Follow-Up Sweep (2/2)

Writers: Avery, Heather
Date Posted: 8th June 2017
Series: The Ruin of River Bluff Weyr

Characters: C'rin, Riveenata, Kairami
Description: C'rin and Riveenata run a sweep.
Location: Elsewhere on Pern, River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 12, day 20 of Turn 8
Notes: Part 2 of 2.
Mentioned: K'ran

C'rin

One young man hurried up to them. "Riders, how fares the Weyr?" he called.

C'rin dismounted to address the young man, "There is a lot of damage.
We were hit with an earthquake after the tsunami. Still, Weyrleader
K'ran wants to know how Jade Harbor fairs and if there is any way we
an offer assistance."

"Kairami, understeward," the young man said as an introduction and
explanation of his authority. "We've been hit by the water very bad.
Ran right up the slope. Main Hold's not as bad but the smaller
buildings weren't on the hill and they're waterlogged. A couple cots
have crumbled and we're trying to get people out. If you could find
any cots looking collapsed and tell us we could send folk over."

"We can do that. Do any of your men have a firelizard? It would be
easy for my dragon to relay coordinates." C'rin glanced over his
shoulder, noticing for the first time the way Riveenata hung back.

"Vaxrin does, it's brown." Kairami put his fingers in his mouth and
whistled loudly. An slightly older man trotted out to where they were.

"Can you show them your firelizard? They're going to look for broken
cots," he said.

The older man held out a sling and uncovered it. A light colored brown
flit popped its head out, saw the dragons, and immediately took off
out the bag and circled around Savith delightedly. The green huffed
inquisitively, causing it to tumble a bit. But it was undeterred in
enthusiasm.

}:I can find it,:{ Savith said to Dasveth.

C'rin turned back to Kairami, "That'll do. We'll let you know what we
find." He turned and pulled himself back up onto Dasveth's neckridge.
The men they'd been talking to had to step back as Dasveth took off,
sending dirt and debris swirling about their legs, and whipping their
hair back.

}:He really seems to like you.:{ Dasveth said to Savith regarding the
brown flit as they began sweeping over the immediate area.

}:He sees that I am an impressive green,:{ she said, stretching her
neck out to display herself best. Even the little cousins could tell.

After a few minutes of flight, Riveenata spotted something - a
bowed-in roof. She signaled C'rin and Savith dropped down. It looked
like it was a cot with an attached stable. Unlike the last time she'd
seen something like this, the stable collapsed but the cot's roof was
still on.

They came across multiple cots in similar condition, and others that
had been nearly wiped away. Their little brown friend did his job
admirably, relaying coordinates from Savith to his owner. Once they
covered the entire area, they sent their friend back.

}:My rider is ready to head back to the Weyr.:{ Dasveth relayed to
Savith, not wanting to admit that he was feeling fatigued as well.

}:So is mine. She is sad by all of this,:{ Savith said. She was
puzzled by that. The flight had been quite pleasant and the wind and
waves choppy. Most of her outrage at earlier had faded into thinking
it was a fun adventure.

}:We can /between/ back she asks?:{

}:Yes, we'll see you there.:{ Dasveth said, as he confirmed
coordinates with his rider.

Riveenata made sure to picture the right coordinates to head back -
the way the plateau was now covered in people and some tents was her
key. They arrived back and had to try to find a place to land. Savith
perched over by some tumbled boulders out of the way of anything else
and let her rider down.

"At least we didn't find anything _too_ bad," she said to C'rin when
they were walking side by side again.

"Agreed." They had seen so much destruction already, it had been a
relief to see things that weren't so bad.

A large tent with no sides had been set up as a place to eat something
warm. It amazed C'rin what the Headwoman and lower caverns women were
able to do, cooking as they were over campfires, "Hungry?"

"Starving. And I'd love to eat with you," she said. Her family was
probably busy at work - she knew her sister was one of the ones
cooking, in fact.

Even though there were several others in the tent, they managed to get
bowls of hot food quickly, and then picked their way to a couple of
empty seats. "If you had told me yesterday this is where I would be
eating evening meal here today...." He shook his head.

"It would depend on how you phrase it. "Picnic on the plateau" would
be nice. "Meals as refugee" sounds less nice," she said gloomily. It
was hard to keep a cheerful attitude after what she'd seen today.

"I wonder if it will be safe to go back in to at least get some items.
I didn't have a chance to get anything out my weyr...did you?"

C'rin shook his head, "Not a thing. I did go back earlier with some of
the others and salvage things from the infirmary."

"I hope they'll let us go back in and get some things," she said
softly, thinking of her prized rocking chair. Not that it would do any
good right now up here in the crowds.

"You think we'll have to camp out long?"

"I don't know, I worry if we'll ever get to go back into the Weyr
after what happened to Vilarth and then Rogueth...." C'rin worried
that his crumbling home would no longer be habitable.

Without Hatching Caverns, was a Weyr really a Weyr? He said what she
was thinking, and she breathed out a long sigh, wondering if she could
make either of them feel better.

"I suppose they'll have people out to inspect it later, and then let
us know. Thayan Peak had to move and become Dolphin Cove," she
remembered. Although, that hadn't been during a Pass...

"Yeah," C'rin hated the thought of moving, he'd grown up at River
Bluff, it was home... "You want to stay with me tonight? I mean, we've
only a tent, but it's nice to not be alone."

"I'd like that, rather than trying to cram in with my whole family,"
Riveenata said. They could curl up close by and listen to each other
breathe and remember they were lucky.

Last updated on the June 10th 2017

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