed heroic deeds. And some slept deeply, their subconsciousness sequestered away in the deeper confines of their mind.

Yet not all slept. There were a few who wandered the darker avenues of the nocturnal plane. As a cloying mist rose from dew touched grass those who were sleepless shifted through like haunting specters. Yet one little wraith strayed far from home, leaving many behind in search for something precious. Like a phantasmal spirit it stole across open ground, moving swiftly on light feet in its hast.

A basket hung from one arm, the only thing visible from beneath a hooded cloak. Away, and away the figure went, questing until it came to the tree line. The little wraith slowed, then stopped. It turned to peer around cautiously, looking to the left than to the right. When it felt secure, safe that no wolves of the proverbial kind nipped at its heels, it flitted into the wood. To any not accustomed to the night the specter would have been lost, gone in the gloom and embrace of the jungle.

But those with eyes that could see would find it. Like a fae creature it wove, darting through old matriarchal trees. It moved in a zig zag pattern, attempting to throw off any who pursued it into the inky black. Should any be so lucky as to keep pace with this spirit they would eventually come to a hushed glen. Gazing within would find the fleeing figure kneeled before a large bush, palms resting on its knees as it gazed up at the sky.

And as it gazed one would come to see that the wraith was indeed not a wraith, but a woman of delicate form. Clear eyes as rich as precious amber peered up at the heavy moons. She was waiting, watching and hoping. Her expression was one of agonized anticipation, a deep running anxiety as she worried her bottom lip between her teeth. What any spectator would behold next would be something viewed only once a year, during a full moon night.

As the largest of Perns moons reached its zenith in the sky its light spilled into the clearing. It washed the womans face white and bathed her in its heavenly glow. But more importantly it caused a chain reaction in the plant that she had been kneeling before. Joy filled her eyes and a smile that rivaled the sun split her lips at the sight before her. Like tiny novas, fat purple buds exploded with life, revealing fragile yet breath taking flowers that seemed to capture the essence of the stars.

Thick petals unfurled first, then long slender ones. In the middle of the precious bloom a rose like flower blossomed with tiny white tendrils appearing in the middle. As the bush came to life the feminine form reached towards one of the flowers. Pianist fingers curled carefully around the plate sized flora. Rising on her knees slowly, the little nymph leaned in and inhaled deeply, eyes closing as she savored the aroma.

But her purpose became abundantly clear as she eased back again. A flash of steel cut a sharp contrast in the glen as it was revealed. Yet she was reverent as she began to carefully harvest the blooms. Their stems were long and leaf free as she cut them away, laying them softly in the basket that was with her. And she was quiet, oh so quiet, in her attempt to not be found. For what lay in her possession was a precious plant, one used to heal the sick of their ails. Many would covet such a plant, for it was rare on pernese soil and much sought after.

((OOC: The flower is Brahma Kamal. Here's a picture. link))

[S'yal]

One would very rarely call a Wher beautiful. Tonight, however, Zalmask moved with a grace one would not expect from one of her kind... especially when egg heavy. Were Z a poet, he would have described her as almost ethereal... but he knew better then to ever attach such words to his Wher. She took great offense when described as anything other then strong, and he could understand the sentiment. Being female did not mean she wished to be a delicate flower, and he was quite glad she didn't. However, when she was pregnant...

Well, she sort of was a delicate flower. Not only a delicate flower, but a diva. The Wher was making sure that ever movement was graceful and well composed, her head held high even as the slightest hint of an egg belly slowed her movements. This clutch was rather big, the bright moonlight accented her curved stomach and Z could only hope that there wouldn't be many duds. That was why they were out, after all, even though he was excused from most of his squadleading duties to tend to his pregnant Wher. He tended to his work as wherleader during the day, while she slept. That way they could do, well, this...

This was take a stroll through the jungle. Even pregnant Zalmask was a force to be reckoned with, and many of the wild whers around these parts bore the scars of an encounter with the tamed Wher. They avoided her unless she Ran, for she was just as vengeful as Hera when the mood struck her. There had been nights when she'd memorize the scent of all the wild creatures that drew to close to the prison, then set off to track them. Thus, Z did not worry about any fool approaching them and trying to do either of them harm. The more excercise and healthy food Zalmask got while pregnant, the less duds she would have. Her last Clutch had nearly been half duds and she'd been quite distressed by it. She'd sat up and howled the entire night while waiting for the babies to hatch... until she'd fallen asleep and Z had secretly snuck the eggs out and had dragonriders take them Between.

Besides, both enjoyed these silent nights spent together. They didn't feel the need to speak, their strong bond ferrying emotions between them with ease. When they had been just as wild as her free cousins, they had never spoken. Z would easily go months without speaking as his animal companions had found it easier to communicate through their bond and in the case of his feline, body language. Why speak? Words simply muddied things up when it came to Whers and the like.

The peace between the pair did not last. A strange smell that was not unpleasent but all the same belonged to a strange wafted towards the golden Wher. She raised her head and chuffed, drawing the attention of her handler who had been lost in thought as he pondered on the use of words. Now his eyes rose and he was shocked to see that they had come extremely close to a girl he did not recognize. Zalmask sent him an image of herbs and other medical things that the girl apparently smelt of, and a smile slid over Z's face. A healer? Well, better stop and chat for a bit. It was always good to get on the good side of healers... one doesn't want a needle shoved into uncomfortable places, hm?

"Hello there." He spoke, resting a hand on Zalmask's muscular shoulder. "What's a pretty girl like you doing in a place like this?" With the light cast by so many moons and with eyes so adjusted to the darkness he could just make out her features. A wide smile spread over his face, and he took on a teasing tone. "Don't you know about that escaped killer?" His eyes glinted with mischief. Maybe she was actually naive enough to believe that an escaped killer slipped past Zalmask... but he was hoping she was intelligent not to think that. Zalmask let out a snort of insult, and promptly sat on Z's foot as punishment. Tears of pain sprang into his eyes as his foot was squashed, though he lifted a foot to gently push the Wher away. How he maintained his balance was a mystery.

[Mikki]

The transition from ephemeral fae to swarthy pixi was an easy one for the startled girl. Wide, startled eyes shifted to pin the Wher and Wherhandler with a wary stare. Where had they come from? Had she been followed? Were there others with them? Like a caged sparrow her heart jumped in her chest. Was she really going to end up losing such a coveted treasure? Guardedly, the woman shifted to shield her harvest from prying eyes. But it was a futile effort, considering the mother-bush was right next to her.

As her gaze lingered on the duo the creeping fingers of panic began to recede. The mans words sank in and she realized that she may not have to relinquish her claim on the plant. There would be no other healers moving in to steal her hidden stash. Now assessing them both she took the time to really see who it was she was dealing with. The glinting hide of the golden Wher was dead give away. They were the resident Wherleader pair of Warden. Seeing the gently sloping curve of a pregnant belly didn't do anything to hide that fact either.

"Hello," she finally relented, locking honeyed orbs on blue ones. She was alert, focused, and wanted this man to know that in no uncertain terms was she going to drop her guard any time soon. Yet she was not tense, but braced, ready to spring into fluid action should the need arise. His 'joke' wasn't much appreciated though, by herself or his Wher apparently. "No, and I doubt that there is one. I'm sure that if your Whers reputation precedes her, she would have eaten anybody dumb enough to try to escape." Her tone was bemused and her expression was doubting. And yes, she had purposely ignored his previous comment.

Though...she did have to fight a smirk when the golden mama sat on his foot. At the same time, she did worry about that foot. What if it had been broken? She didn't think that a Wher would purposely injure their handler. There had been a few incidents with Whers at a Weyr a while ago though. "Um.." she started tentatively. "Are you okay..?", she asked while eying the Wher, wisely cautious of such a strong creature but not wanting to make her mad. So..the healer lass nervously smiled at the gold and wiggled a few waving fingers at her. Hopefully she wouldn't bite them off?

[S'yal]

Apparently those flowers were really fascinating. Z, with no real talent in healing except what he had learned in the wilds, could care less. He was much more interested in the girl who had snuck out into a jungle populated with wild whers which were known to be very dangerous when encountered at night. Oh, during the day they were positively shy. But Z had learned the hard way to never approach a Wher during the night. He shuddered at the memory of the Brown whose den he had stumbled in on. Shards, he'd nearly died before Zalmask had rushed in and disposed of the Brown. However, the girl spoke and dragged the blue eyed man from his memories.

"You caught me" He grinned, holding up his hands. "No escaped killers 'round here." He suddenly sobered, becoming serious as contrasted to his joking. "But you shouldn't leave the Weyr alone. There are wild Whers around here, and unlike my pretty fatso here..." He rubbed the Whers neck as she let out a squawk of disapproval, nipping at his arm. However, her irritation was fake... as shown through the pleasant blue whirling of her eyes. "They're pretty nasty. Anyone without someone to back them up would be an easy meal." He actually seemed concerned. Well, it was his duty as Wherleader to keep the people of the weyr safe.

He moved his weight onto his other leg, trying to keep pressure off his now sore foot. "Yeah, i'm fine. Zalmask tends to forget that she's big sometimes." He grinned at her, even as Zalmask moved closer to sniff those silly wiggling fingers. What WAS this human doing? A green tongue flicked out to lick the hand before Zalmask decided that it was indeed a perfectly normal hand. Ah, it must be the human that's weird. "Mama! Don't do that! Not everyone likes a seven foot tall Gold licking them!" The Wher huffed at him, turning to glare at him with a red tinged eye. Then, just to spite him, she bowed her head to press her snout into the girls hair and sniff her. This was for a reason other then terrifying the girl and annoying Z, however. It was to memorize her scent for later occasions. If the human was planning to do this often, Zalmask knew from her training that she would have to make sure the other Whers knew the girls scent so that they would not maul her on their patrols.

"Perfectly fine. I do not need any needles and medicines." He grinned, before looking around conspiratorily. "Though, since you're a healer, perhaps you could help me. You probably don't do much with Whers, but what would prescribe to a human woman with sore feet from pregnancy? I've tried rubbing her paws for her, but it doesn't help much." The wher huffed, before moving back to her handler and flopping onto the ground. Z obviously planned on sticking around and talking to this girl for a bit. Zalmask paws hurt. Zalmask gonna lay down. The wher told Z after a moments hesitation, and he nodded.

"Do you mind a bit of company? She doesn't want to walk anymore, and I can't exactly carry her. She's a bit too big." He grinned at the girl.

[Mikki]

The Wherhandler made a very good point. It made the lass realize just how stupid she had been in her mad rush to get to the flowering plant next to her. Feeling quite stupid, and rightly so, the woman flushed and guiltily averted her eyes. Well, this was new. This is what the idiots she scolded all the time must feel like when they got yelled at. Granted, she hadn't been yelled at but she still felt bad. "I'll remember that. Next time I won't go off on my own." She had the resist the urge to gnaw on her lip again. It really was a bad habit.

But any thoughts of bad habits or other things quickly shot out the proverbial window. What was this? A wher tongue curling around her fingers? Okay, that made her slightly nervous...which evolved into full out shock when a great golden muzzle buried itself in her hair. What was that sound? Oh, it was the beating of her frantic heart drumming in her head. "Er..hello.", she squeaked, cautiously eyeballing the gold out of the corner of her eye as she stood still. Good wher. Nice wher. No eaty-my-face wher.

When Zalmask backed off, the healer let out a slightly hysterical little giggle while looking up at the handler. No, part of her sanity hadn't flown the coop just then. Not at all. "Friendly, isn't she?" Ah ha, woo that was a rush. But for her part she did try and calm down. Having a wher one didn't know get up close an personal wasn't something that happened every day. His question did wonders to pull her way from teetering off the edge into crazy-land. She blinked up at him, brows furrowing as the gears in her head started turning.

"Deep tissue massages are what I recommend. You have to know where to rub though." Glancing over at the Wher, Milune took a steady breath. She was getting over her shock. The Wher didn't seem dangerous...now. Those smattering of scars all over her told a different story though. She would do her best not to get on her bad side. Yet she couldn't help but feel bad for her. Having to walk all the time while pregnant wasn't generally pleasant. Having four swollen feet instead of two was probably doubly unpleasant.

Sighing, the girl looked over to the planet she had been harvesting and contemplated doing something very stupid. Oil from this particular flower had very good healing properties and was good for the skin. When worked into muscle tissue, it acted as a relaxer and was an anti-inflammatory. Briefly, she was torn on whether or not to share such a valuable plant. But seeing the Wher pooped out with a pregnant belly quickly swayed her. "Listen. The plant behind me is very precious. It has a huge myriad of healing properties. You're lucky to even see it in full bloom. It only happens once a year.", she babbled a little then got to the point. "The stems have a thick oil in them. All you have to do is squeeze and it comes out in large quantities." Here, the healer pinned him with a very chilling glare, eyes narrowing seriously.

"I'll help you. But I don't want you touching this plant. You only need a little oil to go very far. A fat drop covers a large amount of surface area." Giving him the hairy eyeball, Milune made sure he got her point. She then turned to the plant and pulled out her knife again. With a deft cut she pruned a stem that was missing a blossom. It was about eight inches long and as thick as her thumb. Thick viscous oil was already glossing out either end. Looking from the plant to the man, than to the Wher the woman put her knife away and got up. "If you," she looked at the man, "and Mighty Mama permit me", she looked at the Wher again. "I can show you how to properly massage this into her paws just the right way so her feet won't swell so bad." Her gruff demeanor did a rapid one-eighty and her manner turned softer. "I also don't mind company," she grinned a little. "As long as they behave."

[S'yal]

Z smiled at the girl, an unusually kind expression that did well to soften out his fierce face. He wasn't angry at her for going off on her own- why would he be? He knew that he sharding forgot about the wild Whers all the time. How many times had Zalmask charged to his rescue when he accidentally angered one of her wild kin? Way too many. "No worries. Next time, you ought to get a guard to go with you. Or at least a firelizard." He grinned, "Whers are smart. They'll back off if they've got a pissed flit going for their eyes."

Zalmask snorted at the greeting, whuffing one right back. The gold seemed smug about frightening the girl, and this was because she was! Let that other Gold terrify someone this much- she really wanted to see that wimp of a Wher inspire half as much terror as the Zalmask did! "I think she just wanted to scare you." Z said in a dry voice, giving his Wher a reproachful look. "Zalmask! What have I told you about scaring pretty women?" Zalmask looked completely and utterly smug, despite the scolding. What did she care? She was Z's darling, and she knew that even if he was irritated with her he'd never raise a hand against her.

Z was at a loss at the mention of a massage, momentarily entertaiining the thought of Zalmask getting a massage. The strange mental image that leapt to mind made him snort with restrained laughter. He'd have to save up money and get Zalmask a personal servant to give her massages, he supposed. Because he was definitely not going to massage a Wher. That was ridiculous! Zalmask gave him an orange eyed glare, obviously having gotten the gist of his thoughts. He merely shrugged in response. "A massage you say? I don't know much of those myself." He debated saying something teasing about massages, but he rethought it.

He stared at the plant as she spoke, scowling. It didn't look very special to him, but what did Z know? He preferred things that moved and breathed to the supposedly living plants. He was convinced that they were all dead, but he was sure that the healers and scientists knew more then him when they claimed they were alive. "Don't worry about me stealing the pretty plant. Flowers give me hives." He shuddered, rolling his eyes skyward. Zalmask's eyes glinted as she was complimented, puffing up and pushing herself up. "I appreciate the help" He said honestly, before turning to his Wher. "Shake, Mama" Zalmask scoffed with a typical 'I'm only doing this because it suits me' expression before solemnly lifting a broad, scarred paw. "So if you would show me...?"

"No worries, i'll be on my best behavior. Wherhandlers honor." He winked at the girl. "Mama will eat me if I step out of line, no worries."