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 Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2014 7:52 am
“Oh yes.” said Malta, remembering her early weyrlinghood with a wince, “Very busy.” said Poecileth, with a playful admonishment at her rider, Malta remembered miserable early-morning runs, long oiling sessions, learning how to butcher (an activity that still bothered her to this day) and never being as fit as others in her class. finished Poecileth. Malta looked at the legs that no longer shook when she was afraid and the body that no longer seemed to expand despite what she ate. She breathed with the lungs that no longer occasionally closed up and reduced her to gasping for air, and thought with a mind that cringed far less than it once did. she agreed,
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Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2014 12:26 pm
"That's good to hear." A slow day at the healers was always a good thing. No one wanted the healers busy.
Vos nodded understanding to the dragon. She would need to remember things for her dragon then. That shouldn't be too difficult. She winked at her brother when he glanced her way and asked a question she'd wanted answered.
The experienced candidate remembered when she and Ves started as candidates. There had been so much to learn, but they'd had a head start as they'd spent all their lives in the weyr. But still, watching and actually doing yourself was rather different. Actually being part of lessons, or doing chores had kept them, mostly, busy.
She thought about when she'd first started as a candidate and all that had been expected of her, then tried to imagine a baby dragon along with it all. It wasn't easy. She was surprised by the dragon's comment and asked, "what do you mean re-learned? What did you need to re-learn?" She blushed as she realized she'd been impudent. The pair was kindly answering their questions, and she'd gotten nosy.
Vesin would surely have found a polite way to ask. Unfortunately that wasn't a strong suit of hers. Vos smiled apologetically at Malta. "If you don't want to answer you don't have to."
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Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2014 1:11 pm
Poecileth said, helpfully, to Vesresh, ~~~ Vesresh nodded absently. The dragon and her rider were very vague about what being a weyrling entailed, and so those questions were left open... If Vosin didn't get to them first, which he preferred she did. She already knew so much more than he did... Like what you learned when you didn't impress at your first hatching, or what was expected of you, or... all of those things. ~~~ said the dragon, she rumbled... “Er...” Talking with her dragon was sort of... odd. Normally, one or the other did the talking (and usually, Malta much preferred Poe to talk), but right now, they were both in the conversation. Neither of them was an observer. And, while it was kind of nice, it did put her on the spot... “Right. Like... not trimming meat into smaller portions, or fighting, or... drinking.” she shook her head, “Things they should know not to do... that is why the weyrlingmaster has to remind them...” continued Poecileth, the dragon blinked, It made sense to the dragon – a new mind in yours required a lot of concentration, and – in the old weyrs – made you feel superior. A dragon was a symbol of status. To be chosen as one's other half – an honor. Some Weyrlings were caught up in the moment and forgot that they were people – young people – and needed to pull their weight. “Not always...” said Malta. She'd done her chores. agreed Poecileth, ~~~ Vesresh was getting used to the dragon's clear voice in his head, and he wondered what she meant by New Benden... it was different, yes – vastly so – but it was still home...
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Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2014 2:44 pm
Vos gave a giggle. Thinks tended to float out of candidate minds all the time. First and foremost, chores! Add a baby dragon to the mix and she could see why weyrlings lost a bit more. "Luckily we have people looking out for us when we become weyrlings." Otherwise there might have been more casualties before dragons reached their first turn. She compared doing chores with spending time with her 'hypothetical' dragon and knew which one would probably win each time.
"I guess that's why they have weyrlingmasters and candidatemasters." Most of the kids who impressed were just that. Kids. True some were older teens, but there were those who impressed at 12, 13, or 14 turns. From her lofty age of 16, Vosin could see how easy it would be for them to forget. She looked down at Esre to see if he wanted to ask something more.
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Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2014 8:49 pm
she laughed, <... But I could be wrong.>“I think they are both challenging...” said Malta, “But rewarding, I think” ~~~ Esre was sure he wouldn't forget... if he impressed. He was very good about his chores – in fact, he was just, in general, a very good boy. “Um...” he said, mulling over Poecileth's suggestion, “What do you learn as a weyrling?” he looked at Vosin, hoping she didn't notice he was cribbing his questions from an outside source. “I mean... Is it just dragon-y stuff, or...?” he blushed, “Are there other things you need to know that they have to teach you?” ~~~ purred Poecileth, with a private mental wink at Vesresh.
“Yes.” said Malta, deciding to field the question. It was getting easier – the child was nonthreatening and she had Poe right there. “You learn a lot about your dragon and how to take care of them and how to...” she looked up at the green's huge head, “Um... manage each other. Feeding, oiling, harnessing, riding... all of the things you need to know.” she thought back, remembering. “Also flying, flaming, and working in formation...”
added Poecileth,
Malta nodded, grimly. They'd lost friends during betweening training. Good friends.
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Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2014 11:45 am
"Mmmmm he has twice the number of young bodies to watch over." The candidatemaster, of course, had just candidates to watch; the weyrlingmaster had double that because he had the kids and the baby dragons. It made her think of trying to herd chickens. One person chasing while the chickens ran in every direction. The mental image made her laugh.
Vos was pleased Esre was asking questions. She'd been afraid it would have been all her with him just listening. She was clueless that he might be getting questions from an outside source, but it really wouldn't have mattered if she knew anyhow. He was asking questions. Vos grinned, and nodded to confirm she also thought his weyrling question was a good one.
The rider decided to speak up and Vos turned her attention to the woman. "I'm looking forward to learning to fly. It'll be nice to be able to explore the area outside the weyr." A huge grin was plastered across her face at the memory of the trading caravan. That had been fun. How much cooler would it be from the back of her dragon? The idea of sitting on the back of a flaming dragon also appealed to her. She wanted to feel the power.
The idea of between interest her. Growing up in the weyr she'd heard about it her whole life. Heard all the stories about riders and dragons vanishing forever. It was scary, but riders did it all the time. So how dangerous was it really?
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Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2014 3:19 pm
agreed Poecileth, teasingly.
“It is nice to fly.” said Malta, “You can finally go wherever you please, whenever you please, and pursue your goals...” she smiled shyly, “I admit... I felt imprisoned at the weyr... but once Poecileth could fly and Between, suddenly the world was... well... open.”
asked Poe, curiously.
~~~
Esre nodded, though he wondered why Malta had felt trapped. Had she not wanted to ride a dragon? Did anybody not want to ride dragons? Esre would love to have a dragon. Then again, he would be okay if he didn't. His parents said he could be a harper and that sounded just fine.
“Mmm... yes.” he said, in case his nod wasn't noticed, “We're all... We're from here.”
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Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2014 4:19 pm
DraconicFeline Do we want to work on wrapping this up?
She nodded understanding at Malta. "There's a whole wide world out there. I'd like to see it." It'd be better to see it from the back of her own dragon instead of like a runnerbeast. Even if her dragon was in this clutch, it'd be a turn before they could fly at least. "Malta, when did you start flying with Poe? Like what age was she? How far did they let you go at first?" Obviously they wouldn't let young dragons fly very far since they needed to strengthen their flying muscles.
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Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2014 7:19 pm
Esre thought his sister's question was putting the cart before the runner a little, and would have preferred that she ask the dragon for a ride or something, but he kept his mouth shut and listened. He was here to learn, so he might as well learn something... ~~~ “Mmm.” said Malta, “Sometimes a little too big. That can be scary too.” But then again, she was scared of everything... Poe commented to her rider, reassuringly. “Oh, dragons are able to fly at one turn – thats when their wings are developed enough to start carrying them through the air. Several months after they manage to fly on their own, thats when we start riding!” Poecileth commented, she stretched out her rounded wings, Malta was embarrassed at her dragons admission of their... 'delays.' She was glad for the understatement of reluctance: she had been absolutely terrified of flying. Poecileth had been careful to master her flying abilities, and then had had to coax her rider into the air. She'd had to coax and cajole and croon soothing words at Malta for a good number of turns before Malta was entirely comfortable with not being on the ground. mumured Poe.
“Um... anyway, about a turn. And then we were only allowed to fly briefly around the weyr. When we drilled, that sort of extended it, bit by bit... It was worth it.” she reassured again. “It was really worth it.”
~~~
Esre could imagine that it was worth it. “Is it... cold up there?” he asked, looking up a little longingly. He did want to fly – he was always happy to be taken out for a fly by their parents...
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Posted: Sat Nov 22, 2014 5:31 pm
Like she'd thought. It was going to be a very very long Turn. Vos wanted to sigh, but held it back. She shouldn't worry about it until she'd actually Impressed a dragon. There wouldn't be any flying if that didn't happen first. She tried to focus back on the conversation at hand. The green's comment and spreading her wings definitely caught her attention. Vos pursed her lips as she studied the green's slightly odd wings.
"I suppose I'd rather wait an extra few months than push a dragon who wasn't ready to fly." She wouldn't, and couldn't, do that to her own dragon. No matter how much she wanted to fly now. They'd have a lifetime of it together that she could wait a turn or bit longer. "I'd look forward to the drills. Love to see all the places." Maybe she could find that caravan she'd once tried to hitch a ride with.
She glanced at Esre as he asked, what she thought to be a silly question. Of course it was cold! Why else did they wear their flying leathers? The question hadn't been to her though, so she didn't answer it. Vos looked at the rider and dragon. While they answered Esre she could think up another question.
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Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2014 9:48 pm
magnadearel I hope i didnt repeat myself It could have been worse for them, of course. They had heard a story of a queenrider who feared flying, and whos queen had to be forced to rise. The story was not pleasant, and the methods used to bring the queen into the air were even less so. It was a bawdy song, and Malta did not like it. But a green who was reluctant to fly with her rider was not so much of an issue... just how she liked it. murmured Poecileth, Poecileth turned to Esre and studied the boy. she asked him quietly, Esre shook his head in what he hoped was an imperceptible way. It was a stupid quesiton – he realized it now – but he'd asked it and it was a valid question. ”Er...” Malta smiled at him, ”Yes. It's very cold up there... Colder still, between. It has to do with the atmosphere and space and...” he hesitated, ”I'm not sure. It's cold... and the air is thinner there.” she murred, she sent Malta a private smile, ”Does that answer your question” Malta asked, beaming at Esre. She thought him cute, and braver than she had been... far braver. She wouldn't have even started to ask, not at that age, not before Poe. Esre nodded. “Um...” he glanced at the dragon, “One... more question... Can you really be two things? A dragon rider and something else...?” he looked at Vosin, “I want to be a harper, but... I'm going to stand...”
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Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2014 9:26 pm
Vosin nodded and accepted when the dragon seconded it. What else was there to say? First she needed to impress and who knew when that would happen. It wasn't something she'd bet on happening this time for sure. She'd take the challenges as they came up, when they came up.
The teen shifted her weight slowly from foot to foot. It was interesting to find out how they'd teach them to fly higher, but it was starting to get late. They'd talked to Malta and Poecileth far longer than she'd thought. "One more Esre, then we should let Malta get back to her work." She grinned at her little brother. "Aye we need weyrharpers, but how do we get them if he's standing?" One obvious answer was that harperhall sent them. A journeyman might impress to a hatchling and presto, insty weyrharper.
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Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2014 9:45 pm
Poecileth purred, she beamed, blue eyed, at Vosin. the dragon hummed. “Er...” Malta spoke up at her dragon's prompting. She was starting to feel the need to return to the infirmary and do her rounds again, a need that grew ever more urgent. Shards, was it really that late? Her dragon urged her again, and she continued. “It might be nice to have a traveling harper on dragonback... would access holds easily that way...” Malta said, a little haltingly. As the words left her mouth, Malta hated them. It was probably very poorly thought out – hence why there weren't more dragonrider-harpers. coaxed Poecileth. “And it would be safer? Faster? Than a runner, anyway...” Poecileth said to Vesresh, ~~~ Esre bowed his head, feeling slightly scolded and more than a little embarrassed to see how late it was already. Had they really been talking that long? To a dragon and her rider? Maybe he shouldn't have asked it at all... But then they answered it anyway, and he brightened. “That sounds like fun...” he said shyly. It sounded really amazingly awesome, was what it sounded like.
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Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2014 10:01 pm
She shrugged her shoulders to ease the tension and worry from her body. This was more tiring than she'd thought possible. Probably because Poe wasn't her own dragon. Vosin grinned and patted his shoulder. "There ya go Esre!" She hadn't thought about leaving afterwards for training. Didn't dragonriders need training and all that stuff everyday? Vos was sure that somehow Esre would make it work if he wanted it badly enough. She'd do everything she could to help.
Vos tilted her head at Malta. The rider seemed unsure about what she was saying. "Well we need harpers here too. I know that we usually get high ranked journeymen harpers. Would a riderharper visiting the closer holds help out? How often do you think he could go? Wouldn't he have rider duties too?" That was where it got complicated. She wanted nothing more than to fight against thread with her dragon.
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Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2014 10:10 pm
Malta moved back, pressing against her dragon's familiar bulk. Already a little frazzled from the attention and the questions, it was worse when the child questioned her idea. Every word of the girl's query felt like a black mark against it and Malta wasn't even sure if it was worth a damn. She was about to babble something incoherent and apologetic and not-very-riderly at all, when Poecileth nudged her back into a comfortable frame of mind with an ease born of long years of practice. “W-well. It would be nice to make sure the holds have a teacher, right? Even the ones further out... It helps when the harper is, um...” offered Poecileth delicately. Malta nodded emphatically. “Yes, mobile!” ~~~ Vesresh shot a panicked look at Vosin, drifting to her side. “Yes, um...” he glanced at the dragon as he reached for his sister's sleeve, “How... how busy are you?” he asked, his voice fading to a small squeak at the end. It was good to ask now.
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