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 Posted: Tue Sep 15, 2009 2:19 pm
What was he doing out here? Yisenkar looked out over the endless dunes and could not answer his own question. He was being sensible, yes, he had plenty of water and his head was covered by a brilliant scarlet scarf. The ends whipped in the wind. He had spent all his marks on it, a soft, supple, startlingly bright show of allegiance to his faction. Had he chosen the right one? Would one of the others have even let him join? What was he doing here, looking out over the desert? Rest days were rare for candidates, he should be using this one to further his goals, he should be currying favour and striking deals. Why, then, was here here looking at sand?... No. Not sand. They sky.
Endless blue, more endless even than the sand. What would he give to soar through it with his lifemate, unlimited by other men and dragons? What would they be, he and His? How would they make a good life for themselves? What colour would his dragon be?... Not bronze. He might not admit it, but he already knew that a bronze wouldn't choose him. That was fine though, any dragon was fine, just so long as they could fly together. Be together. Never to be alone. That was being a rider. Always being loved. That was being a rider. What he wouldn't give, what he wouldn't destroy if it would give him what he wanted. A dragon to fly with, to love him, to trust in utterly...
So he was going to spend his rest day with useless longings when there wasn't even a clutch on the sands, was he? Apparently so. The wind whipped at his vivid red scarf, and Yisenkar sighed. What a waste of a rest day.
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Posted: Tue Sep 15, 2009 4:21 pm
One arm was looped in his riding gear around Dioth's neck as L'ior crouched low, his hair blowing in the wind of his dragon's passing. He'd been out for a fly -- the world seemed bleached in this intense heat, and L'ior's favorite method of cooling off was to head between to someplace wet, though that meant that before too long he had to go back to the intense heat with his tunic clinging to him as sand, attracted to him like a magnet from the desert below. His braid hung along his spine in a rope dried in the sun and tied with a faded scarlet bandana, and he chuckled a little, grinning. Dioth, said L'ior internally with a chuckle as his teeth chattered after the cold of between in his still salt-sticky hair, you are lucky -- the sun dries your hide so much more quickly...
You will dry here, mine, replied Dioth, lazily spilling air from his wings as they moved toward a landing in the sun-bleached sand, something like amusement in his mental tone. Everything dries quickly here. Finally he touched down, with easy, lazy grace.
There was truth in the dragon's statement; already, heat like steam seemed to be seeping from his sodden tunic as L'ior laughed a little, sliding down the blue's leg and reaching up to rub at Dioth's eyeridges affectionately. That's so...
Mine, said Dioth, affectionately leaning his great head into the rubbing, there is a boy over there...
Distracted, L'ior lifted his head, and caught sight of Yisenkar -- and offered a smile, and called out a cheerful 'hallo'.
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Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2009 7:52 am
He had marked the blue's arrival. Of course he had; any dragon was worth watching when he wasn't engaged in work or some vital social interaction or other. It wasn't too often the riders hailed him though, so it took the youth a moment to gather a response. "Good day to you rider... Did you have a nice trip?" The man was soaked. Intrigued more than ever, Yisenkar moved closer to the pair, but not too close; he didn't want to see disrespectful... Perfect! The rider was wearing a red bandanna, that made him a supporter of the Wherries or a transferred idiot, and he recognized the dragon so it couldn't be the latter.
Maybe today wouldn't be a waste after all, maybe he could get this rider to like him! There were all sorts of advantages to having a rider as your ally... but what did he have that a rider could want? Much as he racked his brains, Yisenkar couldn't think of anything. He supposed that left being personable, and he could cope with that.
"My name's Yisenkar," he went on after a moment with a smile, "I'm sure I recognize both of you but I'm afraid I don't know your names."
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Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2009 3:37 pm
"I did have a pleasant trip," replied L'ior with a sheepish smile and a pang -- probably, he thought, he should have been working instead, or finding someone else in the Weyr who needed a break and taking over for them, but instead he had allowed Dioth to persuade him to take a break. That, he thought with affection, was one of the things Dioth was exceedingly good at.
"Well met, Yisenkar -- I am L'ior of blue Dioth, famous for nothing in particular, so I am certainly not surprised you don't recall us." His cheerful expression brightened -- L'ior was not used to being treated so cordially. Some of the candidates even tended to act a bit uppity towards him, though often enough it passed quite easily below his radar. A thoughtful inspection of the other brought up an interesting point to him, however -- the boy was, quite prominently, displaying the bright scarlet he himself was most familiar with. "And I see you're wearing scarlet." The words were offered with a cheery off-handedness as he turned to face Yisenkar, leaving the other an out in case he preferred not to discuss his affiliations -- just in case. This was about as subtle as L'ior ever got.
I will never understand, came Dioth's commentary, privately, the others' affinity for dividing themselves like that, L'ior-mine.. In truth, neither did L'ior, but he'd no real choice.
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Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2009 7:53 am
"Yes," Yisenkar allowed himself a slight grin, "you're wearing scarlet too. It's nice to get to talk to a rider who's happy to show which faction they came from. Who's happy to talk to candidates come to that." Most of them were too busy being riders, which he suppose was fair enough. If he were a rider, he wouldn't spend his time on a candidate unless they had the potential to be very, very useful allies.
"Dioth is so handsome," he went on after a moment's pause, looking up at the 'small' dragon with awe he didn't have to fake. Small. This was small. Having lived around dragons all his life hadn't managed to alter how much they amazed him. How any could think a creature like Dioth was small he had no idea; the blue was big, bronzes and so on just happened to be bigger.
"Your colours are lovely," it occurred him to add to the dragon himself; dragons might not speak to you, but that didn't mean they liked you speaking about them as if they weren't there or couldn't understand. If he was to make a useful connection here he needed to be liked by both man and dragon.
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Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2009 8:36 am
"Though I do not often have much to offer a candidate by way of influence or... anything at all, really," said L'ior with a quiet chuckle, "I am always here to give what advice I can manage. I recall my time as a candidate. It was... quite rough." A shrug rolled the rider's shoulders as he watched the candidate with thoughtful blue eyes, biting his lip absently as Dioth nosed at him, whuffling softly into the sea-damp tunic that clung to him.
L'iormine, came Dioth's pleased voice filling L'ior's head with the dragon's contented happiness, Tell that one that I am pleased.
"Dioth says he's pleased," L'ior relayed with a chuckle, as he rubbed one big hand up along the blue snout. The blue's eyes lidded lazily, swirling with contented shades of azure. "He does appreciate the compliments, and so do I." Pride touched L'ior's tone, but he laughed at the pompous feel that had. "We don't often get them, so I'm afraid my head swells when I do. I'm sorry."
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Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2009 12:41 pm
Looked like he was getting somewhere, and actually thanks to sincerity for once. Yisenkar smiled again and shrugged. "That's alright, I'm sure every rider likes to hear nice things said about their dragon. I expect most dragons like to hear nice things said about them too, it's only natural, right? I know that if I ever become a rider I'll love hearing people compliment my dragon..." Rough. Well, it wasn't easy for sure. The work itself was alright, and he had a good grasp on all the lessons they got, but the rest... The rest was rough, because his team weren't winning right now. One day they would, he was sure they would, and he do whatever he could to help them rise above the rest.
"Umm... could I ask where it was you went?" Yisenkar asked after a moment. "I've always wanted to try swimming, but obviously I've not really had the chance to learn." That was only a slight lie; he did quite like the idea of being able to swim but it wasn't really something he'd always wanted. Slight lies were the best kind of lies to tell though, they were so much easier to get away with, and to maintain.
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Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2009 3:56 pm
"For the most part," L'ior agreed, "we are all somewhat egotistical..." Though he would never have presumed to say it himself, L'ior was probably one of the least egotistical; often enough flattery of himself went directly over his head, but flattery of Dioth never did. "And they learn it from us, I suppose." He colored modestly, scratching one cheek absently.
I am not egotistical, Dioth protested without any real heat. If anything you could stand a little more pride.
I know, I know, replied L'ior, his smile broadening cheerfully as he turned his attention back to the curious candidate. "Oh! We found a place near Ista -- it's on the sea," he said, a little guiltily, "so it's perfect for swimming, and positively beautiful." Thoughtfully, the rider cocked his head to one side. "If you'd like to come sometime when you've a day off, I am sure Dioth would not mind the added weight." He himself was light-framed, and for all Dioth's laziness, the blue was decidedly sturdy.
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Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2009 9:00 am
Yisenkar's eyes widened. "Really? You'd do that? I'd love to!" Well, hadn't he found himself a nice one? Just offering something like that out of the blue - no pun intended - was something he could hardly wrap his mind around. What was in it for L'ior and Dioth? Not a lot, surely, other than a reputation as a nice pair of guys and that wasn't worth a lot when it came down to it.
Maybe - a small part of his mind suggested - he isn't looking for a profit. Maybe he is just a nice person. Not everyone spends their whole life looking for the gain in a situation. This was probably why people like L'ior had friends, and people like him didn't. If you didn't offer to do nice things, people didn't like you... but just giving things away was no good, you'd never get anywhere in life, and people would take advantage of you. Not everyone was as calculating as he, but not everyone was as nice as L'ior either. There were plenty out there who would be happy to just leech off him if he started being nice like that, they'd get in his way. It was all very well to throw around kind deeds, but only if you were already in a comfortable position.
"I'm afraid I can't offer anything in return other than thanks," Yisenkar went on after a moment. "Nobody's offered to do something that nie for me in... well, a long time that's for sure." There was his foster father of course, he did kind things for him every day and he appreciated them but... but the man was a kitchen worker. He could lie to himself and say extra pastries were worth just as much as a ride on a dragon because they were given with love but Yisenkar was not one to delude himself. Pastries were pastries, and dragons were dragons; no matter how much love went into the former.
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Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2009 12:14 pm
He was unable to help the broad smile that brightened his expression -- the other's reaction, such happiness, was pleasing to the rider. That in itself would have been thanks enough, he rather thought, to make the offer worthwhile. "Of course I would do it," agreed L'ior with a smile, "and I really don't need anything in return." His shrug was brief, and his expression slightly awkward for a moment, though still gentle. "You look like the sort who could use a little bit of kindness, after all... then again," he sighed, digging the heel of his boot into the fine sand as he glanced toward the Weyr, "these days, most of us could."
While L'ior was speaking, Dioth took a step forward, and extended his neck, leaning to take a good look at Yisenkar, blue-whirling eyes warm and contented as he snuffled at the candidate as if curious. This one is good, hummed Dioth pleasantly, I would not mind carrying him with you someday, L'iormine.
It was gratifying to know that the blue agreed with his offer, thought L'ior with an amused noise as he watched the great head examining the candidate.
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Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2009 12:23 pm
He had been about to reply when the dragon leaned in to look at him. Such blue eyes. Such beauty, outstripping the brightest jewel by leagues and leagues. He was transfixed like that, looking into whirling azure for some moments. When he came back to himself, he smile again. One day... one day maybe he would have his own dragon to look at him with such eyes. What he wouldn't give to make that come true.
"I... thank you," he said again, directing his smile to both man and dragon. "It's nice to... to be cared about I suppose. Most adult riders couldn't really care less about us candidates, especially ones who aren't related to anyone important... I can make desserts," the scrawny youth added thoughtfully after a moment. "My foster father works in the kitchens, he's taught me how to make nice things over the turns. Maybe I could cook something nice for you?" There, that was something. A tiny token maybe - pastries were not dragons - but given he had and could do nothing of significance, maybe this would see like a good gesture to the rider. He hoped so. The more he could get a nice person like this to like him the better!
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Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2009 12:49 pm
"Ah!" said L'ior with a surprised chuckle -- this thought knocked all the others ahead of it cleanly out of the way, "a cook!" Genuine delight showed on the older man's mobile features, beaming with eager glee. "Yes, yes, certainly. I very much enjoy sweets. I enjoy dabbling a bit in Bakercraft myself -- my mother was a journeywoman Baker; she worked here in the Weyr kitchens for awhile as well." There! Another connection, surprising L'ior. He'd be pleased as bubbly pie to accept such gratitude. If L'ior hadn't been so active, he probably would have carried a bit of extra weight around the middle of his lean, sleek frame. "I would most certainly be honored and appreciative of such a thing."
Reeling in his head, Dioth seemed to settle down, knowing his lifemate's propensity to be rather talkative on this subject. One blue wing shifted, and satisfied that His was happy and safe, he let the first lid fall over his eyes. I am glad I pointed this one out, came the contented sigh.
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Posted: Sat Sep 19, 2009 11:48 am
"Well," Yisenkar shrugged, "not a cook really, desserts are all I do." He'd never taken the time to learn anything else. Desserts had seemed like the most useful thing he could be able to create and he'd felt obligated to take his father up on his offer of tutoring, the many always looked so crestfallen when he didn't want to do something.
"Still, I do them fairly well," he went on with a slight smile, "been learning how to do them better on and off for turns now... What's it like near Ista? I can't imagine so much water all in once place." It was a bit of a generic question, but better than nothing all things considered. Besides, he really couldn't imagine it. Fish, there was one thing his father had always said he wanted to cook, fresh fish. Maybe one day when he was a rider he'd be able to bring him some. If he ever became a rider. He still had turns and turns of standing, but turns and turns had passed him by too. He might never find his lifemate. Now there was an unpleasant thought.
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Posted: Sun Sep 20, 2009 3:16 am
"I am best," said L'ior, "with bread. It always seems to come out better than my cakes. Though they turn out all right as well. I do tend to get a bit creative with my ingredients, though, so there is that." A little shrug rippled across his shoulders, and he chuckled.
"Hm... Ista is lovely, I'll give them that," he conceded with a chuckle. "There is water everywhere indeed. Most of it is seawater, though, so not overly useful, though it's pleasant for swimming. I also had something rather nice there -- spiderclaws. Which are still delicious even cooked over a fire." A faint blush came to his cheeks, but he was not saying more about that.
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Posted: Sun Sep 20, 2009 12:49 pm
"Spiderclaws," Yisenkar echoed, vaguely recalling a picture of the creature's he'd been shown once. Had it been a lesson he'd been given at some point, or had his father shown it to him? he honestly couldn't recall. "I'll try anything once," he went on, "in the way of food anyway. I'm not about to volunteer myself to try out a flying carriage pulled by flitts or anything." Better safe than a small sad splat-shaped mark on the ground any day.
"I've made bread once or twice," he added, "I enjoyed kneading it but it never came out amazingly." Possibly because he hadn't practiced enough. Probably, in fact, but why learn to make bread when you could learn to make cakes? As he had already said - internally - cakes were much better for making people like you.
"I suppose you two must have been to all sorts of interesting places over the turns," Yisenkar said, sensing that a slightly new topic might be a good idea. "I've been to Igen Hold for... three gathers I think? I've not often been able to get a ride there, not knowing any riders and not having anything to offer ones I don't know haven't made for the best chances. Still, I enjoyed the trips, the Hold's so different to here... I'm rambling, I meant to ask you what places you've been together." Rambling? Yes. Intentional rambling? Also yes. If their previous behavior was any clue, he might well find himself with a ride to the next gather.
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