Chapter 14 - Healing

A/N: Hey everyone, I did a little rewrite to the previous chapter so events in this one makes more sense. So, before proceeding, please go back and see the changes I made to the last half of chapter 13. Thanks.

By the way, this one is going to have a bit of angst in it, so you've been warned...

All characters (not including my own) are property of Dreamworks Animation and Anne McCaffrey.

The next morning, H'cup got a visit from his friend T'yner.

"Hey, T'yner, how's everything going?"

"The question should be, how are YOU doing H'cup?"

"Pretty good, considering." H'cup tilted his head to indicate his bandaged ribs and his immobilized right arm. "The weyrhealer said I had a cracked rib, dislocated shoulder, and a concussion. He kept me under for two days to make sure the swelling in my brain went down. He wants me to stay another day to make sure there's no other complications."

T'yner laughed; "I always said you had a swelled head. All it takes is a little fellis to reduce it, huh? I'll have to remember that!"

H'cup laughed and swatted him with the back of his left hand. "Quiet, you. Your bedside manner sucks, you know. I'm a grievously injured man, here!"

"Aww, do you want me to fluff your pillow or feed you some soup? If you want a sponge bath, you can forget it! I'm not going there!"

They both started laughing hard but stopped when H'cup winced in pain.

T'yner smirked; "Let me guess, it only hurts when you laugh?"

H'cup groaned and leaned back on his pillow; "Yeah, the weyrhealer says it will be a couple of sevendays before it gets better, same thing with my arm. Even when I leave here, I'm going to need some help with my dragon. By the way, how is Tannluth doing?"

T'yner shrugged; "Oh, all right, I guess."

H'cup narrowed his eyes. "You guess? What do you mean, you guess? He's either all right or he isn't. Which is it?"

T'yner sighed and said; "I don't know H'cup, Tannluth started acting weird after he visited with you yesterday. He was fine for the first two days when we washed, oiled, and fed him. You could tell he was worried about you and he left to be at your side as soon as we were finished, but he would talk to me and the other weyrlings as we bathed and oiled him. Now, he won't even talk to us. I have to get Granth to relay his answers."

H'cup reached out to Tannluth and asked; "Hey, Tannluth, you doing all right?"

When Tannluth answered, H'cup was concerned because he sounded listless. :Hmmm? Oh, hey H'cup. Yeah, I'm doing okay. Don't be concerned about me, the weyrlings are taking care of my needs right now:

"You sure? You don't sound all right."

:I'm okay, I'm just a little tired, that's all. I guess shedding scales takes a lot of energy out of me. I'll be back to normal in a few days:

"Okay, buddy. I'll talk you later."

H'cup frowned and told T'yner; "You're right T'yner, there IS something wrong with him. He said he's tired because he's shedding his scales, but that sounds like an excuse. SOMETHING is bothering him and I need to find out what it is!"

o0o0o0o

H'cup's examination came the next morning. After the weyrhealer checked over all of his injuries and gave him an admonition to take things slow, he was released from his care. The first thing he did was to make his way across the weyr bowl to where Tannluth was napping in the shade of a tree. On his way there, Heimdall flew from his perch and landed on his shoulder. H'cup scratched his head and the small bronze fire lizard purred.

"Hey there, little buddy. How have you been doing?"

Heimdall chirped at him in response and gave H'cup images of where he's been. It was always funny and a little disorienting to see life through a fire lizard's eyes, but it made Heimdall happy when he shared with his friend. H'cup continued to pet Heimdall as he walked up to the black dragon.

"Hey bud, glad to see me?"

Tannluth barely lifted his head and cracked open one eye momentarily. H'cup had a glimpse of yellow-orange before the eye closed again. When Tannluth opened both eyes, H'cup noticed they were now green.

:Oh, hello H'cup. Everything all right with the weyrhealer?:

"Yeah, everything's all right. He told me to take it slow for the next few sevendays. Even then, I'll be a bit sore for a while until I heal completely. But enough about me, how are YOU doing?"

Tannluth laid his head on his crossed paws and closed his eyes. :Oh, I'm all right, just tired all the time from shedding:

H'cup narrowed his eyes and said; "Beastdung!"

Tannluth's eyes snapped open as he said; :What did you say?:

"You heard me, you're hiding something and I want to know right now what it is! I could see your eyes when I walked up, something is seriously bothering you. This isn't like you, Tannluth. Talk to me, let me help you with whatever problem you have."

Tannluth closed his eyes and laid his head back down on his paws. :You can't help me, no one can:

H'cup sat down next to him and reached out to stroke the scales on Tannluth's neck to try and comfort him. Tannluth, however, jumped up and hissed at him!

:DON"T TOUCH ME!: He then lowered his head and said in a small voice; :I'm not worthy to be touched:

H'cup, once he got over his initial shock at Tannluth's reaction, was pissed! He shouted; "Tannluth, what in the name of Faranth, Odin, Thor, and all the gods of Asgard and Hel is wrong with you!"

H'cup could see that Tannluth was trembling from his head to his tail. He first thought that the dragon was angry at him for trying to touch him, but after a few moments of staring at each other, Tannluth lowered his head and gently sighed. H'cup stared at his dragon for a few moments, but was shocked to see tears falling from the corner of Tannluth's eyes. H'cup didn't think it was physically possible for dragons to cry, but maybe this was something else that was unique about his lifemate.

"Tannluth? A-are you crying?"

Tannluth didn't answer, just nodded his black head.

"Why are you crying?"

Tannluth didn't reply right away. H'cup was about to ask him a second time when he barely heard;

:I'm s-scared, H'cup:

H'cup was shocked speechless. He sat with his jaw hanging for almost a full minute before he shook his head and asked; "Scared? What is it that you're scared of, Tannluth? Is it the other dragons? Their riders? Thread? What is it that's bothering you? Talk to me, please? Tannluth, I'm your best friend and lifemate. If I can't help you, then no one can."

Tannluth plopped down to the ground and laid his head on his paws. H'cup thought he was going to get the silent treatment again but Tannluth answered; :No, none of the dragons or their riders are bothering me, H'cup, and we're too well protected in the Weyr for thread to ever be a threat. The problem is with me:

H'cup blinked; "You? What's wrong with you that has you scared?"

:Everything! I'm starting to believe the ones who called me a freak are actually right! I mean, I look different, I think different, and now I have an ability that scares me halfway between! Maybe Pern would have been better off if I had never hatched!:

H'cup was indignant and said so; "Don't think like that Tannluth, you're the best thing that's happened to me since coming here to Pern. So you're a little different from the other dragons here? SO WHAT! I'll take you over any dragon on Pern! That's a fact!"

H'cup thought his little pep talk would cheer up Tannluth, but it seemed to have the opposite effect as his dragon became more agitated. His eyes were orange and whirling with red streaks as he nearly shouted back at him;

:NO! You don't understand! I'm a monster now, A MONSTER! How can you still love someone like me?:

H'cup tried a different approach. "Tannluth, you said that this power of yours is similar to the Red Death. Is that what scares you so badly?"

Tannluth barely nodded his head and whispered; :Yes:

"And you're afraid you'll turn out to be just like her?"

Again, an almost inaudible; :Yes:

"Then the solution is simple, just don't use this power any more. You said that you have to call up every negative emotion you had just to bring it about. That sounds like a lot of effort, so it would be easier to just not use it!"

Tannluth shook his head. :You STILL don't understand! The reason I'm scared is not just that I was able to call up the power, but the fact that it was EASY to do so! And by the spirits of my ancestors, it felt GOOD doing it too!:

H'cup sat back in shock but nodded his head and said; "I think I've got it. You're afraid you'll become addicted to this power whenever you use it."

Tannluth exhaled audibly in relief. :NOW you understand! That's probably why the demon was so nasty in the first place. Centuries of using her negative emotions all the time rotted her soul from the inside out. I'll do anything to avoid a fate like that! ANYTHING!:

"Including suiciding between?"

Tannluth didn't answer, just nodded his head.

"You hate this power that much?"

:You have to remember H'cup, I spent one hundred fifty turns under that power. Prophet Singers are considered amongst my kind to be the pinnacle of draconic evolution. We were the smartest, fastest, sleekest, and nearly the strongest dragons on Earth. We could have easily ruled over all of dragon kind, but instead we used our abilities to teach, lead, and protect. Yet, for all of my power and abilities, the demon swatted my entire family down as if they were flies. She then ensnared me and was able to keep me as her slave with the tiniest gossamer wisp of her power:

"And you felt this power when you directed it at Stoth?"

Tannluth nodded and said; :Yes. You heard that he screamed when I directed my mind surge at him?: H'cup nodded. :What you don't know is that Stoth screamed because I MADE him move out of my way! A dragon over three times my size and much older than this body I now inhabit, but he was just as helpless as I was when I was the demon's slave!:

"R'mart said that both of Stoth's eardrums were ruptured and his sinuses were damaged. Did you do that to him?"

Tannluth lowered his head and his eyes whirled a bit faster. :I don't know if I was the one who hurt him or if his injuries were the result of him trying to resist me. It could be that the power affects Pern's dragons that way. In any case, it's a damned good reason to NEVER use the power again!:

"As if you really need an excuse, but sounds good to me. Listen, Tannluth, I've been thinking about this new ability of yours and I think I have an explanation. Would you like to hear it?"

Tannluth's eyes were still yellow, but whirled a bit slower. He flicked his ears forward and said; :I'm all ears:

Despite the tension between them, H'cup broke up laughing. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

Tannluth's eyes were now green as he chuckled and said; :Yep, I figured we both could use a little laugh:

H'cup wiped his eyes and said; "You're right. Thanks, buddy."

:Anytime:

"Okay, back to my theory. You say that negative emotions bring the power forth in your mind? STRONG negative emotions, like fear, anger, rage?"

:Yes, that is what was going through my mind at the time. How does this help me?:

"Bear with me now, I'm trying to work through this myself. Now, think back. Were there any other times since you hatched that you had strong negative emotions?"

Tannluth was quiet for a few moments and then looked up at H'cup.

:Yes, there were at least two times I've felt those emotions strongly. The first time is the day I hatched and the second time is when you fought Spreth's rider. Both of those times I felt strong anger and rage, but why is this the only time the power manifested itself?:

"Because this time I was feeling those emotions as well. I think that both of us have to be feeling them simultaneously in order for the power to work."

Tannluth shook his head and said; :No, that doesn't make sense, H'cup. It was MY mind that generated the power that controlled Stoth:

"Yes, but why didn't you have the power those other two times? On your hatching day, Granth was about to Impress me. I remember that you were angry that another dragon almost stole me away from you forever. You screamed at him, but he jumped away because he was startled, NOT because you controlled him!"

:Yes, I remember that I screamed at Granth that you were mine! I was in a near state of panic and angry that he was going to Impress you before I did! Why didn't I have the mind power over him? Could it be because I was too young?:

"No, I think it's because I was caught up in watching everyone on the Hatching Ground Impress their dragons. I was feeling the wonder of Impression when Granth looked at me because I thought he was the one I was talking to. I wasn't feeling ANY negative emotions when you broke your shell."

:Okay, let's say I accept your explanation for the first time, but what about the second? That time you fought with Spreth's rider, you HAD to be feeling negative emotions! I know I was, I was ready to kill the man! I was so angry and nearly panicked that he would take you away from me!:

"I remember how panicked you were, but believe me when I say that I wasn't feeling the same emotions as you. Yes, I was scared and nervous that I wouldn't see an attack that might end me, but I kept my fear and hatred in check so I could focus on Bentrel's movements and respond accordingly."

:Hmmm, okay, that explains the first two times, but what happened this last time? What was going through your head at the time I struck out at Stoth?:

"THAT is when I felt angry and helpless. I was blinded by a bag over my head and had my arms pinned to my sides so I couldn't fight back. From what little I heard of their conversation, I think they were taking me further into the cavern to arrange a fatal "accident" for me. You would have then gone between as a result. The thought of that made me so angry I could hardly think! You must have felt it as well."

Tannluth was silent for a few moments before he said; :You know, you may be on to something. I felt my rage boil over into something I've never felt before and I directed it at Stoth. It may or may not have come from our linked minds, but I don't see how I could have generated that much emotion on my own. I'm still a bit skeptical, but let's say we both have to be feeling these emotions for the power to work. How do we make sure this never happens again?:

"I'm not too sure if we should say never, Tannluth. After all, it DID save both our lives."

Tannluth groaned and said; :All right, extreme emergencies ONLY! Satisfied?:

"Quite. I suppose I'll have to learn to keep my emotions in check from now on. It'll be pretty easy for me, considering I was Berk's village screwup before I met you back on Earth. Being the scrawniest Viking in a village full of hulking behemoths I had to learn to vent my anger in creative ways."

:How did you do that?:

"I got creative. I would spend hours in the forge just hammering at things until it formed shapes. Sometimes they were useful things, but most of the time it was just a way for me to blow off steam. Once I met you, however, I would release my frustrations in a way totally new to Vikings."

:Is it what I think it is?:

"Yep, flying. It was incredible, the first time we flew together. I just couldn't get enough of it. Every time I visited you, we had to go flying. I can't imagine what it was like for you, being a flying creature and grounded for the time it took for me to build your flying rig."

:It was like having part of my soul ripped out. You gave me back the sky when you gave me that tailfin, H'cup. That is why I never refused to go flying with you no matter how many times you asked:

H'cup stood and walked over to where Tannluth was laying on the ground. He sat next to him and stretched out his left hand over the dragon's muzzle. Tannluth turned a blue whirling eye on him before closing his eyes and pushing his snout into H'cup's open palm. H'cup smiled and Tannluth crooned as he stroked the smooth scales of the dragon's head.

:I suppose I've been acting rather silly, havent I?:

"Like a crazy fire lizard." Heimdall gave an indignant squawk from his shoulder. "Okay, okay, sorry, a crazy green fire lizard! Satisfied?" Heimdall chirped in the affirmative.

H'cup smiled at both his friends. He continued to stroke Tannluth's eye ridges as he asked him; "Going back to what we were saying about flying, have you been doing those wing exercises the weyrlingmaster suggested?"

Tannluth's eyes were whirling as he said; :Oops, I guess I have been slacking lately!:

"Well, do you want to go flying in three or four months? You'll never do it unless you strengthen those wing muscles! Hop to it, mister! Let's see you stretch those wings!"

Tannluth sat back on his haunches and began flapping his wings horizontally with the ground to get the full range of motion. Heimdall was blown off his shoulder, squawking the whole time. H'cup leaned into the miniature wind storm generated by his huge wings and smiled.

"Heh, looks like we might be able to fly even sooner than that!"

A/N: It's said that the eyes are the windows to the soul. With the dragons of Pern that is especially true because the colors of their eyes tells their emotional state.

Blue - happy and contented.

Green - somewhat happy but concerned

Yellow - worried or sad

Orange - very sad or slightly angry

Red - WATCH OUT! Extremely angry! Usually the color of their eyes when fighting Thread

When H'cup walked up to Tannluth, he forced his eyes to change color, but he could only get them to green. It's the equivalent of a sad person putting on a fake smile when someone asks how they are doing, they smile even if they are miserable inside.

As always, thanks for reading and PLEASE use the blue button to leave a review. Reviews make Tannluth, Heimdall, H'cup, (and me) very happy!