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 Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 3:16 pm
It wasn’t that Mal was deliberately trying to avoid Ennrik. Not at all! It was just that there wasn’t a whole lot of overlap between Candidates and Weyrlings. Ennrik---actually, E’rik now, Mal recalled---had to spend most of his time taking care of his little Brown. And Mal spent most of his time thinking up ways to filch food from the kitchens. Preferably with a plan as circuitous as possible.
Luckily, he had Aeron to help. Unfortunately, the bronze firelizard was turning out to be highly… well… it just wasn’t what Mal thought it would be. He was beginning to see a definite trend here in that most of his plans resulted in him trying to dislodge Aeron from one of his fingers. Most people would’ve been dissuaded by this point, but Mal was certain he was approaching a turning point. At least Aeron didn’t usually draw blood any more.
The pair relaxed outside in the Weyrbowl, simply enjoying the evening air. It was one of those wonderfully balmy evenings, where the sun’s heat had yet to wear off. The moons hadn’t risen yet, but that was alright. All Mal needed for now was a couple of meatrolls and some silence. But since he couldn’t have that while Aeron was around, he’d just have to settle for just sitting there. Tentatively, he offered the Bronze flitt a bit of meatroll and pulled back quickly to avoid getting bitten.
He really was getting faster at least. Good reflexes. Aeron hissed softly before seeing a few trundlebugs skitter by. That caught his attention soon enough at the Bronze fluttered off in pursuit of the insects, like a cat after mice. All in all, Mal thought, this wasn’t a bad life. Good food, decent company, and relatively little responsibility.
“Now, Aeron… don’t ruin your appetite…” he said, wondering if such a thing was even possible. The firelizard had a bottomless pit where his stomach should be. He was already larger than normal for his kind, even at his young age. And he didn’t show any signs of stopping any time soon. Mal still was woken up during the night with angry thoughts about itches and hunger. No wonder he hadn’t seen E’rik in a while; no doubt the new Weyrling was going through worse things with the Brown.
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2009 9:30 am
E'rik crept silently out of the Weyrling barracks, his guitar slung across his back in its case. Daramulath trailed behind him, his tail practically dragging with exhaustion. E'rik felt guilty keeping his bondmate awake for so long, but he devoted his days to Daramulath, learning how to care for him and rubbing oil into his itchy hide and feeding him. He needed early mornings and his late evenings to be his time. It was utterly selfish, and he couldn't shake the feeling that anyone who found out how much he was requiring of his dragonet would agree, and in far less pleasant terms. And yet he couldn't make himself give up his music completely. Daramulath was a gift that he probably didn't deserve, but music had been his life's first joy.
And so he continued to sneak out early in the morning and late at night to practice his music. He'd had to give up practicing during lunch because Daramulath needed fed, and because people always seemed to find him whenever he went to practice during the day. But early in the morning and late at night everyone else was sleeping the well-deserved sleep of the just. E'rik was tired, too, but he was accustomed to running on little sleep. It was mostly Daramulath's weariness that concerned him, but the brown insisted that he was fine, and E'rik wanted to believe him, and so he pretended that he didn't notice the exhausted color of his eyes.
E'rik made his way to the Weyrbowl, where he'd be able to enjoy the pleasant evening as he played. The evenings in his hold were nothing like this, and even at Harper Hall, it was different. He enjoyed the warmth, as did Daramulath.
Do you think the rocks will still be warm? Daramulath asked hopefully.
"Possibly. If we hurry up, we'll find out," E'rik replied, picking up the pace a little. Eager to please, Daramulath did the same, nearly stumbling over his own talons in his tired haste.
They reached the Weyrbowl in time for E'rik to hear the last part of a sentence spoken by a familiar voice that he had heard too little of, lately.
"Mal?" he called, increasing his pace to a jog, enthused enough by the prospect of seeing his old friend to be heedless of his bondmate's difficulty in keeping up.
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2009 11:46 am
Aeron noticed the intruders long before Mal did. Instantly, the Bronze was on guard, his eyes swirling over with orange and red. Aeron stopped chasing the trundlebugs; they were no longer important. Flaring his wings, he attempted to scare off whoever was approaching, hissing all the while. Mal just chuckled at him, thinking it was one of the most adorable things ever. Aeron did not appreciate the laughter and hissed at him too.
Mal simply did his best to keep his fingers out of the danger-zone. The Healers were already getting fed up with his constant requests for bandages. They needed to save up their supplies for serious wounds, like the ones the Weyrlings were sure to gain through their training. Hopefully E’rik would be alright… as if the thought summoned him, E’rik’s voice rang out. Mal thought quickly and instantly started thinking of hot men. Preferably mysteriously devoid of shirts. Or pants. Either one was good.
Sadly, this didn’t work.
Ah well. E’rik’s company would be good enough. Sitting up, Mal waved at his old friend. “Evening, E’rik! Don’t mind Aeron; he’s always pretty nasty. He means well enough, I think. Just… don’t try touching him too much, alright?” The firelizard in question was now glaring at E’rik, but didn’t make a move towards him because of the dragon toddling along behind him. At the sight of the larger creature, Aeron had to pause. He didn’t back down totally, but at least he didn’t try attacking anything. He simply had to be content with hissing some more and trying to look as tough as possible.
“Pull up some ground. How’s life with… Daramulath, is it?” Alright, so maybe Mal was a little jealous of the dragonet for stealing away his old friend just when they were reunited. But that would pass quickly.
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2009 4:57 pm
E'rik stopped several feet short of Mal and his aggressive firelizard. He had no desire to be attacked, or to have Daramulath be attacked coming to his aid. So there was some effect to the bronze's hissing and wing-fanning. He maneuvered carefully to avoid the firelizard as he moved to sit beside Mal.
"No worries. I had no intention of trying to touch him at all," E'rik assured Mal as he executed the maneuver which placed him and his dragon on the opposite side of Mal from the firelizard. "Aeron?...doesn't really seem much like the curl up in your lap and croon sort."
As he sat down he unslung his guitar in a much-practiced motion so that he could lean back against the wall of the Bowl. He put the guitar flat on the ground beside him so that it couldn't be knocked over if Mal's firelizard took it into his head to be particularly beastly. Unless Aeron was spectacularly intelligent and able to undo the clasps, there should be no trouble on that front.
"But, yes. Good evening to you, too," E'rik said, returning Mal's salutation belatedly.
He watched with some amusement as Daramulath gave Aeron a scathing look and said, You are a firelizard, and I am a dragon. I am inherently superior, and often hungry. You look like you could make a snack.
E'rik wasn't sure if this was directed at Aeron, and he'd just happened to overhear, or if he was meant to hear it. He couldn't hear what Daramulath said to other dragons unless the brown meant him to. Maybe Daramulath doubted the firelizard's ability to understand him, and wanted E'rik to act as a translator? Most of the time he knew fairly instinctively what his bondmate wanted and intended, but for the moment he was at a loss. Still, the message itself amused, and he didn't bother to conceal his mirth.
Daramulath stared defiantly at the bronze firelizard for a moment more before laying down with the front half of his body across E'rik's lap. He regarded Mal with a great deal more interest than he had Aeron and then turned to look at E'rik as he asked, This is the friend you had Before? Would it be allowed, just this once, if I 'spoke to him, to greet him?
E'rik's eyes probably bulged at Daramulath's question, though he wasn't able to see himself from a third person point of view, and so had no idea. It felt like they were bulging. Which meant he probably had to let Mal know what Daramulath had said this time.
"Er. Daramulath would like to know if he's allowed to speak to you mentally. I don't really know the protocol on that, but I don't have a problem with it. I think he just wants to greet you, himself." E'rik didn't plan to go on to say that their relationship was important to him. It wasn't really the sort of thing young men discussed.
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2009 5:16 pm
“If I ever develop an extreme hatred of my genitals, I’ll be sure to put him in my lap. Until then, I’m happy with him being far away. I don’t even trust him on my shoulder,” Mal admitted with a shrug. “One of his first acts in life was to bite me. Poetical, don’t you think, considering I cheated to get his egg.” But Mal kept Aeron around anyway; it wasn’t like he could un-Impress the firelizard or anything. Besides, the Bronze was getting better. And Mal’s reflexes were developing wonderfully.
If Aeron was intimidated by the words, he didn’t show it. If anything, the Brown’s insistence only made the firelizard more determined. With his wings spread wide, Aeron balanced on his hind legs and hissed. It was all very dramatic. At least, it would have been, if the little flitt had been the size of a dragon. As it was, it looked about as intimidating as your average stuffed animal. Judging by the bandages on Mal’s hands, Aeron bit more often than that.
Not being privy to the conversation between Daramulath and E’rik, Mal could only assume his friend went all bulgy-eyed because of the show Aeron was putting on. “Yeah. Should see him whenever he sees a Green or Gold,” he commented.
Wait, what? Daramulath wanted to talk to him personally? Mal blinked a few times. “Umm… can they do that? I thought it was just… you know. Between a rider and a dragon… I don’t have any problems with it or anything. I just didn’t think it could happen.” Although, it made some sort of sense. Dragons could talk to each other and all that, which had to be mighty useful in Threadfall. Instant communication and all that.
Once he realized no one was paying him any attention, Aeron snorted and went back to four legs. Well, fine… with another snort, he went back to hunting trundlebugs, deciding to show Mal just how much better he was at hunting trundlebugs than that huge beast was.
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Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2009 8:55 am
Although E'rik had never actually observed Mal being in a relationship, he seriously doubted that he was likely to develop an extreme hatred of his genitals. With regards to the relationships, E'rik always figured that Mal preferred to keep that part of his life private, and he didn't really blame him. He didn't care to have his relationships advertised everywhere, which was part of why he tended toward being undemonstrative, which, in turn, was part of why a lot of his relationships ended. But that was neither here nor there, really.
E'rik grinned, somewhat relieved that Mal had misinterpreted and amused by Mal's resignation to his firelizard's temperament. He could imagine that Aeron put on remarkable displays for females of his kind. He was also relieved that he had not been given the opportunity to Impress a firelizard. He didn't know how he'd find the time to care for anyone else. He knew that he had taken on a slightly haggard appearance which most people attributed to Daramulath having immediate needs to tend to at odd hours, and the idea of having an additional charge was overwhelming. Maybe when Daramulath was older he would look into wheedling his way into Impressing a firelizard.
"There may be some poetic justice in that," E'rik agreed. "But a creature as magnificent as he is surely deserves someone with quick wits as a companion." He glanced at Mal's bandaged fingers and added with a wicked smrik, "And quick fingers."
Daramulath interrupted anything else E'rik might have said on the topic of Aeron's biting habit by saying, I am quite capable of 'speaking to him, but I do not know if it is allowable. They have not mentioned it in our lessons.
E'rik acknowledged Daramulath's interjection with a tilt of his head. "Daramulath seems to think himself capable of communicating to other people. His only doubts are about the Weyr's stance on the subject, and since our lessons haven't explicitly said anything on the topic, I believe we're safe to assume it's allowed."
Taking his cue from his bondmate, Daramulath stretched his neck so that he could touch his nose to Mal's elbow. There was some risk, he supposed, in that the bronze firelizard might not heed his warning, but he wasn't particularly concerned, even if he was too young to fly and very sleepy. He was still bigger. He was the biggest brown in his clutch, and nearly as big as the bronzes. And he wouldn't waste his time on trundlebugs, he thought disdainfully.
Hello, he said with a sort of inquiring quality, as though he wasn't sure he could make himself understood to a human who wasn't his bondmate. I'm Daramulath. Thank you for helping my E'rik stay until I could find him.
E'rik frowned as he realized that Daramulath was not including him in whatever he was saying to Mal. It wasn't an angry or jealous sort of frown, but more bemused. He wanted to know what his dragon had to say to his best friend. It couldn't be any great secret.
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Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2009 9:51 am
Mal waggled his fingers at E’rik, stating, “I’m getting quicker too, thank Faranth. Aeron may be a bit testy, but he’s alright. It’s not like every lizard can be as sweet as can be. I’m told he’s pretty smart, as far as firelizards go.” And that thought brought him a little pride, at least, despite the wounds.
“Even if it isn’t allowed, I’m sure not going to tell anyone,” Mal pointed out. “What am I supposed to say? ‘Waah, E’rik’s Daramulath touched my mind in a special place’? No worries about that. I trust you, E’rik. And you too, Daramulath.” It occurred to him suddenly that he had only been paying attention to his friend. Sure, the dragon was amazing----it was impossible to ignore a dragon, even one not long out of the egg----but he hadn’t spoken directly to the Brown. Sort of embarrassing… it wasn’t like they were unintelligent.
At least he had Aeron; that gave Mal a rough idea of what mindspeak might be like. Admittedly, it was only a flurry of emotions and images with the flitt, but how different could it be? Mal quickly learned as Daramulath’s voice came into his mind. He had imaged it would be like a sound, but it wasn’t. It was almost a sound. Thank you for taking care of him. He needs it.
Mal formed the thoughts, but, obviously, Daramulath couldn’t hear them. It took the ex-Harper a little while to remember that, while any dragon could speak to someone else through their mind, only a few people could speak to any dragon through their mind. Judging from the look on E’rik’s face, he wasn’t privy to this conversation either. Maybe Daramulath didn’t want his rider to know? “Nice to meet you, Daramulath. I’m Mal. And that’s Aeron, which you’ve probably already figured out.”
Still, even if the dragon had figured it out, it was still good to be polite.
Aeron was not amused. The Bronze had been hunched over, his jaws eagerly cracking open a trundlebug’s carapace and feasting on the insides when that… that thing had lumbered over to His? Letting out an indignant squawk, Aeron quickly dropped what was left of his meal and flapped over. He had yet to master the art of flying, but he could manage a sort of awkward half-glide-half-fall-with-lots-of-flapping. Once again, his eyes swirled over with red and orange. But he didn’t attack. Mostly, he just stood a few feet away, screeching at Daramulath and making a show of himself.
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Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2009 8:24 pm
"Life would be boring if there wasn't any variation. And although I plan to remain at a safe distance from your charming companion if I can manage it, I wish you the best of luck with him. I'm glad to hear that your reflexes are improving. Think how much better you'll be at slight of hand as a result." E'rik couldn't resist adding the last bit. It was one of Mal's defining traits, after all, that he wasn't quite straight when it came to the morality of his behavior. E'rik enjoyed that about him.
The pride in Mal's tone as he discussed Aeron's above-average intelligence made E'rik grin as he recognized a similar sort of pride to that felt by the Weyrlings and dragonriders he'd encountered. Each and every one was convinced that his or her bondmate was unique and special in some way, even if it was indefinable or even indiscernible. Because Mal was a friend, E'rik was making every effort not to group him in with all those who smiled fatuously at their bondmates' every move. Not that he wasn't guilty of being totally taken with Daramulath, but he tried not to be obnoxious about it.
A special place? Daramulath asked, listening in on the humans' conversation. What does he mean by that?
E'rik threw up a few memories that were pertinent to answer the dragonet's question, but he doubted they would prove useful. Daramulath was simply too young to grasp innuendo, or even fully comprehend the basic facts of life. Maybe. Actually, E'rik didn't know how much dragons knew about biological imperatives like reproduction, or if there was a certain age at which they learned about it, like a human's puberty. If dragon puberty was anything like human puberty, he'd be spending a lot of time oiling his brown to keep him from becoming patchy as he outgrew his hide. As if he didn't already.
Mal, Daramulath repeated back to the former Harper. Then, not wishing to breach etiquette too badly, he addressed himself to his bondmate, asking him to relay his words to Mal. It was also possible that anything more he might have said was overshadowed by Aeron's display and a reluctance to let Mal accidentally discover how annoying he found the firelizard.
"Daramulath says he will make an effort to remember your name, but...er...humans tend to all look the same to him." E'rik didn't know how humans appeared to dragons, but since he wasn't particularly adept at telling dragons apart he couldn't hold it against his dragon for having similar difficulties with humans. "Personally, I wonder if he might not find it easier to recognize you, having communicated mentally."
Daramulath turned his gaze away from both former Harpers and stared fixedly at the irritable firelizard. His eyes remained blue, demonstrating that he was not truly out of sorts, but he was beginning to find the firelizard's boldness less than amusing. Aeron's failure at graceful flight amused him, however, and he shared his amusement with E'rik, who tried to disguise his mirth to avoid provoking the firelizard. Maybe Daramulath wasn't concerned, but E'rik didn't wish to end up with scratches.
If that hurts you, I will eat it, Daramulath said firmly, which amused E'rik to the point where he couldn't conceal it.
"I'm sorry," he said to Mal. "Daramulath informs me that he intends to eat Aeron if he hurts me. If it's any reassurance, I don't think he could manage it. He can't fly, and he's not terribly coordinated. Particularly not at this hour of the night."
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Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2009 9:43 pm
“If I ever regain the use of my fingers,” Mal pointed out. “After all the times this little guy has bitten me, it’s a miracle I haven’t lost a joint.” But he’d be lying if he said the thought hadn’t crossed his mind. Although, admittedly, he had been branching out from picking pockets and leaning more towards turning it into some sort of a performance. It was quite a lot of fun, actually. Once Aeron stopped biting him, the bronze firelizard would be an excellent addition to the show. Mal had yet to come up with a good name for it, but he would come up with something entertaining.
Ha! Yeah… Mal knew a thing or two about proud parents. His mother had always been inordinately proud of him, perhaps unjustifiably so. From the time he could sing, she’d always been dragging him to see some Harper or another, raving about how awesome her boy was. It was a bit embarrassing at first, but it had certainly made Mal into the young attention-whore he was today.
“Really? That’s alright. I don’t mind if you forget, Daramulath. I won’t take it personally.” Hmm… he’d always heard that dragons had short memories, but this short? It was an interesting thought anyway. “Oh, don’t mind Aeron. He’s not likely to actually attack you at all, Daramulath, or E’rik. He just squawks loudly. At worst, he’ll maul my toes when I try to sleep tonight. I don’t think he’s stupid enough to attack someone who has an actual guardian.”
Aeron was not amused by the lack of reactions. The firelizard let out an unmistakable growl and then a snort. His wings spread and he puffed himself up, trying to look as big as possible. It was all very intimidating, if one happened to be, say, a trundlebug or something. For anyone else, it was probably just cute. Walking back and forth, Aeron occasionally would make a fake lunge at the pair, never getting closer than three feet.
“See? He may bluff a lot, but he’s smart enough to know it would be pretty stupid to do anything right now.” Why, yes! He was proud that his firelizard wasn’t a complete dimglow! “How are your lessons going, by the way? Anything horribly interesting happen?”
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Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 6:32 pm
"You'll need those fingers later, if you want to play any sort of instrument. Or have you given up on playing, in favor of firelizard charming?" E'rik chuckled as he rubbed his dragonet's eye ridges absently. Daramulath's second eyelids closed with pleasure.
"I don't think he's going to forget in the immediate future. It's likely more that he anticipates that he'll forget at some point if he's not reminded. He probably won't forget at all." From what he'd observed, Daramulath had a very good memory for a dragon, though he was young enough and E'rik inexperienced enough that it was difficult to tell.
I'm not worried, Daramulath said sleepily. Tell him that?
I don't think he'd mind if you tell him yourself, but I'll let him know you say so, E'rik thought back to his dragon.
"Daramulath's not worried, apparently. I'm hoping Aeron doesn't decide to maul your toes. Toe mauling sounds painful, and then you'd be useless for chores in the morning." This was accompanied by a sly grin. He was fairly certain that Mal managed to avoid as many assigned chores as possible, or delegate the task to others. As senior apprentices they'd both been fairly adept at it. It was really a simple matter of looking confident and authoritative.
"Lessons...We've learned to carve up wherries, and all sorts of useful things. How to ease itching hides. There's a bit in there about rider hygiene. Apparently weyrfolk are fastidious." Not that he was complaining. He always preferred when the people around him didn't have that rank, unwashed scent. There'd been a time in his life when he'd not been one for bathing, but he'd quickly outgrown it.
"I really believe they think they're dealing with utter imbeciles. But at least it gives the dragonets a chance to socialize, which is good, I suppose." His own socialization hadn't been going so well. "I nearly made a girl cry on the first day."
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Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 6:53 pm
“Perhaps if I have some strong desire to be pelted with rotten fruit I’ll pick up an instrument again. That’ll be on my list, just before I develop an extreme hatred of my crotch.” Instruments had never been one of Mal’s specialties. Maybe if he had put as much time into learning an instrument as he did figuring out ways to avoid work, he might have been a decent player. But, of course, that wasn’t likely to happen. At the idea that bitten toes might let him avoid work, Mal got a thoughtful look on his face. Still, pain was something he avoided even more meticulously than work. Maybe if it was a lot of work… and then there was the Hatching to think about. While he was still fairly certain that his dragon wasn’t on the Sands---and would probably never be---he figured he might as well attend. No sense in ruining his toes when that was on the line.
He couldn’t help but be a little jealous of the deep connection between Daramulath and E’rik. And what did he have? A firelizard who bit him. A lot. Yeah. Some partner that was. But no time for depression now! It was time to laugh and joke about how people were morons. Yay!
“…How to ease itching hides? Wow. Did they ever think of… I dunno… scratching? Seems to work well enough with Aeron. That and oil.” Even Mal had figured that out, although it had taken him a little while to ask someone else why Aeron kept biting him. “And cleanliness… ehh… I guess that makes sense, in case someone still hasn’t figured out how to bathe yet. I’m not surprised they’ve included that. I’d hate to think what would happen in an overcrowded Weyr if people weren’t aware of bathing. Especially after wherry skinning. Now me, I’m all for giving people some soap and shoving them into a puddle, but I’m guessing that riders ought to be more sensitive about it.”
“Aww… you made someone cry? How’d you do that? You didn’t really hand some girl some soap and shove her into a puddle, did you?” Now Mal had to hear this story; he’d rather missed E’rik’s tales of making other people cry.
Aware that he was being ignored once again, Aeron felt rather put-out. With orange still swirling in his eyes, he let out a huff and turned on the trio. The trundlebugs beckoned him once more.
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Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2009 7:22 pm
"Apparently scratching's not the answer. We're supposed to massage oils into the area before it becomes patchy, because patchy hides make dragons susceptible to the cold of between," E'rik said, repeating S'kagi's words, tones, and inflections in perfect mimicry. He didn't know if the effort would be appreciated by someone who didn't have to attend the lessons, but it was worth it to him to try.
He desperately hoped Mal would Impress, too. It wasn't just that he was lazy and greedy and wanted to be sure he wouldn't be put to the trouble of making new friends, though that was a contributing factor. The larger part was simply that he thought Mal would do well by a dragon, and vice versa, and he was no longer able to imagine a joy greater than being bonded to another as he and Daramulath were. The warmth and fuzziness of his thoughts about Daramulath prompted answering thoughts of adoration from the dragonet sprawled across his lap, putting his legs to sleep. His legs did spend a lot more time asleep after he'd Impressed.
"I think I'm in favor of your method, too. But, no. I didn't push anyone into a puddle. I haven't noticed that any of the other Weyrlings need it. I guess it's just part of the standard curriculum."
He should have known better than to tell Mal about making the Weaver-girl cry. Naturally Mal would want to know more. After all, E'rik had been fairly adept at making people cry at Harper Hall. On his unpleasant days, anyway. Mostly tears weren't his goal, but a side effect. That had been the case here, too.
"The first part of the first lesson was how to butcher a wherry. We were asked to pair up, and I was closest to this girl from the Weavercraft who'd Impressed a green, so I opted to be her partner, since I'd gotten to lessons late and didn't really want to draw any more attention to myself. S'kagi, rider of bronze Coriath and our lessons master for the time being, has a fairly impressive glare. She was starting to go all weepy and looked in danger of fainting, even before she cut into the thing. So I said some unnecessarily unkind things about her lack of self-control, and how she was enslaved by her impulses. Got her to do her part, at least."
He wasn't particularly proud of having made the girl cry. Daramulath's immediate, and almost censorious response had taken some of the delight out of turning his words into weapons. Probably it was because he had attempted to hold a battle of wits with someone who was inadequately armed for such a thing.
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Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2009 10:58 pm
“Really? Huh. Maybe that’s why Aeron keeps getting all nippy at me… I’ll have to try that.” Right. Oil before scratching. “Although he hasn’t gone between yet. Truth be told, I’m a little worried about what’ll happen then. He may be a bundle of bites, nips, scratches, and bodily harm but…” he paused there and looked at Aeron. “Actually, that doesn’t sound that bad…” Alright, so that was a lie; Aeron was pretty nasty, but Mal would still be despondent if he didn’t come back from between. He heard it happened sometimes with dragons and firelizards. Very… traumatic, that sort of thing. At least it sounded like E’rik was listening to his lessons. He was using his ‘Teacher Voice’ again. So long as he paid attention in lessons, E’rik ought to have a good chance here. Right?
Aeron noticed what Daramulath was up to and, apparently, considered it a challenge. So! The big lug thought that he was the most affectionate reptile around, did he? Well, Aeron would show him who was the top male around here! The proud Bronze snorted and strode over to Mal and nipped at his hand. Obediently, the hand began to scratch his eyeridges. Aeron’s eyes went blue with pleasure and, apparently, contentment. Ha! He’d show that stupid ol’ Brown…
Occasionally, of course, he’d n** at the hand again. Just to make sure Mal didn’t get any smart ideas about getting to scratch him whenever he wanted. That would just be silly! Still, he didn’t draw blood. By now, Aeron was beginning to get the shrewd idea that very, very few other people were prepared to feed him.
Mal merely sighed, being somewhat used to Aeron’s antics by now. He gave E’rik and Daramulath a wane smile, but continued to scratch the flitt’s eyeridges. “He’s very persistent.”
“Aww… I can’t believe I missed you making someone cry. Shards, but I’ve missed that.” Not that he really enjoyed being cruel or anything; he was just easily amused by watching people react to his friend’s acidic mouth. “S’kagi… he’s the one with the long hair, right? He’s a Bronzerider? Huh. I had him pegged for a Green…” damn. And he was pretty cute too. But Mal didn’t give voice to that thought, since he still wasn’t sure how E’rik would react. Might as well leave dramatic reveals for later and all. “Ah well… I think you did something good, even if she did cry. If she can’t cut up a wherry, how is she supposed to take care of her little dragon? ‘S important to get over those little things, I suppose.”
“How are the other Weyrlings doing? Anyone of interest?” Alright, so he was asking about E’rik’s romantic life, in a way. It was something he felt he ought to ask about, if only to make sure that his friend was dating girls who were his equals.
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Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 7:17 pm
Unfortunately for Aeron, Daramulath was paying absolutely no attention to the firelizard's antics. He just sighed deeply and flopped more heavily across E'rik's lap. He was more asleep than awake at this point. A part of him was disappointed that his E'rik wasn't going to make music, since he had quickly developed a fondness for it, even though he hadn't much of an ear, musically speaking, and he was terribly prejudiced. As far as the brown dragonet was concerned, there was nothing his human could do that could not be excused.
As Daramulath weighed more heavily on his legs it occurred to E'rik that he should probably move either himself or his dragon, or risk being unable to walk for the pins and needles which would come later. The decision wasn't a difficult one: he was depriving his dragon of much-needed sleep, and so there was no way he was going to disturb the dragon if he managed to doze off, even for a few minutes. There were worse things than numb limbs, and he probably deserved worse for being an uncaring bondmate. And that was as much time as he planned to spend indulging in self-flagellation for the evening. He'd used up his allotment for the day.
"At least he's a clever and handsome bundle of bites, nips, scratches, and bodily harm," E'rik offered, regarding Aeron with a measuring look. He was relieved that Daramulath didn't choose to display his affection or demand attention by nipping or biting. "Surely that makes it more bearable when numbweed's in short supply?"
"You've missed watching me push people to tears? Mal, I say this with all the fondness in the world, but I have to tell you that you are a sick, sick man," he teased. "And thank goodness for that, or I'd actually feel bad about the whole affair. And, yes, he's a bronzerider. What in the world made you think green?"
Mal's next question was one he wasn't sure how to answer, though it was one he ought to have been prepared for, since it wasn't a difficult question. It wasn't even particularly intrusive, for Mal. The truth of the matter was, though E'rik had noticed how attractive some of the girls in his group were, he had been extremely reluctant to allow himself to pursue any of them. If the stories about dragons and their mating flights were true, they would eventually be subject to their dragons' sexuality, and he pitied them that, and had no desire to complicate things. It had occurred to him that he, too, would be subject to Daramulath's mating flights, but it was different for men. They were not conquered so much as they made conquests.
"They mostly seem to be doing well. Some of them are attractive enough to give a second look, but having dragons complicates things somewhat. I think I'd prefer to keep to those of the Lower Caverns, and avoid other riders." He shrugged. Women were easy for him. "See anyone you're interested in?"
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Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 7:59 pm
There were times----rare times---when the firelizard was actually affectionate without biting. And he was getting better. At least he didn’t draw blood quite so often any more. At least not from Mal. The ex-Harper would make no guarantees about anyone else, of course. If they attempted to pet the firelizard without waiting for permission, they deserved to get themselves bit, the dimglows. “Ah, those very thoughts warm the cockles of my heart on those long cold nights. The very cockles.”
Not that he had any idea what ‘cockles’ really were. He was pretty damn sure that hearts had no such things! Hmm… he ought to ask a Healer at some point. If nothing else, it was at least a hilarious phrase and would get some odd looks. Actually, he was fairly certain that a ‘cockle’ was some sort of sea creature, probably with some sort of shell. And who knew what that had to do with hearts?
“I’d feel guiltier if you didn’t enjoy it so very much, E’rik. Besides, the people who burst into tears are normally guilty in some way.” An unfeeling way of looking at things, perhaps, but it made sense to Mal. If you didn’t do stupid things, then the two would leave you alone. Unless they were bored. And there was nothing better to do. The Candidate shrugged a little at the question about S’kagi. “I dunno. The long hair, I guess? A bit stereotypical, assuming something like that, but I just figured… well, the thing about stereotypes is that just enough of them are true, right?” another shrug followed, a signal that the young man was a bit uncomfortable with this topic. Whenever he shrugged after a sentence, it was a sure sign of something.
Alright, so maybe he had been a little hopeful there. It wasn’t like S’kagi was an unattractive guy. A bit old, perhaps, but, hey. Age was just a number, right?
Ha! And Mal had juuuust walked right into this awkwardness, hadn’t he? He shrugged a third time now before saying, “Not really.” And that was it. No further explanation. No long-winded tail of how he single-handedly saved a Lord Holder’s only virginal daughter from certain doom, and now was beholden only to her. Just ‘not really’. Realizing that he was acting a bit suspicious here, Mal rushed to save himself from a fate worse than death: awkward sex talks. “It’s just that, you know. Romance has never been a huge deal in my life. It’s something silly and fluffy that happens to other people, not me.”
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