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 Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 10:21 am
One thing she would never get used to in Ista Weyr was the horrible quality of the food. When one came from a family of five that switched off cooking every day of the week, they grew spoiled on delicious meals and all sorts of inventive slop.
Unfortunately, with the growing cut in proper food, Uuni stuck mostly to bread. Bread. Every damn night and into the next day. But it was better than the stew. Uuni had some of that, too. She wrinkled her nose as it wafted up and choked her with its strange scent. What was in this stuff?
Although, when she thought about it, it couldn't have tasted that bad after a long day of work. It was really a miracle there was anything to do anymore with the massive amounts of candidates they had running to and fro. It just went to show. . .
Hey. She knew that guy. Not that well, but she remembered him, and his big, scary dragon. That dragon had given her nothing but the creeps, but he'd drug her away from the shardity home of the century, so Uuni would love him eternally. In a sort of platonic, you saved my a**, way.
Looking around to make sure there weren't any other victims potential friends, she walked her way over to the place the older dragonrider was sitting and plopped herself down on a bench to his right.
"You don't mind if I sit here, do you?" she asked him with a grin as she tore off a piece of bread. His hair was more grey than she remembered. It was probably a look that her little friend the bronze rider would have by that age. Poor saps with the world resting on their shoulders.
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Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 10:34 am
Dinner had become a truly depressing matter of late. Thinking mournfully of fresh vegetables and delicious slices of herdbeast, R'than scooped up another spoonful of vegetable stew. Some of it was chewy, some soft and overcooked, and some was worryingly crunchy. Shuddering, he swallowed and tried not to wonder what it was he'd just put in his mouth. Food was food, and by the time he finished eating the strew, the bread he had shoved into the bowl ought to have softened at least a little and that would be bearable. The only nice thing about his meal was the wine; a couple of days ago he and Garith had taken a trip to Benden specifically so that he could pick up some good vintages to make life more bearable. His pocket was rather lighter now, good Benden reds didn't come cheap, but it was worthwhile in his opinion.
The thing about a nice bottle though was that if you didn't drink it on the day it went sour, and he couldn't imagine drinking so much by himself. So it was that when he heard a familiar voice, he was more pleased than he would have been if he hadn't just opened one up. He'd searched this one... Oh, a few turns ago now but he remembered her well not only because she was one of four candidates he had ever brought in, but also because of that unfortunate business with her partner. Best not mention that right now though.
"Not at all Uuni," he said with a smile, "so long as you don't mind helping me out with this wine. Do help yourself," he gestured at the bottle, "there's plenty there."
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Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 10:41 am
Uuni glanced from him to the bottle and back again. The grin faded slightly to a knowing smile. "You getting me tipsy?" she asked with a tease in her voice. But she didn't hesitate. She did love a nice red, and it seemed as though R'than had lovely taste.
At the moment, she must have been the luckiest woman in the whole Weyr. How many of her lovely candidate companions got a chance to choice a nice bottle of wine with one of the newly appointed Wingseconds. She could just imagine the jealousy and it made her eyes flash and dilate for just a second.
"Egh," she said, eyeing his bread. "Here." She tore off half of hers. She'd been lucky enough to have a friend adept with his fingers and had snagged a much better, fresher looking loaf.
"You do all that responsible work and they don't feed you in better than us, huh?" She quirked a brow at him. She supposed she should be thankful for the even treatment, but this whole thing was a little ridiculous. Every time she ate, what C'mor talked about made a little more sense.
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Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 10:57 am
R'than accepted the bread gratefully and took a bite. "Mmmm, mediocre," he grinned once he'd swallowed the mouthful, "thought I'd never see that again; thank you. I've been offered something of slightly better quality than this but... well much as I might hate this food, I'd hate taking better than what is available to everyone else more. When I choose to spend my own money on luxury, fine, but I don't want to just take it because I happen to be a wingsecond now."
It worried him slightly that such an offer had been made in the first place, because surely that meant that often such offers was accepted. It wasn't right for leaders to put themselves above everyone else, wasn't right at all. He hated to question the integrity of his superiors, and his equals now, but it seemed it was something he had to do. Sad times, very sad indeed.
"Still, that aside I wasn't honestly planning to get you tipsy, just to share a bit of pleasure, and avoid getting tipsy myself... How've you been doing lately by the way? I was hearing that female candidates are having their clothes stolen and suchlike, that can't make all of this any more bearable." It sickened him to know that a thief or several thieves were operating within the Weyr itself; he only hoped the people responsible weren't riders, that would be the final straw.
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Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 11:10 am
He'd been offered better food and he'd refused? She was rather surprised, but at the same time she wasn't. No, she didn't really expect anything less from R'than, but still the man had his guts. Uuni had to admit a grudging respect for that kind of behavior even if it was completely stupid.
Tearing off a bit of her half, she chewed on it idly and thoughtfully as he went on his small rant about paying for luxury himself. What would she do if she had mass amounts of money? Oh, she really didn't know, but really good food was a start. And damn that wine was delicious.
"Uh-huh," she said with a small smile in his direction as she poured herself a little more. "Pleasure for pleasure, is it?"
When he switched the subject a little, she shrugged. "Chores, crappy food, no luck in the last few Stands, but I hear there's a new clutch hardening on the sands. A few of my roommies had a meltdown at their stolen clothes. As for me, hey, if I have to walk through the halls and do chores naked, no big. It's hot lately." She grinned broadly at this and turned the cup with her wine in it and watched the light reflect. "Ironically, I haven't had any of my clothes stolen. I'm almost a bit dissapointed that my clothes aren't good enough for them." Either that or they already owned something of hers. Not unlikely.
"What about you? How's Yours doing?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 11:20 am
A sip of the wine relaxed him a little, and R'than gave a contented sigh. "Yes, something like that. It has been very hot, but I'd rather not go outside without any clothes, wouldn't want to get sunburned. Might be more comfortable inside though, a bit of a shock for anyone newly come from the Holds though, and probably a bit distracting from everybody." He'd certainly be rather distracted if attractive young women like Uuni regularly wandered around naked. Pleasantly distracted though.
"Things have been busy for me," he went on with a shrug, "new wing things to sort out, getting used to being a wingsecond," trying desperately to accept the idea of a green wingleader. It was still no good, he still hated it, and struggled hard to stand up for Lyveana when others made an issue of her appointment. It should have been him. It wouldn't have been the perfect situation, far better a bronze, but better him than a green rider. Unbelievable. "Keeps my mind off the food though," he went on with a shrug and a lopsided smile. "Eggs ought to hatch fairly soon too, I hope you find your dragon this time, give you something to distract you from all this, eh?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 11:38 am
R'than had a point. If she thought about going outside naked, she'd be as red as they come and would probably be in agonizing pain on top of it. It was why she stayed indoors in general, and if she was going around without clothes, she certainly would have to stick to those morals.
Was anyone in this Weyr not busy? She wondered what it was like to be a wingsecond, and was about to take another bite but paused as she watched him. He seemed to have gone off on some thinking tangent in his head. And just what about. She poured him some more wine to get his mind off of whatever it was. When people went off into those thinking tangents, it scared her.
"Sounds like too much of a distraction to me," she told him with a glance that was a little too worried for her own good. She easily shrugged it off a few seconds later with a light yawn and stuffed her mouth with the remainder of her bread.
"Well," she went on. "If it was up to finding things, I wouldn't have a problem." She passed him a hinting smile. "I'm perfectly capable of finding things I want. But. . ." She leaned back a little as a piece of the bread caught in her throat when she swallowed. The wine had tinted her cheeks a light pink and she decided to stop after she finished her cup. She'd heard about R'than's policy with drunkards and she had no desire to get on his bad side. No matter how well him and dragon boy hid them, she knew they had them and a controlled anger could be far more terrifying than an uncontrolled one.
"Mine has to find me." Stirring her stew idly, Uuni wondered just where her appetite had gone. "Are you going to show me this new weyr of yours, then?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 2:17 pm
R'than chuckled and nodded his agreement. "Far too distracting, nobody would ever get any work done around here..." Why was she looking at him like that? Had his thoughts been obvious, or at least obviously worrying? Probably. Ah well, there wasn't much he could do to change that, and everyone was entitled to be stressed and worried these days. Thankful for the change of topic, the grey-haired man gave a faint smile and shook his head. "Ah, yes, that's the thing isn't it? The dragons choose the right riders for themselves so it's all decided already really. Never comforted me much to know that though..."
He wasn't quite sure why she wanted to see his weyr, but he was quite happy to abandon the miserable meal now that he wasn't hungry anymore. "I'll show you if you'd like to see it," he responded amiably, pushing the remains of his food away and getting to his feet. "It's not actually new, not very; been in there a while now. Used to be you got a new weyr with a promotion but... well there isn't the space for that these days. I'm right up on top of the bowl in one of the smallest weyrs; picked it when I had to move out of my old weyr because they said I wouldn't have to share it. Now, of course, I do. Still, I suppose nobody's really got ideal living arrangements right now, eh?" Save the people who had lived with somebody before all the space issues and thus had a decent sized weyr of course. Almost enough to make him wish he'd found a woman he wanted to commit to, but only almost; he couldn't imagine wanting to limit himself like that.
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Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 2:32 pm
She was thankful when the excuse to push away her food was given. Uuni took one last, non-regretting, look at the food and slowly rose to her feet as well.
She closed her eyes for a second, imagining the weyr and its small nature. She knew how high they could be; she'd personally seen the height from the outside on a few occassions.
"Do you really?" Her glance was inquisitive as she took the first steps forwards out of the dining hall.
"Who do you share it with?" It was probably a normal, formal question to ask. However, in this case, the young woman was actually curious over the matter. Small surprise there.
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Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 2:49 pm
R'than picked up his bottle of wine, but as he set off to the dining hall's exit, he clapped a bluerider he knew and liked on the shoulder and passed it over with a smile. "I share with Z'ven of green Tiarenth, he moved in about half a turn ago when my old weyr-partner and his old weyr-partner got together. As it happens we're even on the same wing now, so it's a good job I get along with him." The man could be a bit messy, but he was happy to overlook that for a friendly demeanor and a good work ethic.
"Only way up is by dragon," R'than went on, turning down a passageway that would lead them out into the bowl, "I'll give Garith a shove to come and collect us."
"I do not need a shove R'than," the brown replied with a mental smile, "I am on my way down. I have not brought the straps with me though, so Uuni will need to hold onto you. I shall do my best to take off gently however, I would not wish to unseat her. Or you for that matter."
R'than chuckled softly and shook his head. "Don't worry old brown, we'll manage just fine, I'm sure." He rather liked the idea of Uuni needing to hold onto him in any case; she had matured physically a lot in three or so turns, she was definitely woman rather than girl now.
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Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 2:56 pm
Oh yes right. The only way up was by dragonflight. Of course.
Uuni took a deep breath for a moment and let herself fall behind R'than's step momentarily. Had she not already been pale enough, it would have been obvious that the color had drained from her face.
The idea of falling from such a height and dying was only the tiniest part of this equation. What most worried her was that browns were huge. On some level, she could deal with green and blue dragons, but browns and up were quite a shocking look and despite her years here, she hadn't quite gotten used to them. She certainly never chanced to go on a flight - not since the brown had taken her to the Weyr many Turns ago.
Shaking her head, she found her composure quickly and took the few strides to catch up. "It will be good practice for my balance," she attemped wittily, but found her mouth slightly dry. "And it will be good to see Garith again." She wondered how the dragon would take her fear of his size. But he was such a calm beast. In some ways, this was ideal. It made her feel far more secure to be with an experienced dragon.
The brighter light of the slowly dimming sun in the sky greeted her as they exited the mountain, and for once, sex was the last thing on her mind.
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Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 3:06 pm
...Oh dear, she had been rather nervous when he'd brought her here, hadn't she? Probably she hadn't flown a lot since, and by the sound of it she was still nervous. Luckily, as they stepped out into the sun, Garith was already on the ground; having the big beast drop down towards them would probably be even more worrying for somebody apprehensive about going up on him.
"Garith is glad to see you again too," R'than said as his lifemate passed on this sentiment, "and practice makes perfect, eh? Comes naturally to me now but I remember being very nervous the first few times I rode on a dragon. Thrilled, yes, but nervous too."
"I will not allow her to fall," Garith said seriously as he dipped a shoulder and extended a foreleg for R'than to step up on. He had no desire to be the cause of any distress to the young woman they had brought in together... whenever it was they had brought her in; he only even knew they had because His had just been thinking about it. A few turns ago, not all that long.
"Right," R'than settled in his customary spot between two of Garith's neck ridges and extended a hand down to Uuni, "I'll help you up behind me. Hold on around my waist, and let us know when you feel settled, then we'll take off. We're heading," he pointed to a ledge at the top of the weyrbowl, near the center, "just up there, alright?" She would need to get used to this sooner or later, and better she got some practice with him and Garith than some young gungho idiot likely to scare the life out of her and or drop her.
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Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 3:14 pm
Her eyes traveled along the beast. The word huge would not stop turning through her head. How did she ever go through her life without seeing dragons every second was beyond her, but she had become adept at avoiding their presence.
The movement as the dragon allowed R'than to climb was felt up through her bones. Perhaps the vibrations were not quite that intense, but her mind made them so. However, both parties seemed to stay relaxed and after a long moment of silence listening to her heart drum steadily in her chest, she began to relax as well.
She gave a glance towards the brown's eyes to make sure they were still mellow and then took the step forwards to take R'than's hand.
To distract herself, she watched to where he pointed as she moved into a comfortable spot behind him. She didn't remember riding a dragon to be like this at all, but memory would distort things to something beyond recognition.
With a heavy intake of breath, she moved her arms around his waist and thought about her breath hitting his back instead of the massive weight that shifted ever so slightly beneath her.
A smile broke over her lips and she finally let out a nod. "Okay. I'm ready." As soon as the words left her lips, she realized she wasn't, but it was much too late for that now.
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Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 3:25 pm
As she spoke, R'than laid one hand on her arm, and grasped the neck ridge in front of him with the other. "Off we go then," he said unnecessarily as Garith gathered his strength ready for take off. Rather than just leaping as he usually did, the brown began to beat his wings first; it was a greater effort, but allowed him to make a more gentle spring into the air. Giving a very soft rumble, he began to climb in a slow spiral towards the weyr's ledge.
R'than kept his hand on Uuni's arm as they went, keeping himself relaxed and rather enjoying the feel of her breath on his neck and her breasts against his back; they weren't noticeable to look at but it was quite easy to tell they were there with her leaning on him. He felt slight guilty for that enjoyment given she was probably still feeling very uncomfortable, but he was only human, and she was very pretty.
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Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 3:33 pm
Perhaps lean wasn't the word. Uuni was practically clinging on him. He better damn well have been able to feel her breasts! If he couldn't, it would have been a little odd.
The distance wasn't as far as she'd assumed, and after she got over the initial taking off shock, the adrenaline and exhilaration started to fill her system. Gradually she opened her eyes and let out a long breath to watch their ascent. It was done so quickly. Had she even the ability, it would have taken her ages to reach this height.
And yes, as cliche as it was, it did take her breath away. She grinned eventually, and stopped hanging on as tightly, instead purposefully shifting her body against his back.
"I think it was easier this time," she added softly against his ear as the dragon took them up to the aforementioned weyr. Of course, she'd only gotten through half of the worst of it. They still had to land.
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