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Princess_Feylin Vice Captain
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 Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2010 7:06 am
This would be safer with a harness, B'shir pointed out. You're going to learn all sorts of bad habits.
Sakneth managed to convey a sneer mentally. I won't learn any bad habits if my rider pays attention. Besides, I thought you liked to fly.
I do, B'shir replied. But this is not how I'm used to flying. I don't think we can safely practice most of the maneuvers I know without harnesses.
Coward, the bronze chuckled as he turned abruptly, forcing his rider to cling to him for dear life. I won't let you fall.
B'shir's knuckles were nearly white, despite the sun-darkening his already dark skin had taken since coming to Ghenza. If he held on much tighter the muscles in his hands and arms would seize up and he'd fall. The knowledge didn't help him loosen his grip, however, because the primitive part of his brain said that only by holding on could he hope not to fall. It was like the first time he'd ever flown on Rath as a small child.
And then, as Sakneth swooped down, the negative gravity force lifted B'shir from his dragon's back and at about fifteen feet up he lost his grip and did a bit of unassisted flying. Sakneth tried valiantly to turn and catch his rider, but there wasn't enough space or time for the bronze. A green might have been able to manage it if she were particularly quick and agile, but it still would have been a near thing. Fifteen feet didn't grant a lot of room for maneuverability.
Are you all right? Sakneth asked, coming to land nearly on top of his rider so that he could look him over thoroughly.
"Shardit," B'shir growled from the ground. "I told you that would happen."
I'll take that as a yes. Do you think anyone saw us? Having reassured himself that his rider was in no immediate danger, Sakneth concerned himself with his dignity.
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Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 5:03 am
He had been enjoying a nice relaxing oiling in the sun until he saw rider and dragon part company. "Shards!" Eyes flicking from contented green to a mess of white and yellow Dith scrabbled upright, only narrowly avoiding knocking his lifemate over. "Come on! They might be hurt!"
"Wait, what?" F'al blinked and wiped his oily hands on his trousers as his dragon bounded away from him. "Who might be? What are you on about?..." He was treated to a mess of mental images and worry at that point, so muddled and unreasoned that it might have come from a flitt. Boy fell off dragon... not all that far from the ground but a neck was easily snapped... but the dragon was still there and wasn't screaming in panic so the rider was probably mostly alright.
Try telling that to Dith.
Sighing deeply F'al gave his hands another wipe and set off after his lifemate at an easy jog, wondering how the situation had come to be. Faulty straps? Had to be, he supposed, and it was one of the High Reaches weyrlings so it was quite possible that a lack of experience and a gap in proper training had led the boy to mess up... What was his name? The one with the grumpy bronze. Bash something? Well, he'd probably find out presently.
He was quite close to the bronze and his rider now, so Dith called a greeting to them. "Are you alright?" he asked, sharing his question with the bronze as well as his rider; it would be unkind to leave the other dragon out of the conversation. "That looked pretty nasty; what happened?" The rider didn't look as though he was much hurt, no twisted limbs or anything, but you never could tell.
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Princess_Feylin Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2010 6:53 pm
At the sound of someone approaching Sakneth's large head swiveled around to stare at the new arrivals. Frantically he tried to recall whether he had noticed anyone else below while he flew. He didn't think he had, but the moment of pure terror he'd experienced when he felt B'shir go flying from his back had more or less obliterated any memories immediately preceding the incident.
Do you think they saw? he asked B'shir, who was just beginning to sit up, rubbing his head.
B'shir's fingers formed a fist in his curling hair as he found a knot at the back of his skull. His hair was getting too long, he thought, and then proceeded to prod curiously at the lump. It hurt, but it didn't feel like anything had been seriously rattled. The impact hadn't even broken the thin flesh of his scalp. The long-ish buoyant curls probably had something to do with that. He still wasn't about to revise his opinion of them, though. They had to go as soon as it could be arranged.
I think they must've, he responded. Judging by the speed at which they're approaching.
He shook his head once, almost viciously to clear any lingering dizziness. Sakneth rumbled softly in disapproval, reminding his human that if there was something wrong with his head or neck sharp, sudden movements were probably a very bad idea. B'shir made a rude gesture and pointed out that this was his dragon's fault anyway. He wasn't feeling particularly charitable toward the bronze for the time being.
We're fine, Sakneth answered the young brown before B'shir could reply. He didn't approve of the habit Ghenzan dragons had of speaking to just anyone. It was just a little mishap.
B'shir snorted listening to this and glanced up at his dragon, who continued to tower over him in a semi-protective manner. He raised his hand to the brown's rider - a High Reaches candidate, he thought - in a gesture he hoped would indicate that he was all right. More or less.
"Thank you," he said, "for your concern. But as Sakneth says, I'm all right." He just wasn't going to try for standing yet. He was a little dizzy and his tailbone hurt. He hoped Sakneth could feel a little of that.
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Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2010 4:26 am
Dith skidded to a halt, eyes still yellow as he gave the rider a more thorough look over. No blood, nothing broken looking, he was mostly alright, apparently. "Good," the brown said eventually, green beginning to creep back into his eyes, "I was worried for a bit there, how did you come to fall off?"
As he was in a rather calmer frame of mind than his dragon, F'al was in a position to notice the details of the scene as he drew closer. When he stopped beside his lifemate, he pursed his lips and laid a hand on the brown's shoulders. "Apparently they were flying without riding straps," he observed with a slight shake of his head. "Not a bright move for an experienced rider, let alone a weyrling. Was it your intent to fall off and nearly snap your neck, or do you just not think very much?" Stupid boy, and stupid bronze, and one day they might be weyrleaders. Well, that was just life he supposed, not a lot to be done about it. Still, if the pair kept this sort of thing up they might well permanently remove themselves from the running before the grumpy bronze even got a chance to chase for the first time.
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Princess_Feylin Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2010 9:51 am
B'shir was about to answer something about how he'd been an idiot to listen to his idiot dragon, but the brown's rider beat him to it. The censure in his tone galled B'shir, who had rarely broken rules or training in the course of his life. It would figure that the one time he did, he would be caught out with a disapproving audience.
This is what happens when you break the rules, B'shir said sharply to Sakneth. People could get hurt, and you could be embarrassed.
Sakneth's eyes shifted to an irritated red at his rider's words. He'd been genuinely concerned for B'shir initially, but once he'd assured himself that his rider was fine it was only natural that he'd be concerned about how he might be perceived. And it wasn't his fault anyway. If the Ghenzans weren't so stingy they would have had the necessary materials.
"Thank you for your expert opinion," B'shir snapped.
A very large part of him wanted to say more, to point out that he and his dragon had been forced to neglect a huge part of their training while this boy would be allowed to attend lessons and receive all that he needed for his ridiculously large dragon. This boy who really had no business being here anyway, having come without a dragon when the purpose of sending people to Ghenza had been to protect the young dragons and their riders. He would have liked to point out that dragons were meant to fly with their riders and now, because of the idiots from High Reaches who had Impressed here, his own training would have to be further delayed until their dragons grew up.
B'shir bit the inside of his cheek to hold back the venomous words which came so readily to his mind. Those were not his thoughts.
"You're right, of course," B'shir said, making a supreme effort to block Sakneth's fuming and rage. "But, out of curiosity, how would you have me train, given that the good people of Ghenza are unwilling to do anything more than house me and put me to work? Or would you prefer I simply neglect my dragon's training?"
Stop it, he snarled at his dragon. And don't you dare say any of that to the brown, either. Just. Be. Silent.
You're easier to manipulate when you're angry, Sakneth observed. Interesting.
Try it again and I'll block you completely, B'shir warned. The warning did not go unheeded by the bronze, who instantly changed his manner. His rider was capable of following through on that threat, and Sakneth hated when he did it.
"My apologies. I would love to blame my bad manners on discomfort or embarrassment, but I'm afraid I'm just not a very nice person." It was preferable, B'shir had found, to lie rather than admit the constant power struggle between himself and Sakneth.
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Posted: Sun May 23, 2010 4:12 am
"Well, that makes two of us then," F'al smiled slightly, only very slightly. "I'm not very nice either. You needn't worry about insulting me or, or anything like that. I am difficult to perturb... I will confess I was not aware that you were being denied basic supplies, but surely there was a better way to deal with the situation than jumping on without straps. Mmmh. Well. In any case. I have access to plenty of leather, I'll get some for you tonight so you can make new straps if it will stop you from behaving like that in future." He didn't especially care whether or not the fool broke his neck, but Dith did and so leather would be acquired.
"They're not giving you leather? Well that's sharding stupid," Dith put in with a rumble, and a flicker of dull orange in his eyes. "I know they don't want you here - everyone is unhappy enough with me even though I was hatched here because Mine is from your High Reaches - but putting you in danger like that..." The young brown rumbled in displeasure again, scowling if ever a dragon could. "Your Weyrwoman will not be pleased when you return," he predicted, "she must have expected you not to be given lessons, but to be kept from at least staying up at the standard you were when you left... I suppose you can only hope that you are allowed to return soon."
"And what about us?" F'al asked. "They hate me here, as you observed, and the feeling is mostly mutual. We should find a way to go with them back to High Reaches, if we can." Home. The towering Weyr was where he felt he belonged, he couldn't imagine staying here his whole life. He had to get back there somehow, but would Ghenza allow it? They'd be glad to see the back of him, but a large powerful brown would be something of a loss... They'd do it, somehow, they'd get away.
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Princess_Feylin Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2010 11:01 am
"Just the same, I'll try to avoid it. Duty to set an example and all that."
Although he was able to sound off-handed about duty, it was an important thing to B'shir, and the dark-skinned bronzerider knew that he was not, at present, setting a good example. Well, he could be said to be setting an excellent example of how not to comport himself.
"It's not so much that we're being denied the supplies, as that they're only given grudgingly. And it's not as though there's a great deal of excess anyway. I can understand why the Ghenzans prefer not to waste it on High Reaches dragons. But I do resent being forced to neglect my training because of it."
They don't see it that way, Sakneth said. We are small and worthless creatures here, or so the native idiots think, and they see no reason to waste resources on us.
Coming from the bronze, it was an amazingly fair-minded evaluation of the situation. It was also comprised mostly of thoughts from his rider. Nevertheless, he could see that B'shir was correct. It probably wasn't out of spite, but rather a form of benign neglect. Maybe not so benign, but clearly not deliberately injurious.
"I believe part of the problem, at least in my case, is that Sakneth is bored, and not adjusting well."
You make it sound like a failing on my part, rather than a deliberate, conscious decision. I do not like it here but I could adjust. I choose not to. Sakneth settled more comfortably and looked at the brown appraisingly. Only a brown, but perhaps intelligent.
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Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 5:56 am
"Mmm... Well I, erm, I suppose it can't be easy for him," F'al acknowledged with a shrug, "what with all of the Ghenzan dragons being so big, being... different in general. It can't be a lot of fun for any of the High Reaches dragons. I certainly hope that you're allowed to leave soon... I, mmm, I wonder though what they'll do about people like me; came from High Reaches and Impressed here. The Ghenzans don't like us, we don't fit in either, but they won't want to lose their dragons... Difficult." Tough luck for Ghenza if it wanted to keep him; first chance he got he was heading for High Reaches. Ghenza was so afraid of the outside world he couldn't imagine a concerted mission to being him back being carried out.
"Will they want us, though?" Dith wondered, speaking only to his rider this time. "What with us Ghenzan dragons being so different, your High reaches might rather I didn't come... If we do go, though," the brown added, "we're taking Wilth and P'ta with us. I'm not leaving them there, they need us to look after them." And he was hearing no arguments on that one; if his fool of a rider tried, he'd sit on him until he relented.
"They can come," F'al agreed easily, "I like them... And you're right. We couldn't leave them here without you to play mother wherry."
"Oh har-har-har, you're so very funny; thank shells I wore my riding straps for I think my sides shall split."
"...You're not wearing any straps, and they wouldn't help anyway."
"Egh. You are hopeless!"
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Princess_Feylin Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 12:22 pm
B'shir looked over his shoulder at the bronze behemoth behind him. He knew that someday the brown baby before him would grow larger than his bronze, and the thought wasn't what one would call welcome. (I'm sorry for all the alliteration. I don't know where it's coming from!) It rankled more than a little that Dith, who seemed like a thoroughly likable creature, would stand a better chance at catching any female he chased than Sakneth. There was an order to the world, and the Ghenzan dragons didn't seem to fit it.
Those aren't my thoughts either, he pointed out to Sakneth. I mean it. Stop.
Sometimes B'shir wondered if he would ever convince Sakneth that their relationship was supposed to at least be a partnership. Ideally, B'shir should be the one in charge all the time, but he knew better than to expect that unless something happened to scramble his dragon's brains. Frustrating though Sakneth was, B'shir would never wish for that.
"I don't see how they can keep you here, though, after your dragons have learned to go between, B'shir said wryly.
"Honestly, I'm glad Sakneth doesn't remember how to go between places, or else I think he would take both of us home whether I willed it or not." As a rider, he knew how to go between - it was something he had practiced with Rath - but it was a piece of knowledge he kept very carefully hidden from Sakneth. He would rather his bond learned how to do it properly, rather than gleaning it from his thoughts.
I'm not stupid, Sakneth grumbled. I know what I risk by going between without practice.
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Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 12:33 pm
"That's very true," Dith agreed with B'shir, "one of the queens could tell me not to, but she could hardly devote all day every day to repeating the order. Besides, if I fail to be a good and hardworking creature for them they'll probably be glad to see the back of me... What do you two makes of High Reaches then?" he went on thoughtfully. "F'al says it's a great place to be, especially for dragons and riders... I can look at his memories if he lets me of course but they're coloured by his ever wonderful opinions; it would be nice to hear that it's a good place from others." If he did go to High Reaches, he couldn't exactly come back here; he didn't want to commit himself and Wilth to a place that might be no good.
"Nice to know you trust me," F'al muttered under his breath as Dith finished speaking. Of course High Reaches was the place to be; people respected riders, he fitted in (well, fitted in better than he fitted in here, he'd never really fitted in anywhere in his life save the archive rooms), and there was trade with the outside world, interest, excitement; all that kind of thing.
"And dragons that forget everything after a few days," Dith pointed out privately. "I don't mind that, I could get on with them, but would they want to get on with me? Guess Wilth and I might end up in our own company, and that of you humans... So long as your High Reaching people don't mind us taking to them."
"It's High Reaches."
"Whatever. I'm just saying... Well, we should think about this, right? We can only make the choice once."
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Princess_Feylin Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 1:10 pm
Sakneth considered Sharath for a moment, and that pushy pain that was Ghenza's queen. He wouldn't be surprised if either of them chose to devote herself to doing just what Dith proposed, but he kept his opinions to himself. Sharath was his clutchmate, the only female he really considered worth his time. He might argue with her personally, but he would not defame her to others.
"I'm about as prejudiced as F'al," B'shir said. "I was born and raised there, as was my father, and my grandfather is completely loyal to the place. He's a rider there."
Yes, rider of an ancient brown who thinks he knows everything just because he's old, Sakneth added so that Dith could hear him. He had no problem insulting Rath, even if he couldn't exactly recall the old dragon's name, or the name of his rider.
"It's colder than it is here, but we don't live in the open, so it's not so noticeable," B'shir continued, not wanting to get into it with his dragon over family honor and respect. "The hierarchy is very different, but not for dragons, I think. Golds are still at the top of everything."
And we're not used for menial labor! Sakneth contributed. And we have our own weyrs and people respect us and our riders.
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Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 1:20 pm
Dith shot Sakneth a draconic grin. "Sounds charming!" he exclaimed. "It is so wonderful when people think they know best just because of age, colour, or their rank... Still," the brown rumbled thoughtfully, "F'al told me that the love of queens is even greater at your High Reaches, people go all wherry-headed when there's one on the sands and most people all but woprship them... I have to admit that would be a bit hard for me to swallow, but if the rest is so good then moving might be best for both of us." He still wasn't entirely sure, he didn't like the idea that people would think that bronzes were better than he was just because they were bronze, let alone being expected to grovel to golds. If Fa'l would be happier though, he probably would be as well.
"No more working in the fields," F'al grimaced, "I look forward to that day. I'm not at all cut out for it, I just wish that, umm, wish that when I arrived here I'd claimed to be an apprentice of some sort." What kind, though? All he was really any good at was thinking, and absorbing insane amounts of usless information. No. He couldn't stay here. Dith was just going to have to deal with that. "I wonder if we'll have to wait until we can between on our own, or if we might get back the way all of the High Reaches weyrlings got here," he mused with a frown. "I hope it ends up being the latter, the sooner we're out of here the better." If he never saw another field that needed weeding it would be an interval too soon.
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Princess_Feylin Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2010 5:37 am
Because Sakneth was always sensitive to slights, implicit or explicit, he thought he might have detected a hint of irony in the large brown's words about people knowing best because of age, color, or rank. Sakneth knew he might be counted in that, but the difference was that he really did know best. It was something which was innately part of him, and had been since he was born. The fact that his hide was bronze only served to confirm it.
What could be wrong with holding queens in high esteem? Sakneth asked Dith. They are the only ones who can lay eggs and they do have a certain something about them that, maybe, you are too young to appreciate After all, I don't expect you'll be chasing females for some time.
He settled comfortably and wondered if he would have much of a chance at convincing Dith to see him as someone who was older and wiser, someone to look up to. It wouldn't be so bad to have one or two of the freakishly large Ghenzans on his side. Particularly not if they were planning to go back to High Reaches, as this one seemed to be. B'shir wasn't sure if he should take this new bit of calculation as a good sign because Sakneth wasn't blindly hating Ghenzans or a bad sign because he was still trying to manipulate others.
Take it as a good thing, Sakneth advised him privately. We'll get along better.
B'shir would have grimaced along with F'al, but that wasn't the way he was. The expression would not have been believable and probably would have scared the new rider off. He settled for nodding.
"I share your dilemma. The only thing I know how to do is to be a rider. It's what I was raised to do from the moment I was born." He shrugged, aware in his periphery that Sakneth was griping about his rider being put to work in the fields, but he hoped the bronze was griping privately.
"Actually, I'm hoping they send us back soon, too. Those of us that want to go. It seems like, with the...herbs?...they give your dragons they ought to be able to grasp the idea of traveling between at an earlier age." He wasn't sure about that, but he did know that the herb did something to enhance the dragons' mental abilities.
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Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2010 12:49 pm
"Well, yes, they can lay eggs and we need that... but they can't flame and we need that too." Frowning internally, Dith tried to work out how best to get his point of view across to all present. "They have the ability to give us orders. They're big. They lay eggs. They're not better people, not kinder, not smarter or anything that really matters about a person just by being gold... I've nothing against them," the young brown added hurriedly, "I think they're as good as any of us but... but not better. People are people. At your High Reaches it isn't like that. People are people and golds are..." Dith shrugged his wings before concluding; "Queens. No matter how fit they really are to lead, because they can order, they do. Here at Ghenza a gold's ability to do that is... it's sort of controlled. I like that. I think it's right. They're no better than us, they shouldn't act it."
F'al looked down at his dragon thoughtfully as he tried to express his feelings about the largest of the dragons. He had to say in some ways he agreed... but High Reaches was home, and he was used to the golds and to a lesser extent the bronzes getting the best of it. Let fools be blinded by colour, it didn't affect them... Oh, but he should respond to B'shir. "Perhaps so... They'll need to be able to fly at least though, isn't betweening from the ground pretty advanced? Umm, theory is only good for so much, eventually you need... you need practice. We'll get to High Reaches one way or another and then... Well, be a normal pair I imagine, as far as is possible with Dith being such an odd creature."
"Oh thanks Mine, I really appreciate the vote of confidence! Yesh, is Yours this horrible to you, Sakneth?" Though his words were hard and his tone huffy, Dith's eyes remained a bright cheerful green, making it clear that he didn't really object to what his rider had said.
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Princess_Feylin Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2010 6:21 am
Lots of dragons can flame, Sakneth pointed out. Even greens can flame. As for the rest...I've yet to meet a gold who didn't want to be the best and do the best by her Weyr. The responsibility they assume is enormous.
Sakneth really had a difficult time wrapping his brain around what Dith was trying to say. As far as he was concerned, there was an order in the world, a hierarchy. Golds were at the top, followed by bronzes, then browns and blues, and lastly greens. It was also his belief that dragons were superior to humans, innately, and males were superior to females, also innately. That was just the way the world worked, and people were born into the place they were best-suited to occupy.
"You're right. I hadn't considered that. Even fully-trained riders prefer not to have to between from the ground." He wouldn't want to do it, at least. It wasn't something he'd practiced with Rath, even, because A'ram disliked doing it so much. It was yet another skill he would have to wait to acquire until he got home.
"I imagine once he's grown the wings will be fighting to have Dith assigned to them," B'shir offered, supposing this without rancor or envy. He wasn't usually the sort to make predictions as to wing assignments or promotions, and so he kept further thoughts to himself, but it seemed likely to him that Dith would be made at least wingsecond in time.
And what of us? Sakneth asked privately. What if that assignment is one he steals from us?
Then we will not have worked hard enough to deserve it, B'shir answered simply. Let us not have that be the case, eh?
The answer satisfied the bronze, who chose to see it as a sign that his human was demonstrating the proper ambitions for a man bonded to a bronze.
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