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 Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 7:02 pm
Well, this was just brilliant. F’sey was finally out of the Infirmary----sharding new Healer refused to let him out until he was absolutely certain everything was fine----and the redhead still wasn’t allowed to teach his Weyrlings. To C’ren, this translated to, ‘Come! Go bring your weyrmate back to your weyr and have lots and lots of fun times together’. To ‘Sey himself, however, it meant, ‘go on Search’. So C’ren decided to go on Search too, deliberately far away from his weyrmate. No, he was not being passive aggressive! Well, maybe a little…
You know, you could just talk to him… Ceylith rumbled as her wings flapped in the air. The Green wasn’t always the best voice of reason, but she had a knack for pointing out the obvious. I’m sure if Ialluth’s knew that you were annoyed, he’d do something to correct the situation. Ialluth’s is a good man and you know he cares.
Sometimes Ceylith wondered if Hers deliberately created these situations just to squabble with Ialluth’s. But that was silly! Surely people would prefer to be happy, riiiight?
C’ren grunted in response, reluctant to say that was exactly why he hadn’t brought it up with F’sey. Their… err… relationship wasn’t exactly what one would consider to be ‘normal’. They were generally happiest when they could snark at each other. Dropping the subject entirely, he mentally nudged Ceylith. There. See the Hold? Right down there…
The Hold below was a bustle of activity, as such things normally are. After all, there was a lot of work to get done. The blonde Greenrider frowned as he tried to think of what Holdfolk really did these days… uh… haul in fish, he supposed? Produced Candidates, certainly. They had been doing a very good job of that lately. If they were lucky, he and Ceylith wound find another one. As elegantly as she could, the Green touched down outside of the Hold, and C’ren climbed down, trying to look impressive. It wasn’t exactly easy.
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Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 7:51 pm
It was a hot day on the coast, and everyone was feeling it. Even in their sheltered stalls and homes people were starting to sweat terribly as high noon approached, praying for some hint of a sea breeze that most certainly wouldn't be coming.
Canthry was certainly sure of that fact; after all, the harbor would have felt it first, and she was choking on the humidity just as badly as the next guy (regardless of the fact that she complain about it) amidst trips to and from the shore. Her tanned skin was all but crusted in a layer of sweaty sea salt, and her boots were long-since waterlogged, and her hands were getting raw from the splintery crates of net-tangled (and sometimes still-wriggling) fish... but it was work, and work that payed, so she was plucking along as dutifully as ever.
She had long since assumed it would be a day like any other, too, and only when a dragon shaped shadow flashed right over her, pausing-- almost in a stupor-- and glancing up just in time to see some odd green mass sail past, glide down, and land further along the coastline on an empty patch of sand.
"... Huh, those dragonriders have sure been frequenting this place a lot lately," some other worker commented behind her, startling the girl instantly from her reverie to just offer up a quiet nod, shake it off, and... get right on back to her task.
I guess they have.
Fascinating as the green might have been, she had a job to complete, and there was inevitably a fishmonger waiting somewhere to receive and gut her load.
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Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 8:10 pm
And now the hoard of children came. Faranth, C’ren hated children… well, it wasn’t so much of a ‘hate’. He saw the biological necessity of creating more children----that’s where dragonriders came from and all that---but he did dislike them and their sticky little hands. Every week, he spent several hours carefully washing off Ceylith and oiling her up all pretty-like. And now those little brats… ugh. For the most part, the male Greenrider kept his distance as Ceylith cooed at the tiny children, enjoying all of the attention immensely.
Oh, C’ren! Can’t we keep one? Please? They’re so tiny! The Green squealed, ignoring the fact that C’ren was ignoring her. The bolder children were rewarded with a friendly nudge, since Ceylith really did love everyone and everything. Admittedly, she didn’t like being petted much by strangers… but these were tiny humans! It was totally different.
Her delighted scintillating eyes took in the gathered younglings as she tried to figure out if any of them would fit. This was what she was born to do, she knew. Flying and fighting Thread would be all well and good, but she really didn’t want to expose C’ren to such things. It sounded ghastly! And…
Ceylith suddenly straightened her neck and sniffed the air. In all honesty, she couldn’t smell anything beyond fish guts, but it helped to look dramatic. There was a good mind out there, one with all the qualities necessary… Immediately, the Green started bounding off, like an over excited puppy.
And much like an overexcited puppy who had just gone bounding off, she left chaos in her wake. Tangled fishing lines snapped, nets were hopelessly lost and fish carcasses went flying as she ran right through them. Eventually, she stopped by one boy---girl?----in particular and nosed her in a friendly manner.
This one! I like this one! she trumpeted triumphantly.
C’ren attempted to hide his face and merely followed, realizing that this was possibly the worst Search ever. For the love of… This would cost a pretty Mark, that was for sure. Well, he could always sell some of Pyrite’s eggs once she was old enough. He peered around the Green’s legs curiously, looking over the one she had indicated.
… Darling? he asked. What IS it? I mean… is it male or female?
I don’t know. Humans all seem the same to me, Ceylith said offhandedly, too pleased with herself to care about the target’s gender.
The Greenrider sighed, realizing that it would be up to him. “Err… hello,” he said awkwardly, trying to find a way to start this. “Sorry about all the damage. Ceylith here thinks you’d be a good Candidate…”
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Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 8:32 pm
The great hubbub and attention was to be expected, really; the arrival of any dragon (particularly a friendly one) always stirred up quite the public fuss, and this one seemed keen on collecting herself a whole flock of little beach children while her rider stretched his legs. Canth had of course watched the display from the corner of her vision for a good few seconds-- perhaps even vaguely amused-- but dismissed it swiftly thereafter...
Until she heard the sudden sounds of calamity headed STRAIGHT FOR HER, anyway.
Oh, woe and misery; that was the sound of her pay inevitably washing out to sea! And to think, she'd been so close to her hand-off point and almost ready to head back for another load!... but alas, no, as soon as she turned around there was a great green dragon charging right for her and, had the girl not been so torn between secret frustration and woe over how MISERABLE she already knew the cleanup would be, she might have remembered to blanch.
She really didn't know what to make of the creature suddenly bugling right next to her (... OW) either, but at least the rider was coming over so she could pin HIM with a look a--
Whoa whoa whoa-- hold the phone, had he just said candidate?!
"... Ah, Sir Dragonrider... I..." She sounded genuinely bewildered for a split second, but just as quickly (and miraculously) shook it off, frowning just the slightest bit and ducking her head in an almost apologetic manner. "I'm sorry, but I'm in the middle of my shift right now. I have a lot of work left to do."
Yes, and a lot MORE than she'd started with too, now that half the sharding catch she'd been needing to haul was spilled, mangled, or strewn about everywhere!
She sure didn't seem to be anything like a typical 'candidate age' holdbrat, that was for certain.
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Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 8:49 pm
Ceylith really had no concept of other people hearing, now did she? C’ren would have chastised her, but she really looked so pleased with herself. The Green dragon shoved her head into her rider’s chest, completely ignoring all of the attention she had garnered and, more specifically, missed out on the glares. That was a small mercy. The girl’s----surely, she was a girl, right? The face had something feminine about it---answer caught him a little by surprise and reminded him sharply of Kallista, the first girl he had Searched.
At the girl’s answer, Ceylith took on an entirely different look. The dragon’s head and tail drooped pathetically and her eyes swirled with a sad yellow. Miiiine… she whined, shoving her head into his chest again, nearly knocking him over. Make her come with us! I like this one!
Her tail lashed, causing much disarray among the nets and fish already hauled out. She didn’t seem to notice as she fixed a stare on the girl, one designed to cause pity and sympathy, like the last puppy in a little box.
Admittedly, the puppy in this instance was 21 feet long and had color-shifting eyes, but the general idea stood sound.
C’ren sent a brief glare over at the fishermen, just daring them to say anything bad about Ceylith. He would pay for it, shard it all! Curiously, he peered over at the sea and commented, “C’ren. Greenrider C’ren of Ceylith. And it looks to me like your work just slipped away, so you're technically not in the middle of anything. Now, do you want to become a Candidate?”
Nope. He wasn’t very sorry at all about it.
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Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 9:14 pm
Oh for the love of-- now that green's sulking was causing even more destruction! Why couldn't that rider keep her under proper control, again? Seriously, it was just... terribly unprofessional to be causing a stir like this! And surely, he couldn't have been missing the dozens of disgruntled workers and fishermen glaring at them by then either! THAT WAS A DEAD GIVEAWAY.
But he was acting ridiculously calm despite it all-- or at least faking it pretty well-- and Canth, in turn, could only do the same. She was used to keeping up the stoic, even when there were pissed off brutes surrounding them on all sides.
"... Canthry." No fancy title, just the obligatory name and a slight tight-lipped grimace. "And unfortunately, Greenrider C'ren, Ceylith, as the responsible party for this mess, I can't leave until I've cleaned it up. I'm sorry, but I don't have time to talk right now."
Well, for such a well-minded thing, she seemed rather unwilling to budge from her task... but in her mind, attempting to salvage the TRAINWRECK Ceylith had made was her only chance of getting anything to take home that day.
With that, she simply set aside her crate, grabbed the nearest (overturned) empty one, and crouched down to start plucking up any raw fish or netting scattered around-- an act which, if nothing else, managed to dissipate most of the other workers with grumblings of "better hurry up" and the like.
How stubborn (or maybe just duty-bound) WAS she?
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Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 9:28 pm
Why did they always insist on making this difficult? C’ren barely managed to stop himself from rolling his eyes as the girl-boy thing continued to insist on working. Honestly, the glares were beginning to grate on him by now and he couldn’t even respond with a proper glarebeam. It was just infuriating! But, after causing all of this damage, he felt like the least he could do was take a Candidate back… after this, he doubted a dragonrider would be welcome here, ever again.
Besides, Ceylith was whining at him and he always had trouble ignoring her little pathetic noises.
Mine. Why isn’t she coming over here? Now Ceylith was beginning to notice all of the destruction all around. The Green blinked in surprise and gently nosed one of the dead fish. C’ren? Why is it so messy here? We must take her away from this! This is not a good environment for Candidates! I will not leave until she’s coming with us!
Stubbornly, the Green stamped a foot. Unfortunately, she stamped it right on one of the deceased fish, causing the thing to go ‘Squish’ in a disgusting squelch of… well… scales and fish guts. Some of it got on the girl’s face, as she had been bending over to pick up a fish. OH! Ceylith’s eyes swirled in concern and she knelt down to take a better look at her. I’m so sorry! Mine, tell her I’m sorry! To show just how sorry she was, she shoved her nose at the girl, focusing mostly on the girl's hand. Say, she had a fish in it!
“For the love of little Green dragons…” C’ren muttered, putting a hand over his face again. “Ceylith! Stop moving your tail. You’re knocking things over!” Back to Canthry, he said, sounding only mildly ashamed, “She says she’s sorry. But she’s offering to help clean up and CEYLITH DON’T YOU DARE EAT THAT!”
Now the rider was reacting to the situation and tried to tug a dead fish from the dragon’s mouth. He stared at the thing distastefully, his nose wrinkling. “You don’t know where it’s been! You can’t just eat things you find lying around!”
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Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 9:53 pm
SHLORP.
That was the closest approximation Canth could make of how the fish sounded when it slapped against her her cheek in a gooey spray of guts and juices. She could very distinctly feel a scale plastered just above her right brow, and the whole slimy chunk left a slug trail on her cheek as it slid off. Now, the fish yanked from her hand was easily tolerable, but this?
This was beginning to push it just the tiiiiiniest bit.
"... It's fine," she responded simply, and bluntly, finally budging enough to raise a hand and wipe a little residual innard chunk off her face. "Really."
Somehow she didn't think that either of the pair would be satisfied with that, though, and given that every SECOND of Ceylith's extended presence seemed to bring about some new horror... well, something needed to be done about it.
"If you have to do this... harbor work should finish around dusk," she muttered, restraining a sigh and forcing herself upright again (with the added dignity of her fishy Pollock-esque decoration) to look both dragon and rider squarely in the eye. "I... can talk once I'm off for the day, if needed. Is that suitable for you?"
AND WOULD THAT GIVE HER ENOUGH PEACE AND QUIET (... sort of) TO CLEAN THIS MESS UP? PLEASE?
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Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 10:27 pm
C’ren and Ceylith were amazingly lucky that Canthry was so patient. Actually, Canthry was lucky that she was patient, since the Greenrider had no patience for people throwing fits over little things like fish guts hitting them in the face and the like. The man attempted to divide his attention between the females because he was certain the dragon, at least, would do something foolish soon enough. In fact, whenever he took her eyes off of her, Ceylith did in fact sidle towards one of the more tempting piles of fish.
“Yes…” he said slowly. “I think that would be a good idea. I believe I have to discuss reparations with the Lord Holder anyway…” Well, most of the fish probably would have been part of the tithe anyway, he reassured himself. Partly to reassure the watching fishermen, he added, “Ceylith will wait outside the Hold. Outside, I said, Ceylith.” He fixed a glare on the dragon, but there was no real feeling behind it.
Completely not realizing that she, in fact, was the cause of all this chaos, Ceylith rumbled softly and, once again, asked for head rubs from C’ren. Now that Canthry had finally agreed to at least be talked to, the Green was able to relax a little. Her walk back out of the Hold was a lot more sedate. That is, she only knocked over one crate instead of several. The flock of children followed, only too happy to see a dragon up close to care about the disaster that followed in her wake.
Ceylith was delighted by this and continued to pester her rider for the next few candlemarks as C’ren bickered over the price of fish.
Several hours later, the pair was still waiting and showed no sign of moving until they had spoken to Canthry again, only without all of the dead fish flying around.
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Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2009 11:11 am
Wait-- reparations? Canth had no intention of forcing monetary compensation from the riding duo (even if they were at least partially responsible), but in the end, she decided that it was easier not to mention and just took the blessing of their DEPARTURE as a welcome opportunity to start picking up the (fishy) pieces left behind.
Naturally, few if any of the other fishermen were sympathetic enough to assist her in the effort; from their perspective, she'd blatantly provoked the green's catastrophic cheer and was thus on her own for fixing it. Granted, with only two hands it was a long process... but no longer or more strenuous than any other job she'd faced, finally finishing up enough at some point in the afternoon to take up crate hauling once again.
On the bright side, though, the scorching hot light was finally starting to ease, and as the sun sank just above the horizon line, a cool sea breeze started relief across the harbor. The long work day was finally coming to an end at last!
... And the stubborn pair, she noted, was (surprise, surprise) still hanging around further down the beach.
While a part of Canth's mind had been contemplating the strange proposition for some hours now, at the same time, the real gravity of it didn't start to set in until she finally took her leave to go trek down the shoreline, covered in a thicker layer of grime and sweat and muck than seemed possible for any human to endure, but just as stoic looking as ever. If she was anxious at all (which she probably was), she certainly didn't show it.
Now, time to bite the bullet, huh?
"I'm sorry, but I can't stay and idle for too long," she greeted the pair flatly, her lips taut, and expression perhaps secretly tense. "My family is waiting for me in the hold..."
Well great, so even after waiting on her so many hours, C'ren and Ceylith only had a tiny window to speak with her? Yeeeah, that was a promising start to the whole mess.
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Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2009 3:54 pm
In all honesty, C’ren had half-heartedly tried to tell Ceylith that it was time to leave. The girl obviously wasn’t interested in leaving and it was not in the dragonrider’s nature to play along with some Hold-girl’s whims. Besides, he wanted to go back home and see ‘Sey again, even if they were having a little tiff. Maybe Ceylith’s advice of just talking to the man was sound after all…
Ceylith, meanwhile, was having the time of her life playing in the surf. The Green darted back and forth, trying---and failing---to dodge the waves. C’ren was being impatient, but he was always impatient with people. Besides, she had a really good feeling about this girl and wasn’t about to leave without her. Sure, they technically already had enough Candidates, buuut… well, it was something that Ceylith was good at. If you were good at something, she felt, it was your duty to do it.
Oh look, Mine! Are those shipfish? she said, happily mistaking some random fish for the near legendary dolphins.
Probably not, my dear… but maybe? It would just be cruel to dash all of Ceylith’s hopes. It really would. Speaking of her hopes, there was Canthry again. C’ren politely moved downwind of the rather… err… ripe girl. Honestly, his temper was rising again at her words and only Ceylith kept him calm. “The offer remains the same. You can either stay here and continue gutting fish, or you can become a Candidate for the next clutch. You’ve managed to impress Ceylith with your work ethic.” And annoy the rider, but that didn’t matter.
By now, Ceylith had also recognized the girl. Letting out a friendly bugle, the dragon ran towards the shore once more, managing to shower both her rider and Canthry in sea water. Really, there was no getting this girl down for very long.
C’ren merely sighed and tried to wring some of the water from his clothes.
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Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2009 6:17 pm
Well, well, C'ren certainly wasn't interested in mincing his words (as if he ever did in the first place) and Canth made the slightest hint of a face at it. Yes, a... face-- not really displeased nor thrilled, but obviously dealing with something far under the surface that left her a little less stoic than normal.
Clutch. Candidate. So many words that would've sent a flutter through the hopeful young hearts of any poor holdbound sap and yet...
"... I mean no disrespect, but--"
SPLASH!
WELL there went her little refusal under a good spray of seawater, suddenly and thoroughly DRENCHED from head to toe, yet hilariously unbudging from her spot. No, she just stood there calmly, swiped a bit of water from her eyes, and continued with the same lame dignity as ever (... or tried) regardless.
"Under other circumstances, I wouldn't say no, but... I can't abandon my responsibilities here, Greenrider C'ren... Ceylith." She'd even addressed each of them with a solemn look, lingering on the dragon in particular, before sighing softly, almost... sadly, perhaps. "I'm honored that you would consider me, but there are people here I have to support. For that, I... am sorry."
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Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2009 7:23 pm
C’ren’s eye visibly twitched. This was not how Searches worked. It was supposed to work in a very particular way: the dragon found a suitable person, the rider asked, and then the suitable Candidate said yes or no. They did NOT keep dragonriders standing around for several hours waiting for an answer. He did not have the patience for this, or the inclination to stand around and argue with some girl-confused-boy-----or was it the other way around----and try and convince her to come along. If they needed to be convinced, well, that was their own problem. Not his.
But, since he knew Ceylith would fuss for days unless the girl came along, C’ren gave it one last try. “OK… let me put it this way. Do you really want to spend the rest of your life gutting fish, or would you rather be something? Honestly, supporting one's family is all very well and good, but there are different ways of supporting them. I've chosen to support mine by protecting them from Thread." ...Actually, the idea of Ceylith protecting anything from anything else was rather frightening... "… Although I realize that Ceylith might not be the best example… but, fine. If that’s what you want to do… come on, Ceylith.”
Ceylith was stunned. This was not supposed to happen. Candidates liked dragons, right? Well… ok… she had to admit, maybe she didn’t give off the best impression, causing all that damage. It had taken some explaining, but the Green had finally gotten the idea that she had caused it. She whined pathetically and sidled closer to Canthry, trying to give her the very best puppy-dog-eyes she could.
But, miiine… she hasn’t agreed to come along yet. And you said we’re not allowed to take them without permission.
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Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2009 7:46 pm
Ceylith was probably the only reason either human was still present in the tense meeting, as it were, with C'ren obviously growing short on patience and Canthry... well, Canthry's patience was sharding near infinite, but she did have other places to be, other chores to do, and other messes to inevitably clean up the moment she got back home.
And still the rider was trying to convince her, and still she was inwardly torn. Having Ceylith prancing about and giving her those adorably whirling puppy-eyes didn't really help either, and she was just... how could she possibly... it still couldn't even be real, right?
Her lips tightened-- the closest to a pained grimace she'd allow herself-- and once again, she sighed, but more deeply this time.
"... I... need to talk this over with someone." That was quite a vague statement, but obviously an important one-- whoever it concerned. "Will you be back in this area tomorrow at some point?"
What-- finally some kind of concession? Or maybe an elaborate plan to stand them both up for nothing?
... The latter seemed unlikely, but still-- how long did she plan on dragging this typically-brief-and-clean affair out?
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Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2009 9:18 pm
Talk this over with someone. That sounded promising. Family members, he presumed, or perhaps a lover. But that second one didn’t seem too likely. Canthry didn’t seem like the sort who would waste time on such foolishness. Of course, he had F’sey, but that was totally different. Speaking of F’sey… C’ren momentarily thought about Canthry’s offer, trying to figure out if he would be in the area tomorrow or not. He probably would be, he decided, if only to get away from the weyrmate for a little while longer. Ha! See how he liked being left alone…
Mine. Your passive-aggressive is showing… Ceylith said gently. The girl’s answer, while noncommittal, pleased the optimistic Green. She showed her happiness the only way she could, by rumbling happily at then gently rubbing her head against the girl. True, she smelled like fish, but that was alright with Ceylith. She could put up with just about anything for head rubs.
“Yes, I think it’s likely that we might be in the area. And don’t mind Ceylith. She’s simply affectionate.” Very affectionate, actually, he noted with some minor annoyance. Well, he probably still had another week, so being away from the Weyr tomorrow wouldn’t be a big deal. “It means she wants you to scratch her eyeridges. See right here?” he stepped forward to point out the ridges above Ceylith’s swirling eyes and gave them a scratch. The dragon made another delighted rumble, rather like a giant kitten purr.
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