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 Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 9:32 am
They had said that impressing a dragon changed your whole life. That was true. They said it was like finding the part of you that you'd always been looking for. And that was true, as well. They'd said that being a dragonrider was hard, that being a weyrling meant work. And that was... mostly true. Rieta didn't mind the chores and Awunrayth was not what one would call a demanding dragon.
What they'd failed to mention was classes full of undisciplined and mouthy fellow weyrlings. They hadn't said that a young queen could be so infuriatingly haughty, or that some of the dragons would be at each other's throats from birth. That, somehow, for all her childhood in the Weyr kitchens, Rieta hadn't really expected. And, lesson finished for the day, with a promise of another at crack of dawn the next morning, Rieta was looking out at a long stretch of time with peers that she wasn't entirely sure how she felt about. It'd been easier, as a farmcraft apprentice. She'd made friends and those who weren't friendly weren't difficult to avoid.
As it often did, Rieta's irritation came out in work. Awunrayth, poor darling, had put up with being oiled to quite a high gloss before finally doing her best to politely disengage from her rider so that she could do her best to lay out and enjoy what sunlight leaked down from between the clouds. Now, having finished her chores for the day but not wanting to return to the weyrling barracks, the girl was weeding. Or, well, doing her best. It wasn't like the grassy patch that Awunrayth had chosen was much more than a bunch of weeds. But some plants were less friendly than others and Rieta was pulling those up with a mechanical sort of viciousness.
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Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 5:39 pm
Leicha didn't have a goal in mind now that the candidate lessons were over, the hatching having occurred and no eggs in sight for a good Turn or two, leaving him with ample amounts of free time on his hands. It wasn't that he was unable to find something to do, in a Weyr there was never a chance for a person to be completely idle, but most of the work seemed to involve socializing with others or doing something for the new Jr. Weyrlings.
He was bitter about the hatching. Yes, bitter - but for more than one reason. Sure Leicha was upset that he hadn't Impressed and he was getting older and older with each Turn, soon he would be too old to even
Stand. Sure he was upset that he'd gotten hurt by that wher of a Blue dragonet, the one who'd torn up so many people just to go off and Impress to that tyrant of a woman Janga. To that effect there were no feelings lost, Leicha pitying the dragonet to be honest, but like minds of cruelty deserved to be together.
But enough about that, he needed to walk off the soreness of his back and legs before he felt any more useless. His arm and side were almost healed, no longer needing a bandage, and for the most part his face didn't look too frightening. It only served him to keep people away unless they really wanted to talk, which many of them didn't. Not to Leicha, anyway.
The Weyrbrat made his way out towards one of the open areas full of grass and weeds, this one a favorite spot of his since it was seldom used, though instead of being empty today there was someone else there - someone feverishly pulling weeds like they wanted to hit someone.
" . . . .Rieta?"
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Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 6:53 pm
It was Awunrayth, not Rieta, that looked up as Leicha approached. The girl herself was too distracted by her vengeful attack on a particularly stubborn weed to hear her name called. She would get it out. Every last root, shard it. Salt the earth, if necessary. Stupid, loudmouthed--
Look up, Mine.
What? Almost a snarl in that mental question but Awunrayth's eyes continued to whirl with placid blues and greens.
Say hello. He is waiting.
"What? Oh. Oh!" Rieta jumped to her feet, brushing off a bit of dirt from her knees, the remains of a weed still dangling pathetically from her clenched fist. "Leicha, hello!"
Whatever aggression had spurned her on in her weeding seemed entirely absent as she offered the greeting in her usual booming voice, grinning in easy welcome.
"Sorry, didn't see you there! Wasn't seeing nothing but the weeds, just now."
Mine.
"Oops. Leicha, this is Awunrayth." A memory, vague as everything at the hatching after Awunrayth was vague. He'd gotten hurt, hadn't he? Yes, she could see that, now that she was looking. "She's sweet as sunshine, promise."
For her part, Awunrayth didn't rise, but lifted her head further to watch Leicha with docile curiosity. I do not know if sunshine is sweet, but I try to be kind. She sent the words directly to Leicha, having little interest in confining her friendliness to Rieta alone.
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Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2009 6:41 am
"I remember her. Congratulations on a fine Green."
Leicha's voice sounded weird, like he was hesitating to speak, but it wasn't because he was trying to be rude. More or less he'd been shocked to hear the Green's voice inside his head, a feeling or sensation he never believed would occur to him despite not trying to give up on thoughts of Impressing. It was just hard to stay positive when you were pushing twenty Turns.
It took him a moment to figure something in his had to respond to the Green with, doing his best to not sound so snappy and bitter like he had been towards everyone lately. Pain and general aloofness often combined for short tempers, it seemed.
"I'm not scared of you, Awunrayth. What happened to me, to that kid on the sands at the Hatching, was a poor strike of judgment on both of our behalves. That dragon is more like a wher, sad to state an opinion on it, but I figure its in best hands with Janga. Like minds, anyway."
Leicha's hand moved and he lightly touched the scarring on his face, aware that the pink of new skin looked so strange against his natural tone. Perhaps it would soon fade quickly, leaving him with nothing to worry over or people constantly apologizing for their Beasts.
"How have you been? I haven't seen you since the Impression, or since we briefly met that time."
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Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 8:56 pm
"Lovely isn't she? And a far sight more biddable than her clutchmates, let me tell you!" Rieta replied, with her usual lack of discretion, and perhaps less thought for Leicha's feelings than might have been wise.
Awunrayth, who had already begun to settle her head back on the ground in drowsy complacence, gave her lifemate what could only be described as a long suffering look. Considering that she'd already spent a few weeks at Rieta's side, perhaps it wasn't entirely unearned. My clutchmates are young, Mine. They need more time to adjust. They have good hearts, as do theirs. Her attention shifted minutely, to Leicha, though she did not address him again. Even Jounoth will find his way. He needs patience. His will settle him. Tell this one I thank him for his kind words, and I think he is as fine a friend as I am a Green. Like Rieta, she was perfectly willing to place Leicha in the friend category without needing his input on the matter.
"She says to let you know she appreciates the compliment, and adds that you're as fine a friend as she is a Green."
It was only then that she seemed to remember Leicha's other inquiry. As yet she was still easily sidetracked by Awunrayth's mental interjections. It wasn't as simple as one might expect, existing with an extension to ones consciousness. "I'm--" her gaze fell to the weed she had a stranglehold on, "I'm great! Couple heads need banging together, but Awunrayth keeps me holding my tongue." She rather wished the Green were a bit more forgiving of outbursts, really.
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Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2009 9:03 am
Friend? This girl certainly liked to jump to conclusions.
True, Leicha did find her brief company not that tiring compared to some of the others in the Weyr. . .or rather most all others in the Weyr, but it didn't mean he considered her anything other than someone to speak with. They're barely met before and had only given names, and who was it that said you could become friends with someone by just learning their name?
No one. But whatever.
"So by the head banging I take it you've started to get the backlash that seems to come to those who Impress? I've always heard jealous Candidates can gather up against those they think will be easy to bother for a while."
He'd never done it, as harassing someone meant he had to be social. It wasn't worth it either to make someone feel bad, and Leicha also just wasn't that type of guy. Social skills of a rock, yes, but intentional a*****e? No.
"I'm surprised I haven't heard much more come from the group. This wasn't the most interesting Hatching I've seen, but it certainly was different."
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