Chopping wood ((Tag Jessan!))

[maggie]

K'dan did not at all like doing chores in the jungle. Even if he was only gone for an hour or so, he missed the orderly atmosphere, he missed the safety of the little hut he lived in, he even missed the guards. The ax was heavy as was the wood. At least Empirith had agreed to haul the load. Log was perched on a high branch, glaring at everything in sight. He was most particularly glaring at Moss. The little green was trilling loudly, looping around the branches and Empirith's head and K'dan, singing brightly. Log sighed, but K'dan gave her a fond smile. He reached up to call her to perch on his arm. She obeyed, cooing happily and sidling down to preen his hair. "You have to be quiet, little flitt," he told her gently. "There are big bad scary people, in the jungle."

He put the ax down, going to stack the logs that he had cut in the baskets that were attached to Empirith's straps. He was very, very proud of those straps. Making them was fussy hand work and that was what K'dan excelled at. He loved working with the tough leather and wher hide to make it into something pretty and neat that would make Empirith look more noble and important than any other dragon in the Weyr. He had even managed to make miniature straps that fit his flitts. Log had been horrified, but Moss loved wearing them and playing as if she was a big dragon.

He paused as he heard a sound in the jungle. His eyes flew wide open. Empirith's eyes whirred an alarmed orange that clashed horribly with his pink hide. Log hissed and launched himself to land on K'dan's head to protect him. "Who's there?" The Wyerling asked, his voice a little too high and strangled."

[nozomi]

There was no noise! Well, there was. A guinea pig sort of creature ran out, squealing, it's fuzzy butt wriggling with the effort to escape some unknown threat! Jessan did not try to hide herself overmuch; she was hunting for the herbs in the forest, what few she knew to find, in order to just... be of some use. Having sex with a murderer and leading them all to a new and better life was not exactly something that could carry her forever.

Or whatever.

No, but she came from the otherside, a brief swish of fabric the only thing to warn K'dan of her approach. Jessan had not stayed the same dignified woman she had be from her time in the jungle. Her hair had grown even longer, parts of it loose and hanging even to her waist even while the majority of it had been bound back. Her dress looked somewhat new, the chest stretched a bit tight but otherwise it didn't fit too badly, pale green and to the jungle floor, her feet covered by worn boots.

"Kaydian?" The pale woman murmured his name, her eyes wide. Quick as a flash, her hands went up in the air, showing she had no weapons, and even her side back hang light, empty. "Kaydian, it's Jessan."

As if that meant anything when she had people killed.

[maggie]

K'dan paused. Empirith was hissing again. He went to put a hand on the pink's neck to calm him. It didn't occur to him that dragons should not be hissing at humans. To him, it was normal to want to protect thsoe you loved and Empirith's actions were very understandable. "Jessan?" he asked, worried. "You... Are there any other scary people around?" he asked. Log launched himself off his owner's head, going to scout the surrounding area.

He calmed a bit, still pressing close to Empirith's neck. "My name's K'dan, now," he said quietly. "I wanted a real dragonrider's name. And this is Empirith." He smiled up at the pink. Empirith's eyes were still whirring a very suspicious yellow. "Emp, this is Jessan. She started teaching me how to read and she was very nice. Say hello."

Greetings, Jessan, how are you on this fine afternoon?[/color] he said reluctantly.

K'dan looked at the woman, his eyes wide and sad. "You left," he said quietly. "And you gave all the scary people pointy things." He paused, pressing just a little closer to his dragon. "I missed you."

[nozomi]

Jessan glanced behind her - no Machi or Ark to be seen. Ark was a little stalker fuck, even though she liked it in a way she figured most women really shouldn't, and Machi liked to follow her too if he thought her in danger. Even so, though she wasn't sure, Jessan shook her head, her hands still held in the air. Kaydian - K'dan - not calling for reinforcements the very second he saw her was, in itself, an encouragement.

"There's no one else with me, darling. Just me. I'm looking for plants." She pulled at the strap of her sidebag to demonstrate. Only then did the dragon sink in; she'd become so used to seeing Beoth and Rhinth to be surprised at a random pink. But there he was with a half grown pink, her little nervous K'dan who had been so afraid to even have a corner out of the way on his bed. "Oh. Hello there, Empirith. I'm fine, thank you. And you?" Her eyes skated to K'dan again. "How are you?"

Oh. Well. Sad K'dan. Jessan edged out of the tangle of everything, tucking some of the loose hair behind her ears. Perhaps now isn't the best time to tell K'dan she asked for him and another of her boys not to be hurt in the breakout. Jessan's smile faded somewhat, turned a bit tired, a bit sad as well, but she didn't take any steps closer to K'dan - not with that dragon near to him.

She'd seen Beoth. That pink had no issue hurting humans.

"Yes. I left, and I gave them weapons. I had to, K'dan. There were reasons. ... I missed you too. I think about you. You've done well." She looked back to Emp only for a second; K'dan would be Jessan's main focus. "Empirith means you can get out of here, doesn't it? When he's grown. I'm glad, K'dan. You don't belong in the prison."

[maggie]

I am well,[/color] Empirith said mildly. His eyes were still rapidly whirring yellow. K'dan thinks you are a kind person.[/color] His tone reserved judgement and his eyes did not fade to green.

K'dan paused. "I was scared," he said. "When you left. I was all alone. But Sh'lon's been nice to me. And F'ox with Snowth." He didn't move away from Empirith's side, being comforted by the pink. Her words shook him a bit. "I'm trying to be good. They don't treat me like I'm bad all the time. And there's a nice man who talks to us and tries to help us like you tried to help me." He paused. "But they say that Empirith is bad. They said that they wanted him dead or crippled like Semith." A brief moment of panic flickered across his face. "I don't want them to hurt Empirith."

He paused, looking her over. "Are... Are you ok?" he asked, worried. He was used to looking out for his own. Despite his mother's Dust addiction and the fact that he had lived most of his life around addicts, he was more than used to doing illegal things to ensure that those he loved were safe. "Do... Do you need anything? I can send Log or Moss to bring you medicine, if you need. Or clothes." He motioned towards the too-tight dress she was wearing.

[nozomi]

K'dan thought she was a kind person, did he? Jessan did not know what to say to Empirith and his words, so she didn't bother trying to respond. She didn't want to lie at him, and there was K'dan. Her little charge had always been a shy little thing, something in her that happened to be the same as her brother: the urge to protect the small things they collected, those little pets of theirs. So she smiled, calm, quiet, though the expression clouded when he talked of hurting the dragon.

"Empirith is not bad, K'dan." She said, voice firm even as she tried to keep her tone gentle. "And neither are you. He doesn't deserve to be hurt at all. Whoever says that is wrong, dead wrong, and you shouldn't listen to a single word they say. You are absolutely lovely and so is Empirith."

Jessan did not think she was quite the person to trust on what was or was not a good thing to do but... Well, K'dan trusted her. Kind of. It seemed. She blinked and looked down at herself. In the past, she'd rather have hurt herself before running around like an absolute savage in the jungle, her feet in actual shoes instead of dainty slippers, her hair not impeccable... Everything about it was off.

"I do look a ... sight, don't I." Jessan plucked at her dress, murmuring. "Who would have thought, mm? And the sad thing is that I don't even make a pretty savage, do I, K'dan?" Her lips curled into a rueful smile, eyes flicking back up to his. "Bandages? If you can. It will make things fit, we're handy like that. And..."

She trailed off, eyes going back up to Empirith. "Oil? We have dragons and no oil."

Though, really, Jessan only cared about one dragon. (Rhinth could go choke on her own tongue, as far as Jessan concerned herself with.) "How have you been with the tidying? And the counting?"

[maggie]

K'dan's eyes widened a bit. "No, you look ok... You just look untidy and you never looked untidy before." He gave her a shy smile. "I like tidying things, why not tidying people?" He thought about it. "And you are looking for herbs, you need things. You... You're nice. And you don't just look and Empirith and think that because he's pink he's bad or that I'm bad because I was put in prison and I get scared." He looked down. "People said that my Mama was bad because she took Dust. But she wasn't bad, she was just sick. And they abandoned her and she died and they send me to Wardens." He looked up at her, his jaw set mulishly. "You aren't bad either. And you shouldn't suffer just because you ran away with the scary people." He took a deep breath. "Oil I can get for you easy, I have Empirith and Moss and Log, so I get lots and lots of oil. Bandages, I'll try, but they count them. So I will see what I can do." He petted the little green flitt on his arm. "Log will bring it to you. He's recognizable, but he can be quiet. If he brings it here and hides it, can you come and get it? I can hide some too, here, when I come do outside chores."

He paused when she asked about his bad habits. "I... It got really bad when you left," he admitted quietly. "And then Empirith chose me. He helps. And Isaak helps. He's really nice. And Snowth tells me stories, sometimes, and that makes things better. Relaxing."

[nozomi]

"I look very untidy. My hair is mussed and my clothing doesn't match." She wrinkled her nose, not frowning only because K'dan smiled. Jessan smiled back and only then did she move closer to them, just a few steps. The Mindhealer kept glancing to Empirith to see if he were about to eat her, though she held out both hands to K'dan. With how her clothes fit, and the loose hang to her empty bag, there was really no where she could hide any sort of weapon from them.

Not that she could go against a Pink dragon anyway. "Don't worry about the bandages, K'dan. Anything at all you can do would be a help. I'm looking for things because... well, I'm quite useless. No dragon, I refuse to fight, my cooking and healing skills are subpar... A few men like you are protecting me, though. I'm just trying to be of some use, you see." She shrugged thin shoulders, and her eyebrows pressed together when K'dan spoke of his problems.

"I'm sorry I left you, K'dan. I'd have taken you with me if I could, but out there is no place for a sweet boy like you." Ark would have eaten him alive, or Jiru spotted the small broken thing from a mile away. Machi would not stand any sharing of his sisters attention more then he already did. "Will Empirith let me hug you? I have no weapons and I don't know how to fight. I promise I won't hurt you, K'dan."

Her lips twitched in somethign that could have maybe once been a smile. "You were the one I hoped they'd never hurt."

[maggie]

"I'll try to get you some of your old clothes," K'dan promised. "Or at least something pretty. You deserve some pretty things. And maybe some food. Bubbly pies and things like that. No one will notice if I take them to my room to eat later."

He moved away from Empirith, a lot less frightened, now. "Empirith won't hurt you," he said quietly. "Empirith wouldn't hurt anyone. Especially not you." He moved towards her with a little smile. "I'll make sure you get some things to help you," he promised "I... I can't leave. You're right. I... I need help and Issak is helping and Empirith is helping and there are a lot more scary people in the jungle with you than here. And you helped. You... You believed in me," he said quietly. "You knew that even if I was stupid and scared and I had to tidy everything that I wasn't useless. And now I have Empirith and I'm learning to read and write and I can help you. Just a little." He reached out to her to take her hands, almost like a little kid reaching out to his mother.

[nozomi]

Jessan hoped Ark wasn't stalking her today. The last thing he needed her to see was K'dan and her talking like this, and Jessan pulling the man in by his arms for a hug. Not that she had any sexual motives towards K'dan, but the affection... Ah well, in the prison, all K'dan had to worry about was the wardens. So Jessan hugged K'dan, arms squeezing around him because she could.

"You were never stupid. Scared, yes, but never stupid, K'dan. I'll kick anyone in the shin who says otherwise." Or maybe convince someone else to do the kicking, but she could if she had to, shardit! Jessan leaned back a bit to cup his face, her eyes searching his. "You're helping me plenty, dear. Just promise you won't go deeper into the jungle? People are getting lost out there, and we aren't the ones making them lost. Okay? Even with Empirith here."

She smiled anyway, and patted his cheek, gently without any attempt to be condescending. "You're a good boy, K'dan. Anything would be a help, and I am so very happy you've continued with your studies. If you'd ever just like to talk, like we used to, if for any reason your Mindhealer upsets you, leave a note here, alright? And we can talk."