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 Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2014 2:44 pm
No Threadfall, no bandit activity significant enough to pull him from his day off, no worries. They looped low over the Weyrbowl, just enjoying being together up in the air with the ground below, the sky above, and relative peace within.
So, Evmeth was gravid and the people who had thought she wouldn't have eggs at all were wrong. It remained to be seen how many she'd have and how big they'd be and thus how angry or otherwise the bronze riders would be.... Who were they kidding, the bronze riders would be furious even if the clutch was full of golds and bronzes because their position had been shaken and they liked that not at all.
They swooped, twisted in the air with a measured elegance that pleased them both.
And what passed below them? They looked down through Macarreth's eyes at the Weyrbowl, wondering what the people scattered across it were thinking of.
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Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2014 2:55 pm
Finally, a day off from chores!
No more hustling to and fro, no more of Gel'ric muttering and complaining that she wasn't getting her chores done in a timely manner, just a nice and easy day to do as she pleased. Qyprenna relished these days, often looking forward to them from one week to the next, as they allowed her to just relax and do things that she enjoyed. Having hobbies had become increasingly difficult since becoming a candidate, but she could still do them on her days off, so that was a plus.
On this day in particular, the young woman found herself sprawled out on one of the many open spaces of the Weyrbowl. Beside where she was lying, she had placed a book on politics and history, to read later, perhaps, should she so decide. For the moment, however, she was just clean to look up at the sky and watch the clouds. It was a relaxing pastime and it didn't require any work or movement whatsoever. All she had to do was look up, watch, and tried to picture shapes that the various white puffs might have taken.
Yet something else caught Qyprenna's eye as she cast her gaze to the skies above. A dragon and its rider were flying above the Weyrbowl -- a blue, by the look of things. With her interest now piqued, the young woman couldn't help but sit up, propping herself up with her arms as she did so. Seeing dragons and their riders, no matter what color or ranking, never got tiring to her. It always took her breath away, and it always would, she knew. They truly were a sight to behold!
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Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2014 3:04 pm
C'tis snorted and slapped his dragon's shoulder, feeling that the damn beast should just take them down to investigate why they were being studied.
Malcarreth folded back his wings to drop into a vertical stoop. Down, down and down he plunged until less than a dragonlength from the ground he snapped out his narrow wings and swept into a tight circle over the girl's head. The downdraft from his wings would be rather powerful, he knew that and felt not a shred of apology for it.
C'tis jumped off his dragon shortly before the blue would have landed and rolled to his feet because hey, when the world was watching you had to show off a bit. Rolling his shoulders and smoothing his hand back over his short hair he strolled up to the girl candidate with his brows raised. "You're Gel'ric's squire, right? Fascinated by the sight of us are you?" Had his wingmate been griping to her about Mal being chosen by Evmeth? He wouldn't be surprised.
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Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2014 3:14 pm
Oh, gods. Oh, gods, they noticed her looking!
Qyprenna didn't waste any time. The moment that Malcarreth landed on the ground, the young candidate rushed to get to her feet. She didn't look at the pair of them in the eyes just yet, as she was still regaining her composure. Oh -- how embarrassing! They caught her gawking like an idiot and she was just...just...oh, boy. In her head, she could already hear her rider chuckling at her. Gel'ric would be so amused, had he actually been there.
"Yes, sir," she finally managed to choke out, stiffening up and giving the rider and his dragon a formal salute. It was at the second question that what little composure she had started to fade. "N-...no...I mean, yes, sir! I-..." Qyprenna paused, allowing herself to calm down, take a deep breath, and exhale. "...Yes, I was, sir. I'm sorry if I startled or off-put you or your dragon."
This would be when the smack to the back of the head from Gel'ric would come. What a foolish, silly girl, gawking and staring as if C'tis and his dragon were some sort of catch. No squire of his would be caught doing such a thing - no sir. Oh, boy; she was never going to hear the end of his. Gel'ric would find out somehow. He always did.
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Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2014 3:28 pm
C'tis grinned, it showed off a lot of white teeth and one golden incisor. "Takes a bit more than that to put us off, we just wondered why you were looking," he said, reaching up to stroke Malcarreth's face as the blue dipped it within range. "Looking forward to the clutch, are you? Will this be the first you stand for?" Was she standing? Eh, she had been with Gel' for a while so she probably was.
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Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2014 4:06 pm
A sigh of relief escaped her at the mention of taking a bit more to put them off. That was good! The last thing she needed was an awkward or uncomfortable superior staring her down. "Dragons and their riders just always amaze me," she admitted, rubbing the back of her bald head sheepishly. "They always will, too, I think." Her eyes looked to Malcarreth when he dipped his head down, and then went on to light up at the mention of the clutch.
"Of course," she chimed, practically bouncing up and down in her excitement. She then went on to answer his question with a bob of her head before responding. "And yes -- it will be the first. I hope it goes well enough to be the only one I need to stand at, but we will see. You never know, after all." Qyprenna had heard that hatchlings could take some drastic turns. Candidates could even get hurt! She just hoped that nothing so dramatic would take place at her standing. It was her a dream to impress upon a dragon more than anything.
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Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2014 4:12 pm
"Mmmmh, and what's your wish for Turn's End?" C'tis grinned, he showed his teeth at any rate as he looked the girl up and down. "A fine strong bronze to carry you up through the ranks?"
Malcarreth stepped around in order to swat C'tis with his tail. his hatchlings!
C'tis snorted and grabbed his dragon's tail before looking back at the candidate girl. "What's your name anyway? Malcarreth wishes you well in bonding to one of his children."
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Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2014 4:25 pm
"Any dragon, sir," she told him openly and honestly, "I would love any color dragon."
The candidate couldn't help but jump when Malcarreth fwapped his rider with his tail. It was more of a surprise than an actual scare. The two of them must have been having interesting conversation, and she couldn't help but be envious. Perhaps, one day, she would have conversations like that, herself. "My name's Qyprenna," she went on to say, her gaze turning back toward C'tis, "and I recognize you, sir. You're from the same wing as Sir Gel'ric."
The mention of Malcarreth and his children caught the young woman off guard next. She blinked in surprised, then looked from C'tis, to the blue dragon, and then back to C'tis again. Whoa, whoa, whooooa~! A blue male was able to take flight with a gold! Such a thing had never been done until now, apparently, but it had to be a great honor. "Woooow," she said, not even bothering to hide her surprise and impressed tone. "He took flight with the gold female! That's wonderful!" She grinned, beaming a smile and a warm expression over in Malcarreth's direction.
"I hope I can do him proud!"
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Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2014 5:08 pm
C'tis smiled. It was a surprisingly pleasant smile on such scarred and weathered features but there it was. He shrugged his wide shoulders, coiling his arm around Malcarreth's tail absently. "Well done, full marks to the candidate there," he purred like something with a lot of fangs and sheathed claws along with its smile.
"It was wonderful," C'tis continued after a moment, "Wonderful of Evmeth to break with tradition, to dare to defy the bronze riders that rule us. Make no mistake Qyprenna," the name rolled smooth as silk off his tongue, "should you Impress in this clutch your name will go down in history regardless of what you do... but I hope you do something to stand out from the others who will be in your clutch. Do you plan to? Any dragon, any colour, but what do you want?" What did he want? Who the hell was he going to vote for? Why did he still feel so high so many sevendays later? So many questions and alas no answers.
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Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2014 5:20 pm
Breaking from tradition. Going down in history. These were all things that stuck out in Qyprenna's mind.
Her mind swam with the questions that C'tis had asked her. What did she plan to do? How could she stand out? Was such a thing even possible? The whole process of Impressing and what not seemed to be very formalized, with not a lot of wiggle room for things like being different or creative. So many questions and thoughts -- it was a lot to take in, frankly. In the end, all she could do was shrug her shoulders simply to the dragonrider she was conversing with.
"I just want to make a difference," Qyprenna told him quietly, her voice hushed as if she were telling a secret. "In some way...I want to be remembered and change history or break from tradition, like Melcarreth has done. Is that silly? My goals aren't definitive, so maybe that's not so good." She paused as she said this, a frown tugging her lips downward. Gel'ric would be displeased at such a response, probably. He'd want her to know for sure what she wanted her to do, so she would know what path she needed to take to try and reach that goal.
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Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2014 12:07 pm
C'tis snorted and shrugged. "You're, what fifteen? If you had everything figured out I'd be surprised. Very noble though." It was all very idealistic, something he'd usually scoff at, but having somebody who seemed essentially decent Impress to one of Malcarreth's hatchlings was no bad thing he supposed as long as the dragon brought some sense to the table, which he had no doubt it would.
"What wing though," C'tis continued after a short silence as Malcarreth happened to wonder about it. "Are you drawn to the glory of First Wing? Would you rather do some actual sharding work like Second Wing? The Fourth Wings make a difference to a lot of people, and I can tell you from experience that Third One have some cases to really get your brain into." He missed it sometimes, not that you didn't need a brain in Second Wing but there was some real headwork in untangling a murder. He wouldn't go back to it though, he was proud of having made it to Second Wing and fully intended to carry on upward if he could... though preferably to a Wingsecond post in his current wing rather than wingrider in First.
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Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2014 12:15 pm
Qyprenna couldn't help but stare in disbelief when C'tis commented that she looked fifteen. Did she really look that young? Self-consciously, the candidate paused to look herself up and down before turning her attention back to the senior rider she was with. "Actually," she began quietly, not wanting to sound rude for correcting him, "I'm eighteen." Fifteen was just...just...a bit too young. Surely, she didn't come off as that immature?!
Yet her demeanor seemed to change, and she perked right up when the discussion turned to the topic of wings. There were so many wings to consider, and to be honest; she wasn't really sure where she would fall into, if she managed to Impress on a dragon this time around. "First or Second Wing would be awesome, but I think I feel drawn to the Fourth Wings, in all honesty." She paused, thinking on what the wing did, and then nodded her head definitely. "They do disaster relief work, and I feel that's very admirable. Though, Second or Third Wings would also be nice, too. I'll happily go with whoever decides that they want me."
It was true, though. When it came to her potential future, Qyp wasn't about to be picky. She'd happily accept placement in any wing that wanted her.
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Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2014 12:33 pm
"Oh? Eighteen then," said C'tis in the manner of a man who has just been told an unsolicited factoid about apples and was replying without much thought given to the subject matter. This was entirely accurate, other than the part about the apples. "I suppose there's something to be said for being easy to please," he added, though he didn't sound entirely convinced by this. Sure the Fourth tier wings did good work but he would never have been content in one of them. Still, he guessed the world needed some people who were content wherever they landed. On the other hand;
Malcarreth gave his rider's mind a restraining touch before he could so much as move to turn away. he continued,
C'tis looked up at his dragon, sighed slightly, and turned back to the girl. "He wants to know where you come from," he passed along.
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Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2014 12:46 pm
C'tis seemed to be losing his desire to speak with her, and that was fine. Most riders, at some point or another, seemed to be rather dismissive of the younger candidates. It was understandable, of course: they had other, more important things to focus on. Actual work, and what not. Gel'ric would have probably acted the same way after a while. He was always in a hurry and eager to do something. A bit antsy, her squiremaster was.
Qyprenna's lips pulled up in a beam of a smile when C'tis passed along what Malcarreth wanted to know. Of course, she would tell him! Eagerly and bouncing with excitement, the candidate turned her attention to the blue. "I'm from High Reaches Hold," she explained, motioning off in the direction of the Hold. "I grew up on a farm! My family raised llamas for their wool. I helped take care of them, until I was searched and able to come here!"
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Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2014 12:57 pm
C'tis' eyes unfocused a little in the quintessential manner of a rider listening to their dragon. He then snorted and focused on Qyprenna again. "He says that llama are delicious." Farm girl, explained why she found the prospect of any wing exciting he guessed; when you'd spent your days watching animals wander about, eat grass, and s**t then practically anything had to be more of a thrill.
C'tis looked unfocused again, meanwhile Malcarreth focused intently on the candidate.
"Siblings?" C'tis asked. "And he also wants to know your opinion on the politics of Pern's other Weyrs, plus your attitude to several other things that I will get to." The last two words were spoken with slightly growling emphasis and with C'tis' dark eyes fixed on his dragon, who was apparently rather bombarding him with queries to verbalize.
The spotted dragon looked at his rider and for just a moment his blue eyes flickered to bright green with amusement, apparently he was entertained by causing mild ire.
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