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 Posted: Mon May 18, 2009 12:54 pm
A head of dark hair suddenly pushed its way up above the surface of the lake. Hazel eys of a young boy peered about checking for signs of other human habitation within the Weyr bowl but he had chosen the time carefully when most if not all persons of the Weyr would be enjoying the sometimes meager offerings in the dinning hall. It would seem poor indeed after the gather anyway. Lashing out with his arms when he noticed that the coast was clear he swam towards the edge, naturally proficient at the sport after being raised by the sea and enduring countless races through the waves with his brothers who normally won on account of longer limbs. Although now in gawky adolescence he thought his long coltish arms and legs could probably match them.
He had a large woven cloth ready and waiting on the bank to free himself from the water. As soon as the air touched his flesh he started shivering though and pulled the drying cloth closer in against himself, rubbing it along skin that had turned pink with the chill.
But it was better a hundred times than the stuffy overcrowded baths even if they were warm, and this way he got a clean and a swim, after all he had always been rather proud of his more athletic qualities, quickness in water, over rocks and on land so he would not be slack either and let himself slip in physical activity even if the chores kept him busy active enough as it was, cleaning latrines wasn’t quite the same.
Even that thought made him grin for the vile duty was almost over and he would be free of it once the hatching passed, he had never thought feeding heard beast and being the boy always called on to fetch and carry was much fun but it was miles better than that! Which explained his unusual chipper mood when faced with the cold.
He finished drying rather quickly, his hair was still dripping slightly and parts of skin still held a damp quality but he really didn’t care, it would dry off once he was inside and near a fire. He started by pulling on his pants followed by a loose shirt and leather jerkin. But even loose clothes didn’t do much to hide the angular skinny frame. He was just praying he would grow into his height and maybe get a bit more toned muscle as the turns passed.
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Posted: Mon May 18, 2009 3:53 pm
Kallista had decided to take a stroll down near the lake after dinner. Astarteth as usual was insistent that they, or rather she, look nice and clean for lessons. And basic duty. And just in general. The green was already ahead of her and almost to the shoreline. Kallista, however, was taking her time. She enjoyed watching the stars come out at night just as much as she enjoyed watching them leave the morning sky. Her eyes narrowed as her ears heard sounds of splashing and someone coming to shore.
Is everything okay, love? She asked her dragon. The lake still filled her with dread but if someone needed help, she would do all that she could to render it.
Just a candidate swimming around and making noise. Nothing to fear. Astarteth replied. The green had reached to shore and was watching the boy dress. Dragons had no shame. They also had no understanding of clothing besides the fact that Kallista wore it so as not to get all scratched. He is dressing.
Kallista stopped to give the boy a few minutes to get himself together. Nudity was not a big issue with runners or the Weyr but there was no telling where the kid was from... He might not like exposing himself to a girl. Then again, he also might be older than she. What does he look like?
Short. Dark hair. Skinny. Young. He looks barely out the egg. It was the best analogy that Astarteth could give her rider. The green continued to watch with fascination. Can you hurry up and come? I want to get oiled and back to our room before Haanyath gets there.
"Hello there! Don't mind Astarteth. She doesn't bite, I promise." Kallista called out. A good a way as any to start the conversation.
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Posted: Mon May 18, 2009 4:49 pm
It doesn’t matter how absorbed one is in their task they do not miss the approach of a dragon of any colour, especially one that was over half grown into her full size. Even blind you would probably here the light scrape of claws against the sandy bank of the lake and the gentle rustle of wings every now and then. To give Ren his due he missed non of these things. He heard someone approaching when he was pulling him shirt down over his head and he saw it was dragon when he had one arm in his jerkin. Oh…But as he spotted her his body became very still and his hazel eyes went very wide, it was awe mainly, a little fear sprinkled to the mix maybe, even though he knew dragons couldn’t hurt humans something that size was bound to get a nervous reaction.
After a moment he seemed to unfreeze and slowly pulled on the jerkin the rest of the way. Just in time to hear the voice coming from behind the dragon and making him jump almost a foot and his heart start racing. Quickly blinking as he moved to identify the source of the voice,he gave her a nervous half smile. “sorry, you startled me.” He explained instantly starting to fidget a little.
He looked up at the dragon again and nodded his head in greeting. “Hello Astarteth.” He told the green before turning his attention back to her bonded. “well she’s very impressive.” He told her knowing how much Raith L’thors green liked to receive compliments. He shuffled to the side and bent to pick something up, his shoes it seemed, as his feet were still bare and were dusted yellow and brown with sand. Although with the fading light it was hard to make out Ren judged the girl to be a couple of turns older than himself, he might look young as well with the freckles over his nose and cheeks but he height gave him away as a boy with a few turns at least under his belt.
“Anyway.” He continued “sorry to get in your way I didn’t think any dragons would want to use it after this time. I’ll get out of your way.” He told them, walking carefully away from the lake, ginger steps taken to miss rocks and anything that would hurt his feet till they were dry and he could pull on his boats again. It would take him a while to get back to candidate brackets that way, and he would have waited till they had dried if he had been on his own, but like he said, he didn't want to be in the way.
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Posted: Mon May 18, 2009 6:34 pm
Astarteth was taller than the boy though not by much. Her blue-green eyes glowed dimly in the waxing daylight. She stretched her wings out to make herself look a little larger but this was also to give the boy a chance to examine her. When he called her impressive, she swelled with ego a little bit.
I like him. He says nice things about me. Astarteth told her ride, her eyes whirling with pleasure.
You would like anyone who tells you how pretty you are. Kallista teased back. She came up and rubbed her dragon's side. The boy hadn't tried anything foolish yet. And even though she had only been impressed to Astarteth for half a turn or so, Kallista suddenly felt the senior of the two. She doubted she was even two turns older than the boy. "Well, you seem to have gotten on her good side already."
When the boy started to talk about being in the way and acting like she was the Weyrwoman herself, Kallista laughed out loud. Oh shards, she was just a green rider and a young one at that. Of course, greens were the fastest of all the dragons.
Fastest. Prettiest. Cleanest. And, I don't have to worry about getting fat. Astarteth informed her rider. Sitting down, she curled around her tail around her body and sat very still. Why is he here?
"Astar wants to know what you are doing at the lake so late. Oh, I am Kallista, her rider. We came down because if there is one thing Astar enjoys, it is being clean." The former runner replied cheerfully and in a manner so as to make the boy comfortable.
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 4:09 am
He paused as the girl started to laugh at him, cheeks flushing a bright and flustered pink, and he was suddenly glad off the gathering dusk as it did well to hide his embarrassment from her and the large dragon, he turned back at the question, after all it would be rude not to answer, especially since she was a dragon rider. Really Ren was in awe of all dragon riders. Green and half grown or not. Maybe something to do with his search rider and currant object of boundless hero worship and admiration was a green rider. That is also why he felt the need to answer her, and as truthfully as he was able. “ummm.” He fidgeted slightly as he turned to face the pair again, although she seemed kind he wasn’t sure how long it would last.
But better to answer “well I come from a coastal holding so I’m used to swimming in the sea and I want to keep my skills in that and well…” he paused and rubbed his palms together gently, Palms that were still scratched with a few grazes from where he had caught himself after being tripped everyday for a seven day. “the other candidates don’t like me that much so I tend to avoid the communal areas like the baths.” He explained “and like I said I didn’t think anyone else would be down here this late so I didn’t think anyone would mind me using it.” Besides that it was a big lake, there was surly room enough for two.
It was an uncomfortable topic for him and he wasn’t sure the green weryling would be so up to date with the news and really he would prefer not to enlighten her so he quickly tried to change the subject, fishing for more comfortable ground he turned it back to the dragon. “and I’m glad she likes me but Idon’t think there is a dragon on pern that doesn’t like being admired and she has beautiful markings.” He told her, then felt that he had been far to obvious in the change of subject. But it was true he found the bold green markings very attractive, that wasn’t the only thing he found attractive and he blushed again and looked down. He couldn’t help it he was at that age and noticing girls…and occasional other boys more and more. It also helped that he was in the Weyr and didn’t know everyone that lived and worked there as he had in his old holding.
Since he was being engaged in conversation even unwittingly he sat on one of the nearest chunks of rock to let himself dry out a little more. Plus he had to admit he was kind of curious to see how one bathed a dragon.
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 6:12 pm
"A coastal hold? Which one? I am a former Runner, from Sandy Bend Station. I used to make runs to quite a few holds. And you know, I envy you. I can't swim. In fact, I almost drowned a few sevendays back." Kallista was a little more at ease with her near death experience. But not enough to really want to go into details. She took a position on a rock and watched as Astarteth waded out into the water to bath. Immediately, a handful of tame and wild flits appeared and began to attack the green's hide.
He said I was pretty. That I had pretty markings. Astarteth had sunk into the water a little bit and was blowing bubbles for her smaller cousins to play with... It was pretty much the only time she tolerated flits.
"Astarteth loves being told pretty she is every day. I have to tell her at least five or six times, or I risk being scolded." Kallista teased her dragon. It was nice to talk to another person, someone who not as focused on their dragon as she was on hers. He seemed almost painfully shy; when he mentioned that he was not well liked by the others, that did not sit well with the others. "Why are the others being so rude? Did you play a trick that went bad?"
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Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 2:40 pm
Ren watched the green wade into the water and be attacked by the flits with no small amount of interest and open delight, so that’s how they did it! He always wondered how one rider could scrub such an awful light of hide, especially on a bronze or a queen. It would take a whole Seven day!
A runner? Ren perked up at that lifting his head to study her again. He’d always found runners people of great interest, people always said they knew things and they gave important messages to important people. What could be more exciting? This girl certainty looked like she had the build for it, long powerful legs….and he caught himself looking and blushed again. “My Dad always said I had the legs of a runner I was one of the fastest in our holding, but it was only a small cot no more than fifty folk living there…a few more if you count the younger children. It was called Kerr but we reported to Keroon hold. Oh and I’m Nehren, but everyone just calls me Ren. ” It was another example of over crowding really, after all Keroon was a small hold so people went outside the main walls and built up their own communities but still reported to the main hold and its lord holder. In doing so they still fell under their protection and the hold could produce more products from outside farms and in his case fish.
He swung his feet gently hitting his heels against the rock as he became shy again but he liked this girl well enough she seemed friendly. “Maybe you could test me, see if I’m fast enough I always used to like racing homes back home.” He admitted blinking as she admitted the accident. “Well I’m glad you didn’t drown, but you know swimming isn’t so hard, you just have to start in the shallows and work your way up so you have nothing to be afraid of.” Not that he knew much on the subject barley able to remember when he learnt now, he had been so young that it had just come naturally. “I bet you could so it if you wanted.” He told her with a small smile, meant to give her reassurance.
Oh but then she had to had the inevitable question and he seemed to draw back into himself. “Oh I…well I was at the lake after the hatching, even though I didn’t do anything wrong and I swear I never took anything I was part of the group that got everyone latrine duty for a seven day.” He sighed and rubbed his palms together again subconsciously. When he told people that it usually didn’t end well and he shrunk down a little as if readying himself for a blow.
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Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 6:48 pm
Astarteth was enjoying herself immensely. The half grown green was diving under the water and popping back up, startling the fire lizards. Chortling to herself, she was only slightly paying attention to her rider and the boy.
Kallista was enjoying herself. The younger boy reminded her of her brother, Nejeran. She hadn't seen her family since her Impression Day; of course, taking care of a growing dragon didn't give her much time to do anything except sleep and eat. When he mentioned he was from Keroon, she made a noise. "Ah... I have never been to the mainland. I have been to Southern. We lived there for a little while when I was young but someday, I would like to go see the other big holds. Fort, Boll, or everyone wants to see Benden... I honestly just want to see snow."
She paused thoughtfully as she once again tried to imagine snow. Kallista had heard so much about it; it was definitely on her list of things to do once she and Astarteth had the freedom to fly where they pleased. By now, the Dawn Sisters were out as well as a sprinkling of stars. When Ren spoke about swimming, she shook her head ruefully. "It is a long story with myself and water. Let's just say everyone has their fears. Mine is the water. When I bath Astarteth, she is the one who does the bathing. Her and the flits. I scrub her on land, she goes to rinse off."
The subject was a touchy one and she moved onto his next comment. Which seemed to be a touchy subject for him. The boy was still young and she had heard vaguely about the widespread punishment that had come to many. "Shards, that is tough. Thankfully, I never got caught up in any nonsense like that... I prefer to stay in the background. Sometimes, that is the best thing to do. But if you took the punishment and handled it well, that will be remembered as well. I'm sorry for your luck though."
By this time, Astareth was bored in the water. Heading for the shore, the green shook herself lightly, tossing water on the two humans. Her eyes were a calm blue-green of happiness as she looked down at her rider. Content to air dry for a little bit, she commented to her beloved. Two are better than one for oiling a dragon.
"Astar wants to know if you will help oil her once she is dry."
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 7:05 am
The mainland! Well he had never thought of his home in such grand terms before but he supposed that’s what it was although he had only lived on one small stretch of coast line and it was far from impressive. “well I would like to see all the places you’ve been too and the big holds.” He told her. “you sound like you’ve had an exciting life I think I’ve seen lots and lots of sea but not much land and the sea looks all the same on the top most pf the time.” He explained rambling just a little in the mild excitement of the idea, southern and Fort and Bendan and all the far away places of endless adventure. “I think I’ve seen snow once but only when I was very little and I don’t remember it much I just remember it was bad because it made things colder for longer and all the farmers had a hard time that year and the sea was to dangerous to travel on.” He paused and went quite for a time after that.
Thinking slowly as he considered the girl before him with a huge beaming smile as she seemed to brush off his offence like it was nothing. Having someone believing him when he said that it was not serious and that no harm was extremely validating and made him relax instantly and feel a great amount of affection for the girl and her green dragon. “I still think you could learn if you wanted. I think you must be very brave to go out running by yourself anyway.” He told her “that must be more frightening that swimming.” He could see that it was subject that he would do best to move more gingerly around but he firmly believed in what he said, and what if something happened like it had to his mother? She might need to be able to swim. “you know…I know how you feel why you can be scared of the water. My mother drowned in a storm when I was still small but that’s why I think its important to be able to swim..just encase.”
To bad at time Ren could be as fickle and easily distracted as others his age and at the mention of oiling a dragon his eyes went wide and he looked between the pair hesitantly almost trembling in excitement. “Oil her? Really can I?” he asked, to a rider that had to do it everyday it must be tedious and everyday but to Ren it would be completely new and a rather thrilling experience he hopped up from his sitting place and slowly walked closer to Kallista his eyes on the green
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 6:57 pm
"I suppose my life could be considered exciting though I think it rather dull. I have seen a good portion of Ista... I vaguely remember Southern. It certainly is just as hot as Ista is..." Kallista paused, trying to dredge up memories of a happier time. A time when her mother was alive. When Ren mention her being brave for running she shook her head slightly. And then he went on to speak of his mother. It tugged at her a little bit.
"My mother died when I was younger as well. It was when I was just learning the routes. There was a flash flood and we both were washed away. I manged to make it, she didn't." There. It was said. Strangely, the lump that was normally in her chest when she spoke about said event was not as big anymore. Perhaps, she was finally healing.
Kallista. Stop being so sad. This one says wise things for a young one. You should listen to him. You have me and we will take care of each other. Astarteth gave her opinion on the matter. Back on the sands now, the green watched as the boy moved closer to her rider and her. Do you have the oil?
Serious moment forgotten, Kallista tossed Ren a rag and opened the jar of oil she kept with her. Sliding down from her rock, the green rider walked up to her dragon and touched her cheek with obvious love and affection. "Astar really likes you. It is really simple to oil a dragon. Find a dry spot, dip the rag in the oil. Start in the center of the spot and work your way out. You have to put some muscle into it because you want the oil to soak in."
Kallista paused for a second. Then, she asked softly. "Do you think, you can teach me how to swim?"
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