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 Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 6:46 pm
“No, no. I’m fine. I was just… umm… eating too fast!” Oh shards! She just had to carry this latest bit of news to Nan now! If anyone knew the truth of the thing----or at least part of the truth or at least how to make it as interesting as possible---it would be Nan! “Well, you’re right. I am still pretty hungry after all of that sewing! And I want to meet Cil’s ne… err… C’ym’s new partner in life! He was so adorable when he kept mewling on the Sands and looking to his momma for help and all…”
“Umm… what should we do with him?” she gestured towards Vox. By now, the firelizard had gobbled down the meatroll---one had to wonder if he actually tasted anything at all before it vanished into that bottomless pit he called a stomach!---and was looking around for more. “I don’t think we should leave him up here. He might end up eating everyone’s hidden treats.”
Making the usual reassuring noises one made at an animal---lots of clicking and cooing---Elae tried to coax the little firelizard into her hand. Vox ignored her attempts, but he didn’t ignore the wherry leg she still held. As soon as Elae’s guard was down, the firelizard latched onto it.
Elae simply looked at it for a while before shrugging at her friend. “Well, I guess that solves that problem. Come! Let’s go downstairs to the feast once more! For victory!” She waved the wherry leg like a sword triumphantly. Vox didn’t seem to notice.
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Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 6:53 pm
“Why would you want to se… Oh, never mind!” Clearly, women were insane and there was absolutely no point in trying to understand them. At all. “I really should just stop asking you… anything!” or any woman, actually, now that he thought about it. “But you’re right. I’ve seen several dragonriders trading marks over bets. I don’t know why a Candidate would be embarrassed about it.”
Anyway, onto a safe topic! Like Elae and Raena! Yeah. That was clearly so much safer and not-at-all-sexual! Unfortunately, Nan seemed absolutely determined to make it so. “Umm… I don’t think so…” C’ym said slowly, unsure of what the Nose was trying to get at. “They look at each other often, I guess.” Normally when talking, but he didn’t point that out. He assumed Nan would get it. “And they do tend to go off to talk privately.” Mostly because they didn’t want to talk about the occasional girl issue in front of him. Once again, this wasn’t added.
Let Nan stew in her own determination.
C’ym grew a bit concerned at the idea of a plot hatching between Raena and Elae. Just what were they concocting up there? And, more importantly, would it involve his clothes at all? Raena had suggested that his clothes might suffer for this outrage… was there some knowingness to that comment?
The Bronze’s eyes opened wide at the touch, but shut once more with a rumble of delight. Oh, now this was just heavenly! Hanumanth practically melted onto the floor. Or at least part of him did; his head remained in Nan’s lap so he could properly enjoy her hands. He crooned softly, quite happy to be lazy. The croon was interrupted by a slight yawn, a sign that the day’s events were slowly catching up with the little hatchling. And tomorrow would be a big day for him as well, what with Weyrling Lessons starting and all.
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Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 6:56 pm
It would be tempting to make it sound worse for C'ren. This was a weyr, even as a holdfolk she was sure no one would look down on her for adapting. Alas, she was not in the know. "Yes, he was, he is still mewling cutely last I saw." How could a great bronze be such a cute mewler? At least she could say she knew him when.
"Its tempting to leave him here," Her treats were not hidden in this room, it would be kind of funny. Still, there was no leaving Vox behind after he had latched on to that werry leg. "Well then, lets go!" Cheering, she moved on the path to the feast, eager for more food and to show off she had found their friend in great spirits.
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Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 6:59 pm
Astarteth startled and wobbled at Ceylith's bellow. Sitting straight up, she wagged her head back and forth for a moment. In the process, her new but sharp claws raked Kallista's bare skin causing several scratches to appear. I like being me and I like mine. Otherwise she would not be my rider.
"Shards," Kallista hissed. The scratches were not deep or even bleeding much but they did sting a little. Glaring at her green and giving her a stern mental command to calm herself, the rider looked around for something to wipe away the droplets of blood. Shrugging, she used the sleeve of her shift before responding to C'ren. "Annalie? Well, congrats to Ceylith for picking the best of the bunch."
Of course, she included herself in the comment but left it so it could be interpreted as a compliment to the Gold and her rider. Personally, Kallista thought them both too meek but hopefully they would grow out of it. "A dance? How cute is that, I didn't know dragons could dance. Astarteth, sweetie, will you dance for me?"
This was said more in jest than seriousness. Personally, Kallista would have loved to see Ceylith's dance but she didn't think it a wise idea to tell C'ren that... His green might actually insist on a third time. "Ten turns? Forgive me but I wouldn't have put you five turns past my own age. And I'm sixteen."
I will dance when I feel like it. Right now, I feel like sleep. And itching. Scratch me now.
Without even thinking, Kallista reached down and started scratching the little green's head.
Lower. Lower. Aaaahhhh... That's the spot.
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Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 7:03 pm
She stuck her tongue out at him. "You should stop asking me about things you don't really want to hear about. Unless you're secretly interested in manly bits hiding in dark corners together with other manly bits… though, probably not. Besides, this little one would be all confused if you suddenly showed interested in things like that." Nandeli seemed quite content to let the bronze rest his head in her lap, continuing her petting. He was really very cute, kind of like his rider, though she couldn't very well say that to his face. Well… she could, but he would probably turn beet red. She tried to limit that to only twice per conversation.
C'ym's answers about Elae and Raena were distinctly boring, and Nandeli was reminded why she never asked straight men to tell her what they knew. They were so unobservant. Still, her new friend seemed to be onto something. "So they look at each other and go off and talk 'privately'? Hrm… Always when you're around?" C'ym would be the last person to suspect a secret tryst between his friends, making him the ideal person to wait for them while they snuck off and had 'secret conversations.' Clearly this was what was going on.
"Do they come back looking any different? You know, mussed hair, clothes slightly to the left?" Hopefully he would have noticed that, since she couldn't very well ask him if they'd been tucking certain important body parts back where they belonged. Unless one of them wasn't telling her something.
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Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 7:18 pm
“You get used to that too,” C’ren said, referring to the scratches. Even a mild-mannered dragon like Ceylith had had a few rough starts in their weyrling days, he recalled. “And, you know, we’re civilized folks. I know that they’re both used for dressing, but, please. Don’t use clothing as bandages. It’s simply uncivilized.” Why, yes; it was a play-on-words! Apparently, C’ren had a sense of humor there somewhere. Now if only it could be safely hidden again… he sidled away just a little, a hint that he wasn’t comfortable with sticking around a bleeding girl.
Especially at dinner. Honestly. What were they, barbarians? Open wounds and food did not mix! Ever!
That hint of actual humor disappeared soon enough though as C’ren shrugged. “We’ll see how they do.” Maybe Ceylith had done a good job and maybe she hadn’t. “The most I can hope for is that you two will avoid embarrassing us too much.”
“Ceylith dances. I don’t know about others. It’s not really a conversation topic that comes up often. And I think I’ll take that comment on my age as a compliment, thank you very much.” Actually, he wasn’t sure if it was one or not.
Oh! I’m sorry, sweetie. Did I startle you? I’m so sorry… I just thought you might want to know who I am and I didn’t think I’d scare you… Ceylith’s warble was distinctly apologetic, an alien sound in such a happy environment. The Green’s head lowered a little, making her look like a child who had just been caught with one hand in the cookie jar and the other by the piping hot pies.
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Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 7:27 pm
Nan had a point; C’ym really ought to stop stepping into these conversations if they made him so uncomfortable.
Mussed up hair? Clothing pulled slightly to the left? This conversation was getting stranger and stranger by the second. Admittedly, it was a given that any conversation with Nan would end very differently than how it started, but this was entirely new. He eyed Nan uneasily, not sure he liked this turn of conversation. It didn’t sound like her normal fare of gossip, but it certainly felt like it. Besides, he felt like he ought to defend his friends. He just had no idea what he was defending them against, which made things awkward. “Well, sure, sometimes.” Mostly when it was a windy day, but, once again, he was leaving out key details. “I don’t know about the clothes though… although, Elae did once come back with different clothes on.”
Mostly because she had been talking to Annelie earlier and some guy had decided to wander by. Anne, being herself, had immediately attempted to dump gravy on the poor sap, but had misjudged the distance, getting Elae instead. But C’ym didn’t know about that; he just assumed it was girls being girls and trying out different clothes. They did things like that, right? “Once or twice, they came back out of breath,” he added helpfully. Not-so-helpfully, he left out the fact that they had been running just a few moments earlier.
Han yawned once more and nuzzled against Nan’s hand. Slowly, the little Bronze started to drift off. Even when asleep he continued to let out little noises on the range of purrs and contended rumbles that nearly set his whole body vibrating.
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Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 7:45 pm
Eee… Elae couldn’t wait to meet the most adorable mewling Bronze ever! It was amazing to think. In just a few months, he would be as big as the other Bronzes! Would he still mewl, Elae wondered. Would he even be able to mewl still? Or would that endearing trait vanish as he got older. She hoped not. “Well, let’s get going! I’m still hungry and this little fellow is making a mess.”
Vox was, indeed, making a mess. He wasn’t exactly the cleanest of eaters. His little talons dug into Elae’s sleeve as he tore at the wherry leg, dropping down little bits of flesh and skin. Eww... His wings flapped, making a small wind to mess up unwary hair. Once he was finished with the leg, he scrambled up Elae’s shoulder, messing up her clothing a little, just pulling it slightly to one side. To make matters worse, he decided that Raena, for whatever reason, was more attractive. Once again those wings of his flapped, causing further disarray for Elae’s hair.
Raena’s clothes got the same treatment as the firelizard attempted to make himself comfortable. It would’ve been easier, but, for some unknown purpose, the flitt had to keep flapping his wings to keep balance as the girls walked.
Needless to say, when they returned to the Feast, they both looked… well… more or less like the very picture Nan had just been describing.
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Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 7:53 pm
At one point during the walk she had tried to fix her cloths, but it was pointless thanks to Vox. Laughing at the little flit she scratched his head to try and calm him. Elae looked a mess, slight trembling betraying her laughing. "Vox is quite the hair dresser." Her own hair was probably just as messy; however, there was no point fixing, it would go still in its own time.
Looking through the crowds, she knew where to go, "Alright, they are this way, after we get over there I'll need to go return this guy to his rider." The flying stomach would ensure eatting was very hard if not close to impossible, C'ren would surely want to enjoy that for himself.
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Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 8:07 pm
“Isn’t he? It’s all the rage in Fort Hold!” Elae mocked, putting up one hand as if to primp her hair. Just looking at Raena’s hair was enough to give her a serious case of the giggles. Raena had a good point with Vox, though. They couldn’t very well keep him forever, no matter how much Elae wanted to. First of all, that would make C’ren even grumpier than normal. Secondly, the girl wanted to eat actual food, not just a few nibbles. If Vox was there, eating anything more than a few nibbles would be impossible.
As they passed C’ym and Nan, Elae gave them a cheery wave, not at all aware of their current topic of conversation. Not that it would have stopped her from saying her next words, “By the way, Raena, thanks for that. I really needed that!” Referring, of course, to the wherry leg.
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Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 8:12 pm
Nan simply batted her eyelashes innocently at C'ym, though that probably achieved the opposite effect. Really, she wasn't inquiring for any bad reasons. She just want to know whether or not Raena and Elae were doing… things together. Of course she would be supporting them every step of the way, but only if they came clean and told her what everything was about. She couldn't very well be a fangirl if they were going to deny her the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Things were certainly looking up as C'ym described what he had learned about them. So their hair was sometimes mussed… ooh and Elae had come back wearing different clothes? Now that was something worth noting. And they came back out of breath!
C'ym was spared any further questioning when the pair in question came into sight. Nandeli took in their dishevelled appearance and Elae's comment, conclusion reached in an instant. "Aha!" She pointed a finger at the two, an extremely wide grin on her face. It was lucky that Han was asleep on her lap, otherwise they would have been met with more than just a grin. "I knew I was right, C'ym. He was just telling me all about your private conversations. You can be honest with me! I don't judge. As long as you're happy, that's what's important." She stared up at them expectantly.
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Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 8:20 pm
Laughing still at Elae, yes they would be all the rage come the day the weyrlings fly for the first time, everyone' hair will be messed up. To her thanks she replied, "Your welcome, I am always happy to take care of a friend." Especially Elae, they had become very good friends since they had met.
Nan made her blink a second, what was she talking about? Oh, wait she didn't think..Raena couldn't help but look at Elae. With her lip twitching up a bit, it was just too prime not to play with, she wasn't a prude or naive minded, "It looks like we have been caught, Elae, should have known this couldn't remain a secret for long with Nan. Would you be a dear and make the announcement?" Batting her eyelashes a moment, she porously gave a wink hoping she pegged Elae right.
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Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 8:28 pm
Well, batting eyelashes at C’ym had some effect anyway. It just wasn’t the one that Nan had probably been hoping for. C’ym blinked a few times before asking, “I’m sorry, do you have something in your eye? Or do I have something on my face? You can tell me. I won’t be embarrassed.”
Ohai! There was Elae and Raena! Finally. They were much better at this talking stuff than him. Maybe they could explain some of Nan’s strange comments and questions. Smiling, C’ym waved at his two other friends and would have greeted them, except he found himself interrupted by Nan’s triumphant cry.
Now poor C’ym was completely confused. He briefly considered speaking up to try and figure out what in Faranth’s name was going on, but then he decided to keep his mouth closed and hope no one saw him. Or maybe he could make some sort of an escape soon…
The aha! moment confused Elae as well, since she had absolutely no idea what Nan and C’ym had been talking about just a moment ago. But, she knew Nan and knew those phrases… her lips twitched as well at the very thought of it all. Or, more precisely, at the very idea of the fun that could result from this. Thankfully, it seemed that Raena had the same idea.
With a dramatic sigh, Elae clapped one hand to her chest. “Alas, I should have known it was impossible to keep a secret from your keen senses, Nan. And I’m truly sorry for attempting such a thing, truly I am. You see, Raena and I are… are…” her voice drifted off here for a moment and, once again, she sighed. A dramatic pause was called for, she felt, so she drew it out. “Best friends forevar! Isn’t it wonderful?”
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Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 8:48 pm
Instead of getting offended or huffy, Kallista looked over at C'ren. "Well, do you have a cloth or something I can use to wrap it up? Maybe some numbweed? Not that it is bleeding a lot but it does sting."
Though she had half caught the play on words, she was more concerned, as she should be, by Astarteth's actions. The green upon realizing she had actually done something to her beloved was now trying to move into a better position to try to help, which was resulting in more tiny scratches appearing on her arms and legs. Finally after what seemed like ages but was maybe only a minute or two, Kallista grabbed her dragonet firmly.
"Enough!"
Frowning slightly but trying to keep the annoyance out of her thoughts, Kallista stood up carefully, still holding onto Astar. By this time, the green was truly distressing and keeling softly. Now was as good a time as any to finally get changed out of her dirty Candidate's shift and freshen up slightly. "Calm down, Astarteth. I am fine and so are you. "
But you are hurt! I hurt you! You need help! The green was going on and on.
Shaking her head, Kallista turned back to C'ren. Finally exhaustion was showing on her face and in her stance. "I will do my best not to embarrass you though I am sure there will be some incidents. But for now, I will have to wait to see Ceylith's dance. I probably should get cleaned up and get Astarteth calmed down before she gets the others started."
Astarteth gave a sad little warble in return to Ceylith but stayed in her rider's arms.
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Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 9:08 pm
Kallista had a point. Instead of criticizing how ‘uncivilized’ Kallista was being, C’ren should have been looking for something to make a suitable bandage. “Sorry, I stopped carrying numbweed around the moment that Ceylith could control herself. You should get into the habit of carrying a bit around too.” But he did have a handkerchief, which was grudgingly offered. “Keep it.” Like shards he was going to accept back a bloody bit of cloth!
Not that it would help calm down a baby dragonet. But C’ren knew something that could help… So much for having a nice dinner. “Come on. Let’s get her over to Ceylith.” Because if anyone knew how to deal with a squalling babe, it would be Ceylith, the motherly Green.
“And then, when she’s calmed, we can go find a Healer. There are bound to be lots of Healers around right now, what with the Hatching and all.” Or, of course, Kallista could just go get changed or something, but C’ren felt it was important to look after Astar first. The dragons always came first.
Besides, Ceylith quite liked the idea of meeting the little dragonet face-to-face rather than talking to her from across the Weyrbowl. Not to mention, she privately thought to herself, C’ren was actually trying to take care of Kallista in his own way. He needed more of that. Or something.
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