|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu Jun 11, 2009 9:57 pm
Honestly, La was significantly happier to be working with the healers again than she thought she'd be. For one thing, she was actually doing work beyond the menial rolling of bandages and preparation of numbweed that was the staple of Candidate and Weyrling chores. Somehow, with an adult dragon came a degree of respect, and La was (rather perversely) enjoying working with the sick patients. It gave her something to do with her time, now that she had so much free time.
Plus, after the fiasco of the Hatching and within the noisy bustle of the horribly overcrowded Weyr, it was good to be able to escape to the calm and quiet of the Infirmary. Selfish or not, La took the opportunities she was given. Of course, if it meant exposing herself to the sick, that was what it meant. La was never quick to fall ill, and she had been taking all the necessary precautions to make this a reality rather than a tendency.
For the time-being, though, she was off-duty, and after a good wash, she had meandered down to the kitchens to steal some meatrolls before returning aboveground and outside to find Isonth. The dragon had spent much of the day thus far cooing over the most recent hatchlings and finding the dragons of riders who had fallen ill, in an attempt to reassure them. Mercifully, there weren't many who needed reassuring.
Lanamine, where are you? I am coming to find you. We will go to the lake, yes?
Isonth, we don't need to go to the lake. Can't we just go to the beach or something? I've had a quiet day all day and I'm really enjoying it. Why can't I keep it that way?
Because that isn't at all becoming. There are dragons who need reassuring, and riders you ought to look after, and what if someone gets hurt? It wouldn't do for one of those little hatchlings to slip or swallow too much water.
You're an old biddy already, and barely a turn old, Isonth. You speak like they're grandchildren.
Don't be silly. If I were a Queen, I would clutch, and then perhaps my clutch-daughter would clutch. But I have no children. Just many, many little charges. By this time, Isonth and La had managed to get themselves into roughly the same place. The dragon circled overhead, ushering her rider down to the lake cheerfully. La went, grimacing a few times but never once refusing her dragon. How could she deny Isonth like that? Whether or not she wanted it, it was the lake for them.
She reached the edges and smiled as Isonth finally touched down and made her way over, with a loud trill of happiness. Reaching out with her nose, she nuzzled La so affectionately that the young woman lost her balance and fell heavily backwards. Isonth's eyes whirled blue with mirth at the sight, but La was...less impressed.
Oh, Lanamine, Isonth said, a laugh in her voice. You are as adorable as the little hatchlings.
"Thanks, Isonth," La muttered, standing up and rubbing her backside as she glanced around to see who had witnessed the embarrassment.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 11, 2009 10:26 pm
Somehow, in between tending to Fuxith, lessons, eating, and sleeping, Zara found time to spend at the infirmary. It was only logical, really. O'asis was adamant on pressuring the entire Weyr into admitting that the overcrowding was now intolerable, and as a former Healer apprentice it was the best place to make sure people were informed without raising eyebrows. Who could fault a Healer for being worried, and who could be better to press home the impact of the illness than those suffering from it?
After 'chatting' with yet another patient, Zara sighed wearily and rose, stretching. Fuxith, you ready for your bath?
Of course, came the response as Fuxith quickly turned his attention away from the dragon of an ill rider that he'd been trying to talk to. Adults were awesome in their maturity, but this was His, and he enjoyed his baths. Appearance was a key part of how others perceived him!
From the entrance to the Bowl, Zara smiled as she watched Fuxith make his way over. Yet again she found herself marveling at the dignity with which he carried himself, the measured grace he was careful to put into every step. "Let's go, then," she said out loud as he met her, making her way with the blue dragonet to the lake.
Where...someone seemed to have fallen down? Their dragon didn't seem particularly distressed, and hey, she was getting back up, but... "You okay?" she called out, trotting over as Fuxith made a more stately approach.
I thought we were here for a bath?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 11, 2009 11:52 pm
Oh, shard it, someone was looking at her and coming over and she had to stand up quicker! La scrambled to her feet, but not before she heard the voice. Oh, that was more all-right than most people, then. She hadn't had much time to speak to Zara, since their schedules were organized just well enough that they weren't often in the same place at the same time, but she recognized the girl and flashed a bright smile and little wave.
"Yes, I'm fine," she answered. "Isonth just doesn't quite seem to realize that she can't put her head in my lap and curl up on me anymore." With a wry shake of her head, she reached up to scratch the patchy green's eyeridges, while Isonth rumbled in pleasure. La shook her head and looked at the stately blue following Zara. She couldn't help but smile. Somehow, Fuxith had missed the announcement that declared all hatchlings ungainly. His grace was somehow just as cute as the normal shambling, though.
Catching her thoughts, Isonth looked at the little dragon and keened happily. Oh, Lanamine, he is so small, still. I hope His is keeping him well safe. They look so vulnerable when they're little. She crooned and walked around La, leaving Hers to converse with Fuxith's. Hello, little one, she said cheerily as she approached the little blue. I am Isonth. Mine is the tall, lanky one. Crouching down, she stretched out and lowered her head to better see Fuxith eye-to-eye.
La shook her head. Isonth was just...overbearingly eager to make sure every dragon she saw was all right. It was endearing, but she was fairly certain not every dragon appreciated it. "She's...Isonth. I'm sorry if she bothers Fuxith. She's like this with adults, too, only flirtier." La shook her head; now that Isonth was grown, she had the added menace of Flight lurking over her head. But that wasn't important right now.
"How are you today, Zara?" she asked.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2009 7:18 pm
Fuxith stared up at Isonth with no small measure of awe. She was so long and tall and she had spots like his! She matches you well, he complimented, drawing in his chest a little bit in an attempt to make himself look that much more mature and regal. It must have been very hard to find one that was just right. Mine tells me that I took a long time to decide on her.
"Oh, no, it's fine," Zara reassured La, grey eyes warm as they watched Fuxith's begin whirling a deep blue that rivaled his darker splotches. "We've been doing well, very well. It's was pretty nerve-wracking being F'sey's 'assistant' for a while, but I just take extra care." She laughed slightly as she added, "Not that Fuxith would let it happen any other way."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2009 1:33 pm
Fuxith's look made Isonth coo aloud, and she leaned down to nuzzle him happily, though she stopped just short when she realized he was posturing taller and bumped him affectionately instead. Thank you! she answered, proud inherent in her voice. She is silly sometimes but she is Mine. Yours looks to be good for you as well, she added, glancing at Zara and giving a short nod. I do not know whether Mine was hard to find.
When you were done fussing over all the other hatchlings, you came right up to me, La answered silently.
Oh! Mine says I knew her quickly. Perhaps it is different for all dragons, she suggested.
"F'sey in general is pretty nerve-wracking," La said with a wry smile, "but he's not a bad man once you get past the prickles. Rather like a watchwher, really." She laughed quietly. So Fuxith was a careful one, then. With her own Weyrling training, she hadn't had all that time to get to know the members of the clutches after Isonth's, and she was curious about the new dragons. "What's he like?" she asked.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2009 3:54 pm
Eyes whirling happily at the attention, Fuxith rumbled his agreement. She is very good, and she does not make trouble like some of her clutchsibs. She watches well, and notices things. He pointed things out to her sometimes, yes, but she was easy to nudge into noticing something interesting. That way, she'd remember it for him later.
"He's rather less intimidating when he's not awake," Zara agreed, obliquely referencing to the Weyrlingmaster's collapse at the Hatching Feast. His weyrmate had seemed determined to make up for that, but not unreasonable. "Fuxith? He's very sharp, I think. I don't have to get his attention back on track often in classes." She glanced at him with a warm look before continuing. "He's not the most social, but he likes older dragons. Says they're more mature." Or something to that effect...the actual words were 'not as silly' but Zara rather thought he'd appreciate the more 'mature' wording.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 8:42 pm
It is good that she is not a troublemaker, Isonth said sagely. The Weyrlingmaster does not like troublemakers much. I don't think others do, either. She snorted softly. Lanakirene was rather low on the tolerance spectrum when it came to idiots, and Isonth was well-aware that 'troublemakers' were something that neither humans nor dragons appreciated. And it's good that she's observant. Mine is not always. She watches things other than what she is supposed to, particularly other girls her age.
La looked over at Isonth, whose eyes were whirling in slightly mischievous good humour, and shook her head before turning back to Zara. She had missed the last Hatching Feast because of Elae's collapse, so Zara's comment on F'sey elicited only confusion from La, but she smiled and nodded nonetheless. No use adding awkward to the situation. "He sounds like a lot less of a handful than Isonth was at that age. She would wander off in lessons to see if other dragons were feeling all right."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2009 12:17 am
Other girls? Why is looking at other girls different than looking at all others? Once Fuxith latched onto a mystery, he was intent on getting to the bottom of it. Today, apparently, it was the Mystery of Looking. She does not like to look at boys? This dismayed him, naturally, being male, and his eyes began to take on the faintest hint of yellow at the edges.
Noting the beginnings of agitation, Zara cast a concerned look at Fuxith. He seemed well enough for now, but she made a mental note to keep an eye out, and ask after Isonth if Fuxith continued to seem troubled. "He's made being assistant...much easier, I admit. We were both nervous about it at first."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2009 7:22 pm
No, no no! Not like that!
Fuxith's concern made Isonth's eyes briefly spark with yellow, but she leaned her nose down and bumped Fuxith affectionately, sharing a wash of comforting warm emotion with the smaller dragon. She is just very interested in human females. The way the golden Queens sometimes look at Bronzes. I think she is perhaps seeking a weyrmate.
ISONTH! Looking aghast, Lanakirene turned and shoved at her dragon's shoulder in embarrassment. A slight blush mantled her cheeks, and Isonth snorted, excusing herself ever-so-briefly from Fuxith to nuzzle her rider.
Oh, Lanamine. You are so sensitive.
"You never know when to shut your mouth," La muttered in response, shaking her head and sighing. "Go back to Fuxith."
"Sorry about that," she said to Zara. "It's always good when it's the dragon keeping the weyrling out of trouble. Generally it was the opposite in Isonth's clutch. We had....a handful of, well, handfuls." She shrugged and smiled wryly.
"Are you enjoying it?" F'sey worked his Weyrlings to the ground, but La had always rather enjoyed it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2009 1:54 am
A part of Fuxith knew of what Isonth spoke, in the same way that he knew that he was blue and Zara was His. It was a part of him, encoded into his very nature. However, his brain was having just a little trouble catching up. He'd grown, but Those Things remained very much beyond him, as they would for many months. She likes girls to...fly her? he puzzled out slowly, concentrating hard. If a dragon could furrow its brows, he certainly would. What...what is a weyrmate?
"I saw," Zara commented wryly, her mouth twisting into a smile. "Haanyath was...certainly interesting. I'm sure she was a handful for her rider...Tseka, wasn't it?" Shrugging, she dismissed it. Haanyath's rider might or might not be Tseka now, but it wasn't entirely relevant. "It's interesting, and I don't have to try to look over bronzes or tall people to see what's going on." Pausing, she added, "And if I'm not doing it right, I find out right away instead of later."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2009 4:21 pm
Something like that, yes, Isonth answered, aware that the complexities of human sexuality were not straightforward in any way, and also understanding that some of the more delicate concepts should always be very delicately introduced. His second question was easier to explain without going into the peculiarities of human relationships, ironically enough. A human weyrmate is someone very dear to the humans. They share their lives.
Human affection was a peculiar thing; Isonth surmised that likely there were dragons out there who wanted only one mate, but she certainly wasn't one of them. There were too many dragons to love, though if Lanakirene wanted a steady mate, Isonth would not begrudge her rider's peculiarity. And Lanakirene was completely ignoring her dragon. "Tseka...T'ka now. Not a lesbian, though." She gave a good-natured shrug, tempered with slight embarrassment that indicated she may have made that mistake already.
Girls and changing their names...what was up with that?
"There are definitely benefits to being F'sey's assistant. Not the least of which is that he hates you slightly less," she went on lightly. She had been lucky in that F'sey tolerated her because his dragon liked hers. Hopefully Zara was having similar luck because she was his assistant.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 6:05 am
With a slight draconic frown, Fuxith dismissed the idea before he could examine it too closely. Unlike other dragonets that might be too curious for their own good, Fuxith had little desire to investigate the mysteries of Flight now. Or ever, really. The idea that His might someday choose to share her life with someone other than himself was far more interesting. I thought Ours had already shared their lives with us. They can share them more than once?
An eyebrow rose in faint surprise at Tse--T'ka's name change, but Zara shrugged it off as another peculiarity of the girl she faintly remembered as being a bold, rugged individual. "That much seems to be true. He has a temper, but I think he tries to be fair." Her own predilection for following orders helped. When she questioned F'sey, she did her best to do so as unobtrusively as possible. It seemed to get a lot further with the greenrider than harsher objections.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 1:16 pm
Humans are strange about things, Isonth answered with a dismissive note. They're very confusing when it comes to things like that. That was all she needed to know about it, and she tipped her head down to nuzzle Fuxith affectionately. But we'll always be the most important to Ours.
Listening in, La shook her head and moved to Isonth's side to pat her dragon gently. "You're probably confusing the poor thing, Isonth," she remarked softly. "Let's leave this be."
All right, Lanamine...I hope he is all right.
He'll be fine. You're just talking too much.
Oh! I hope not! A flicker of yellow whirled in Isonth's eyes, but it dissipated quickly enough and she nuzzled Lanakirene.
La laughed and scratched Isonth's muzzle before looking at Zara again. "He does have a temper, and I've never seen him be unfair. ...Unorthodox, yes, but never unfair." F'sey was a good man, as far as La could tell. Just...a little short of patience.
"I'm glad you're doing well," she said after a moment, giving the other girl a warm smile. "Isonth wanted me down here to keep an eye on any of the new babies. She seems to think they'll all drown if she's not here to watch," she remarked offhandedly. A quick shake of her head and indulgent smile indicated that her sarcasm was good-natured.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 8:22 pm
Strange but interesting, Fuxith agreed, stretching his wings idly. He watched people other than His sometimes, albeit with all the dry academic interest of a scientist observing an exhibit full of chimpanzees. Clever, amusing, even fascinating, but not on his level by any means. That would require at least attempting to control themselves, after all--and so many of them lacked control!
"Well, sometimes it takes something a little different to make the lesson sink in," Zara mused, mouth quirking slightly in a smile. "Can't teach very well if everyone's half asleep, now can he?" Ha, like anyone would fall asleep in one of F'sey's lessons. The unfortunate Weyrling that did would be regretting it for a very, very long time...F'sey's reputation for prickliness was not entirely unearned. Glancing over at Fuxith, an idea occured to her. "Hey, mind keeping me company while I scrub him down? He seems to have taken to Isonth nicely, and uh. He doesn't always play well with others."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
