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 Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 2:40 pm
Well... finally, the day was starting to draw to a close. It had been a long one, to tell true. For a couple of days after the Hatching, everything had been incredibly busy getting the new riders and their babies settled in and so Aydin and Kadri had been overlooked a bit, but now they had chores and lessons just like everyone else did, and it made the days very full.
Of course, it wasn't all that much more than working back home on the farm, or being at Harper Hall. But it was all different, which made things a little harder at first.
Not that Aydin was about to complain. But sometimes, he did want a a little break. Which was why he'd sort of snuck off after dinner before someone found something else for him to do. He was currently tucked into a little nook just outside one of the exits, strumming idly on his secondhand lyre and humming to himself. It was one of the tunes he and Kadri had come up with together - a simple melody, easy to pick up on, but still fairly nice.
Rynin was perched beside him, the little green flit leaning on his leg and "singing" along in harmony, as both the twins' firelizards had grown up around music and appeared to love it as much as they did themselves.
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Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 2:58 pm
It had been an uncommonly trying day. Everybody wanted him to do something, and he hadn't wanted any part of it. Usually he was only to glad to be busy from the moment he woke up to the moment he collapsed into bed but he hadn't been in the mood. He hadn't wanted to take some stupid rich hold brat to see some stupid rich girl at a different hold, and he'd been rude about it. Her father had shouted at him, he'd shouted back and he'd left without the oil he'd gone to buy.
When he'd got back, V'kain had wanted his help shifting his bed around. Why? Why? Why did the man want his bed in a different position than the one it had been in for the last turn or so? He hadn't managed to get an explanation for that, mostly because he'd been too busy shouting at his friend to let him get a word in edgeways. Then he had stormed off by himself for a while and managed to calm down. Now he just felt gloomy.
On his shoulder, River was sharing his mood; the blue flit was uncommonly subdued, not rushing ahead to make trouble or anything. As they entered the dining hall however, the flitt finally perked up and gave an uncertain chirrup. Over there, there was music. Music was a happy thing? There was another of his kind too. River crooned at his human and took off hopefully. L'thor shrugged. Might as well. Grabbing a up and a pitcher of wine from the serving hatch as he passed, he followed his flitt over to the boy with the lyre.
"You are going to eat too?" Raith's voice asked as presumably she noticed he'd neglected to collect a meal. "You're not like yourself at all today."
"Later," he didn't feel like being fussed over right now, "you don't need to worry. I've just had a rotten day." It was true. The day hadn't been rotten because of the events in it, but it had been rotten. As he approached the young musician, L'thor offered a vague smile. "Mind if we join you? River seems to like your playing." River, coming in to land on L'thor's shoulder, crooned happily and nudged his human's face.
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Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 3:32 pm
Both teen and firelizard jumped slightly when a sudden new voice entered their little realm. They'd both been getting a bit lost in the music, Aydin singing with eyes half-closed. The notes trailed off in a sort of lost manner and he flushed slightly. "Ah ... I don't mind, go ahead," he said then, with a polite nod.
Rynin tilted her head a little at the blue firelizard and trilled, sending happy little emotions toward her own human. She'd met a few of the other flits around the Weyr and absolutely delighted in having more friends than just her own siblings.
Suddenly realizing that the older man might actually be a rider here, Aydin straightened up a little bit and tried to look like he knew what he was doing. Obviously the other wasn't looking for him specifically or things would have started out differently, but he still didn't want to look like some kind of idiot. Scooting over a bit, he nodded toward the other part of the flat seat he'd found. "You can sit, if you want..."
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Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 3:43 pm
L'thor twitched another smile and sat down, pouring himself a cup of wine before setting the jug on the floor. Well then, here he was; away from the crowds he usually liked to move in at mealtimes. Thank goodness for that. He didn't feel like dealing with his friends anymore today; he'd probably just find something to shout at them about like he had poor V'kain. His friend had looked so very confused. At least if he alienated this boy he lost nothing other than a potential friend.
On closer inspection, L'thor realized that not only was this lad not one of his friends, he didn't recognize him at all. "Are you new around here?" he asked after a moment, sipping at his wine. "I'm sure I haven't seen you before, I tend to remember other people with flitts fairly well." Mmh. It was quite nice wine tonight, very nice considering this was the stuff they served to just anyone. It was soft and fruity; D'los would have enjoyed it. That man never had been able to take wines with a powerful taste.
"I'm L'thor by the way," he went on, pushing such thoughts aside, "want some wine? I can send River off for another cup."
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Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 3:56 pm
Aydin nodded at the question, smiling a bit. "Yea, my brother and I just got here a few days ago ... right before the Hatching." A little flicker of regret washed over his face - still wishing he hadn't gotten sick so that they could have attended. Even if Kadri was right and not being there meant their dragons weren't in that clutch ... still, it had to have been really exciting, and he was sorry to have missed it.
Aah... and he was right, the other was a rider. But Aydin quickly clamped down on his initial response to blurt out something stupid. He was going to be around riders a lot here. Better get used to it and stop acting like a farm boy - even if that's what he was, pretty much.
"That would be great," he replied to the question about wine. Both he and Kadri had had wine before back in Harper Hall and he'd grown to like some of the lighter varieties - though anything heavy made his head spin a bit too much. "I'm Aydin," he said then, and glanced around. "Though my brother and I are twins, so if you see somebody else that looks like me, your eyes aren't tricking you." He smiled, almost mischievously. "Just so you don't think you're going crazy."
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Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 4:31 pm
L'thor chuckled, his mood lifting slightly at the idea. "Goodness, it must be good fun to have a twin. I can imagine all the pranks I would have play if I had a look-alike running around." Still smiling a little, he turned his attention to River. He wanted a cup! Very much! One of those ones over there! Weren't they nice cups? Lovely cups! Could the clever handsome flit get a-
And with that River trilled with delight and jumped off his shoulder before vanishing between. A heartbeat later, he reappeared clutching a cup and chattering with excitement at his success. L'thor made a soft crooning noise as he took it from his winged friend, and suggested that River might be hungry. Didn't he want to go and himself a nice piece of meat? The men who ride bronze dragons often had nice meat, didn't they? River gave another trill and disappeared again.
A moment later, there was a shout of indignation and River popped back over to them clutching a piece of meat. Eyes whirling blue, he settled on L'thor's knee and suggested that he might like to share his prize with the pretty green.
Giving a slightly evil chuckle, L'thor poured wine into the cup River had brought and passed it over to Aydin. "Well, welcome to the Weyr in any case," he said, raising his own cup to the youth. "You'll be well used to this place by the time there's another clutch; personally I think that'll give you a better chance at Impressing. The less nervous you are the more open you'll be to a hatchling. That was how it came out for me at any rate." He'd been terrified his first hatching, and all the dragons had passed him by. He was glad; if they hadn't then he wouldn't have Impressed Raith. D'los of course had Impressed first try. His heart had always been open and ready for a dragon.
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Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 6:39 pm
Aydin watched with some amusement as L'thor got his flit to go and fetch a cup for them, and then some meat, covering his mouth with one hand at the shout from over by the tables. He and Kadri had pulled similar things with their own firelizards back at Harper Hall, but they had yet to try any mischief here. Somehow, being in a Weyr was different. And neither of them was quite comfortable enough to risk messing things up yet.
"Oh we get into plenty of trouble," he replied with a grin, though, kind of nudging Rynin mentally toward the other flit. She, however, really needed no prompting at all and waddled over toward the meat (and, incidentally, River) with a happy little chirping sound.
"Thank you for the welcome," Aydin said then, taking the cup and raising it in almost a sort of little toast. "Things have been so busy around here the last few days, it's just been 'do this, do that, oh and could you also ...'" He laughed softly. "If all of that might give us a better chance of Impressing, though, I can put up with it, I guess."
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Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 1:42 pm
L'thor rolled his eyes. "Mmm, I remember being a Candidate. Nothing too menial, working from when you get up almost until you fall back into bed, no privacy. All worth it if you Impress of course," he gave a wry grin, "but that's not very much comfort at the time. Wasn't for me at any rate." Oh how he'd hated that dormitory, the weyrling dormitory too. No space to call his own, no comforts like rugs beside his bed or his own hearth. He was glad he and D'los had been an established couple when they'd graduated from training; that had allowed them to get allocated to quite a nice weyr.
Sighing a little at himself, he couldn't banish the memories tonight or even enjoy them, L'thor drank again. "Still," he said as he turned back to Aydin with a faint smile, "next clutch ought to be soon. You might not have to put up with the trials and tribulations of candidacy much longer. You'd then move onto the trials of a weyrling of course, but at least everything you do then is directed towards caring for your dragon. Makes butchering meat and such far more bearable." D'los had been so squeamish about that, hadn't got over hating it no matter how often he did it. He'd been so glad when his green had been big enough not to need her meals cut up for her.
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Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 10:50 pm
Aydin nodded at that, pulling one leg up against his chest as he sipped from his own wine. At least one thing held true... the wine both here and in Harper Hall was pretty good. "I'm hoping ... that both of us manage to Impress at the same time," he confessed quietly.
He wouldn't like leaving his brother behind - nor would he much like being the "slower" one ... or even not Impressing at all. But if that was how it had to be, he could only hope they still saw each other sometimes.
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Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 9:42 am
L'thor swirled his wine thoughtfully before taking another sip and nodding. "I can understand that feeling. The first clutch I stood for... my friend V'kain and I were so sure we'd both Impress, didn't want to be put on different levels from each other." He chuckled slightly and shook his head, remembering how his friend's dragon had burst out of his shell and rushed over to the startled boy. "He got a dragon, I didn't," L'thor went on with a slight shrug. "I was happy for him, but jealous too and for quite a while we saw little of one another; he was so busy. Next clutch I stood for I did Impress though, to green Raith, the most lovely dragon in all of Pern," he said with a grin which told Aydin he knew very well that he sounded like any rider insisting their beast was the best.
"We saw more of one another then," L'thor went on with a smile as he recalled his weyrling days. "V'kain was able to help me out a lot at first, told me all the things to watch out for; the weyrlingmaster's bad moods for one. So," he shrugged, "it wasn't the end of the world but... I still think it would have been nice to Impress at the same time as him. I've caught up now but for a long time I lagged, as it were. Would be different for you and your brother of course being closer but still, it's a point of reference I suppose."
It would mean of course that he wouldn't have Impressed along with D'los. Would that have been a bad thing? Being weyrlings together was how they had met, certainly, but they could still have met, and he could have taught D'los all he knew. Perhaps it would have been nice, or perhaps the distance between them would have meant they never became close.
"Don't think on it; it's the past. You shouldn't wonder 'what if I'd done this' about anything I can't remember of my own accord," Raith suggested with gentle humour. L'thor smiled faintly at that but didn't feel the need to respond. He knew it was pointless, but he couldn't help it; he was just a naturally curious person, and wondering 'what if' was in his nature.
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Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 2:38 pm
For the most part, Aydin just sat back a bit and listened at that, somehow feeling better about the whole thing to know there were others who had gone through the same sorts of trouble. Of course, it only made sense that there would be, with so many other dragons and riders. Some of them had to have known each other before, and they couldn't all Impress at the same time.
Really, they were just lucky in that there were so many eggs laid close to each other at one time. But then... that could also mean that the coming Fall would be incredibly dangerous.
No one in Aydin's lifetime had ever seen Thread, and ... to be honest, he was a little afraid of it - who wasn't? But he wanted to be able to do his part to help, to fight. And for that, he needed to be a rider...
Finally nodding in response to the other's words, the younger male smiled slightly and tilted his head. "Still you seem a little down right now..." he said slowly - not sure if the other would welcome such a comment.
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Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 2:55 pm
L'thor sighed and shrugged, no point denying it. "It's the time of year," he said with a shake of his head, "I'll get over it in a few days." He looked forward to that. Missing D'los was fine, but feeling miserable about it was something he had been quite happy to put in the past. He supposed it was only natural for the memories to be sharp so close to the anniversary of his death, for him to feel the loss more keenly.
River, having finished his meat, gave an affectionate croon and fluttered up to his usual perch on L'thor's shoulder before nuzzling the rider's face. L'thor gave a weary chuckle and wiped meat juices off his cheek. "Thank you for that River, you messy beast..." He liked Aydin, he had decided. Trouble, decent at music, generally nice seeming sort. Quite handsome too, but rather too young sadly. Why did all the interesting new men have to be too young? A couple more turns on most of them would make it alright, but as it was most of them were just that little bit too close to being boys for comfort.
"Feel free to let me know if you need anything by the way," L'thor said after a moment. "Directions to a place you've been sent for chores, information about anything around the Weyr, a lift somewhere; I'd be happy to help." After all, Aydin was being good company and keeping him from moping too much. He couldn't think of anything the young man could ask of him that he'd be unwilling to do.
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Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 6:07 pm
Rynin was just a bit more fastidious, actually licking the last of meat juices off her face before coming back to Aydin's shoulder in her turn, chirping at him and sending a few thoughts his direction about River that made the young man laugh softly and flush just the faintest bit. If you want to see him again I'm sure he wouldn't mind, he sent back to her, along with several images of the two flits together so she'd get the idea. The small green crooned at that and sent an almost conniving little look in River's direction.
Choosing not to push L'thor about whatever he was sad about, Aydin instead turned his attention to the rider's offer. He started to say that he was pretty much fine, and then hesitated a moment. Kadri would possibly kill him if he found out but...
"Actually there is maybe something... " he said, glancing up. "See... when we were Searched and came here, going between made me really sick. I'd ... sort of like to see if that would happen again, or if there's some way to get used to it..."
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2009 6:43 am
River didn't seem to notice the overt glance; he was busy cleaning his face up after getting the feeling of mild disgust from L'thor. He would be a clean flitt soon! Crooning happily to himself, the blue firelizard licked his jaws and paws fastidiously in order to meet his human's standards of cleanliness.
L'thor meanwhile smile slightly and nodded. "Of course, Raith and I would be glad to take you for a ride. Remember my first trip between; didn't make me ill but it certainly scared the life out of me. Rider I was with didn't think to tell me anything about what it would be like, he was so used to going that it didn't even cross his mind." Honestly though L'thor hadn't been too angry with the man, mostly because he'd been mildly infatuated with him. He soon found out of course that firstly the blue rider preferred women, and secondly that he wasn't L'thor's type.
"If your brother wants to come along as well that's no problem," L'thor went on. "Raith can take three fairly light people without a problem if you want to go together, or I an take you one after the other. If you've a family you want to see for the few hours you get off one day I could take you to wherever it is." Egh. He really ought to make time to go and see his own family sometimes. It was just something he never thought of these days; Dusk and River took them notes from him on occasion but beyond that... Well, he loved them still, but they were part of Lunthor's past, not L'thor's present.
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Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2009 2:20 pm
Aydin nodded gratefully at that, his attention completely off the flits for the moment. If something more developed there, well ... that would happen when it happened.
"I would like that..." he said, just a little shyly - though not too much since he'd asked in the first place. "Though... I'm not sure about telling Kadri about it. He might be likely to smack me for thinking of such an idea in the first place," the young man admitted with a sheepish sort of smile.
"He'd like going to see our family, I know...but... maybe not the uhm. Experiments."
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