|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Aug 16, 2009 8:31 pm
Nhial's first day in the Weyr, and he was already settling in admirably. He had found himself a place to sleep with some other young men who seemed quite agreeable (or well, they hadn't protested Nhial claiming one of the hammocks as his own). He was coming to understand the layout of the place quite well (not that Nhial didn't always know precisely where he was). And he had encountered a plethora of absolutely gorgeous women. Clearly nothing could be better.
Except, perhaps, the food. Nhial sniffed at the meat on his plate, unimpressed at how dry it seemed to be. He wasn't a picky eater, and he'd certainly devour anything put in front of him (it only made sense that a growing young man needed all the red meat he could get), but when it was difficult to cut, that was just unacceptable. But perhaps he had caught the kitchens on an off day. Maybe an apprentice was cooking and made a bit of a mistake. Who knew? He wasn't about to judge something like that from a first meal.
Though he eyed his meat distastefully, he eyed the occupants of the table at which he sat with much greater interest. He had chosen, of course, to seat himself at a table full of gorgeous women, some of whom seemed to be wearing dragonriders' knots.
"A fine evening, for such fine ladies as yourselves, isn't it?" he asked with an easygoing grin, reaching over to tap one of the girls lightly on the shoulder.
She paused in what she was saying to the other women, looked him up and down, and said slowly, distaste evident in each syllable, "I am not interested in you, or any other man." And with a toss of auburn hair that Nhial noticed only belatedly was cropped far too short for a normal girl, she and the rest of her companions left.
Nhial shook his head in disappointment. He had chosen the wrong technique. These women-who-preferred-women needed a lighter hand. Ah well. He'd no doubt see her again. Shaking his head, he got right down to eating.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 4:35 pm
Though she had only been here with Karai for a few days, Ava couldn't have been more happy. This Weyr business had shaped up exactly as she had hoped it would, and was even beginning to exceed her expectations. Pale fingers combed absently through her short hair, her other hand tightly wound around her sister's. "Isn't this wonderful for us?" She mused quietly for Karai's ears alone, smiling over her shoulder at her younger sibling even as she gently tugged the girl along. No excuse for Karai not to be fed right, and she'd see to that!
The chores given to them had been no more tedious or frustrating than trying to learn tailoring, and Ava was always (secretly) delighted when they had spare time to set out and explore the Weyr. Arioth had been the only dragon they'd gotten close enough to touch so far, but she was optimistic. They were in a Weyr, dragons were everywhere! And there was a rumor going around that had caught her ear, something about a new Weyrwoman being needed elsewhere? Well, it certainly had everyone abuzz, but Ava was more focused on making sure Karai settled in here.
"We can just find a table, and then--"
Ava froze.
"Shards." Came the low hiss as her narrowed eyes flicked uneasily over the young man seated by his lonesome right where she'd been about to seat herself and Karai. That hair, that face--there was no mistaking who that was. Her heart pounded a little harder, and Ava had to swallow for a moment before she spun around.
"Not here, not here! Let's go somewhere else, quick--"
For Faranth's sake, why did it have to be him of all people?! That stupid, beautiful, wherry-brained idiot? He was the last person she needed to see, and, teeth sinking into her lip, Ava hurriedly tried to shoo Karai off. Last thing she needed was for her sister to recognize him and then insist on greeting him and oh--oh shards, why did it have to be that boy?!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Aug 21, 2009 6:25 pm
“I… I guess it is,” Karai replied, whispering softly. “Well, okay. Yes it is. We would’ve never gotten Shards at home.” The tiny Blue hatchling on her shoulder tightened his hold on her neck and creeled at the sound of his name. “Yes, yes, I know you’re there,” she crooned to the little flit, terribly pleased that he was so engaged. “I like the Weyr, but… it… it’s very big, isn’t it?” It was so much more crowded than she was used to, but that was nice in some ways. They had met so many young women and young men.
Karai didn’t mind the chores one bit, as she had been mostly set to mending clothes, and laundry duties. She liked both, as they meant that she was working with thread and (in the case of the latter) soapsand. The only thing that she found distressing about those moments was that they meant that she and Ava were parted for hours at a time. She really, really did not like those moments. They made her anxious, and all the more shy, but at the same time, she believed as her uncle believed that they made her stronger.
Not very strong, but just a little more her own person. Oh. … Had… had she heard that girl correctly? A deep scarlet flush crept over her cheeks and down her neck as she heard the unfamiliar girl state her preferences quite clearly. Did… did that mean that she was interested in women? For some reason, that had never occurred to Karai as a possibility, but the more she thought about it, the more the idea… well, peculated, and stuck. She had some things to think about, didn’t she? But… the girl had been very, very appealing.
Nice. Nice was the word. Except… Except she hadn’t been very nice to that young man—wait. Wait, she was pretty sure that she knew him! With wide, curious eyes, she watched Nhial (it was Nhial!), wondering what he was doing at Ista Weyr. Just then, Ava swore, invoking Shards’ name, and the flit fluttered off of her shoulder to Ava’s, creeling in the hopes of being fed by Karai’s older sister. “Krrava?” She all but thought that the baby was saying her sister’s name, but that was just silly!
Everyone knew that firelizards didn’t talk. “Nhial!” Oh goodness! It had burst right out of her, and… and she was fairly sure Ava didn’t want her to talk, but he was there, and she knew how Ava felt about him. “A-Are you… are you a Candidate, like… we are?” She blinked, entirely confused by the way her older, taller sister appeared to be attempting to shoo her. Where did she want them to go? Couldn’t they say hello to their nice, familiar friend?
“Krrrraaava?” Shards creeled, tugging pathetically on Ava’s sleeve in an attempt to seem hungrier and more pitiful than he really was. Karai watched the flitter suck in his belly, and giggled. Oh, oh goodness! He was so funny, wasn’t he? “Krrava?” The pale little Blue was peering up soulfully into Ava’s eyes, his own eyes whirling a hungry red-orange. He was newly hatched, and had the adorable slight pudge of a baby firelizard, but he seemed to be trying his absolute hardest to convince Ava that he had been starved and neglected, when Karai had fed him not long ago. Fed him her own lunch, too!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 8:31 pm
Had someone said his name? Had a woman said his name? Was there someone here who knew his name? Nhial looked around immediately, not for a moment thinking that someone else might share his name or that it might have been something else he was hearing. Clearly, someone was saying his name. And it only took him half a second or so for his gaze to alight on the pair of lovely ladies who were clearly the source of this name-saying.
"Karai? Ava? You don't say!"
Nhial was on his feet in an instant, striding up to the girls and smiling hugely at them as he ran a hand through his hair and puffed his chest out just a bit. They hadn't seen him upset the dragonriders, had they? That wouldn't impress the pair at all! Nhial wanted to impress the girls, after all. Nobody impressed girls like Nhial!
"What a wonderful surprise!" he continued on, giving a dazzling grin to both the girls and draping an arm around each one's shoulders. "When did you get here? Have you been here longer than I? I wish I had known you were here; I'd have come to see you!" Not that he'd had time yet, but still.
"Hello, hello, hello," he said, ruffling Ava's hair and giving Karai another dazzling grin before noticing the small animal on Ava's shoulder. "What's this? A firelizard? Really? Well congratulations, he's as beautiful as you are!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Sep 05, 2009 8:28 pm
Despite herself, her lips twitched a little as Karai spoke of Shards, and the little flit made himself known. All right, his name was rather terrible, but who could resist him for how endearing he was? The little beast had practically learned how to creel her name, but Ava wasn't able to focus on how the baby blue tugged pitifully at her sleeves. No, her sister, bless her heart, had attracted the attention of that wherry, and she was frantically trying to decide what to do.
Taking a deep breath, she was about to say something scathing as he approached... only to stand, dumbfounded as an arm was slung around her shoulder and her hair ruffled as though she was but a child. "Long enough to see you haven't changed." She said, bristling in Karai's defense until the conversation swung to Shards.
"He's Karai's." She snapped, but reached out with her index finger to gently stroke at the baby's head. Yes, yes, all right, she'd feed him soon! No one could resist poor Shards--and he'd become quite the manipulator, despite his youth. With tense shoulders, the girl pulled herself free from Nhial's embrace of sorts and folded her arms tightly, staring daggers at the boy.
"Since the Hatching Feast. When did you get here?" It might as well have been a challenge.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
