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 Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2009 10:07 am
It would taste a lie to say that Leicha wasn't tired from the moment he woke, the chilly air from the dawn clinging to his body like an unwelcome blanket. He raised his arms above his head as he stretched to get the kinks out, groaning as one movement seemed to go beyond what he'd expected it to do. Leicha dressed himself quickly, taking care to keep whatever he had on decent enough to look presentable, and he thrust his feet into his boots before he made his way out the door.
He had his thoughts on an early breakfast, giving him time to eat and maybe go outside to enjoy the sunrise which he'd actually risen before, so as he moved silently though the halls he kept his eyes alert and focused. His arms were folded across his chest, hands resting on his elbows, as he rounded corners here and there to make his way towards the dining hall. Once inside he managed to grab something to eat, not really feeling picky about whatever had been offered or how long it had been sitting out, and Leicha turned to make his way back out.
His footsteps carried him towards one of the grassy patches that lined the area, often used by dragons for resting and sunning themselves, though with the sky still a pinkish hue from a day not fully started the grounds were completely barren. It was perfect, he'd not really wanted to bump into anyone so early on in the day, and Leicha sighed as he sat himself down to watch the sky.
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Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2009 10:40 am
Nothing could explain why she had risen so early in the morning. It happened so rarely that she took it as a sign that the day would bring a particularly beautiful sunrise to the world--something she couldn't afford to miss.
It was with care and a bit of haste that she rose and proceeded through her morning routine; she washed her face, dressing in her usual attire, and then grabbed a small brush to run through her thick sheet of hair before moving to catch the first appearance of daylight.
Strapping her belt and her pouch -which always carried her sketchpad and pencil- around her waist, she made her way to the outside world. Her lungs expanded on a generous inhale, taking in the scent and taste of early morning. It was breathtakingly gorgeous, the way the first rays of the sun stretched their hands across the sky and sent splashes of color across its surface as it slowly brightened night into day.
The moisture of the morning hung thickly in the air as Amoreth pulled her drawing supplies out of her belt pouch and picked her choice location, settling down and stretching herself out on her back atop the grassy knoll. The grasses had been pressed down and softened by the many large bodies that had taken to resting there in the daytime to sunbathe. It made her feel even more inspired, to be in this area that shared itself with Dragons later in the day. Amo stared up at the sky, flipping her book open and holding it up to her face to draw as she lay there; but the sound of another person shifting around in the grass made her jump suddenly. In her obsession with the sunrise and immersion in her work, she hadn't even paid attention to who else might've been there!
"Oh!" she exclaimed softly, pulling herself into a sitting position and turning to face the other person who sat a few yards away from herself. "Good morning."
The simple greeting served to mask the lady's sudden shock, and she laughed softly as she sat cross-legged and lay her sketchpad in her lap. Her gaze turned skyward once more, Amo still a bit flustered and hesitant to speak again for fear of further interfering with the young man's morning, and she instead began to sketch again, making worded notes about the specific colors the sky bore. Pink, purple, midnight blue on the opposite horizon. So much beauty contained in such a simple thing as a sunrise!
The first of the day's Dragons left the Weyr, no doubt off to hunt, and she watched as it soared overhead, passing them quickly and with little notice. Sounds began to rise from the Weyr--morning had indeed come and that meant the day was to begin. Chores, active duties, recreation, and noise.
Amoreth sighed, slowly closing her tablet and putting the set back into her belt pouch before turning her head again to the man still sitting relatively near her.
"I don't think we've met," she offered, breaking the ice in an attempt to make conversation with him. "I am Amoreth. What is your name?"
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Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2009 11:15 am
Leicha was a bit disappointed to find that he wasn't alone for very long, a young woman coming and filling in the void that had been solitude, though he gave a grunt of recognition at her greetings to him. He went back to being silent, watching the sky and the dragons that moved in it to signify the days start, though every now and then he would glance over to see what this newcomer was doing.
It appeared that she was drawing (in this light?) something, perhaps the sky that spread before them, and Leicha semi wondered if she could even tell what she was scribbling down as well. It seems that he was actually watching her actions more than he would admit to, but seeing someone acting a fool in the early light was a bit more entertaining then just watching the dawn. He could do that any day, everyday in fact, but Leicha didn't know if this girl would be here daily.
He'd never seen her before, after all, and when she spoke again to break the silence and offer her name, he pursed his lips together as he frowned in thought. The name was familiar, the face was not. As a Weyrbrat he was so certain he knew a good chunk of the people here, and as a Candidate that seemed to help solidify the fact, though it could be due to him distancing himself from social activities that many people began to slip under his radar.
That, and as a younger brat, he didn't play with girls. They were gross and full of all kinds of unknown.
"Leicha and no, we haven't met."
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Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2009 11:38 am
The faint light that the morning afforded was no different than the dim lighting in the bowels of the Weyr--no, she was technically not supposed to venture into those places, but she had been exploring the Weyr all her life, slipping unnoticed into places and only sometimes getting caught. Fortunately, those she was caught by tended to be either other Weyrbrats sneaking around or older denizens of the Weyr that knew her and knew she'd stay out of trouble and was only looking for new places to draw or write. Needless to say, she was quite accustomed to drawing in low-light situations.
"Then it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Leicha."
Amo smiled as she responded to him, shifting around a bit where she sat to make herself more comfortable. As was her way, she studied him for a long while in the increasingly-brighter light, making mental notes of the angles of his face and his posture.
"I thought as much. Well, it seems my luck favors me today; It isn't often I get to greet a new face."
Another soft laugh shook her torso slightly, a lock of her hair finally creeping over her shoulder to rest on her chest.
"How long have you been here at the Weyr?"
From the looks of him, he was well-seasoned into the Weyr. Perhaps he'd lived there for years, though she of all people knew appearances could be deceiving. Mid-thought, a beautiful green Dragon leapt into the sky, immediately drawing her undivided attention to it. Green was her favorite color--grass, plantlife, her clothing.. To her, it represented life. Her sketchbook and pencil were in her hands again in a flash and she began to draw various simplistic poses she saw the Dragon take in flight. Anatomically, they were inconsistent and absolutely incorrect as all simplistic images tend to be.
Amoreth was nonetheless still paying attention to the young man, though she was no longer looking at him, now immersed in filling in shapes where the rod-and-joint figures stood on her paper.
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Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2009 11:54 am
" . . .the same, I suppose."
Leicha shifted and brushed a strand of black hair from his face, revealing a thick scar over his eyebrow. It was old, probably more than ten turns, though it looked like it could have happened more recently; perhaps it was because it was on his face that the scar stayed so vibrant.
"I was born here and have lived in the Weyr all my life. We've probably bumped into each other way back, but I don't do much socializing these days."
The boy looked away from the sky, where'd he been actually speaking to instead of towards Amoreth, and he sighed as he noticed that the young woman was busy moving her hands around on her sketchpad. It seemed only right that a time when he says more than five words in a sentence someone wouldn't be paying direct attention, though he couldn't blame her. Dragons in flight always were far more interesting than listening to people talking.
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Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2009 12:07 pm
His movements drew her eyes away, and they settled on the scar over his eyebrow for only a moment. Amo remembered how sensitive she'd once been about her own scar that stretched noticeably across her nose, so she quickly looked down at his eyes, pondering his words.
"Hm.. We may yet have. Heh, not a very social person, huh?"
Her sketchpad became the center of her attention once more, the pencil still busily filling in the lines her mind traced, but she began to angle glances up at him more often as they conversed, willing to split her concentration in favor of making a new friend.
"My condolences to you. I know how, ehm, socially taxing and expecting the Weyr can be. For living here all your life though, you seem to be getting along well enough."
The Green vanished beyond the boundaries of her vision, a delicate furrow knitting its way into her brow as she huffed. Ah, well; she'd visit Slenath later to finish her work. She set the book and pencil on the grass and flopped down on her back, her arms stretched out at her sides as she looked straight up into the sky, deliberately envisioning the seemingly-countless dots of light that burned brightly beyond the sky's veil.
"So, are you a Candidate for Dorath's latest?" Amo asked in regards to the Queen's newest clutch. She knew that she'd have to go soon enough to proceed with her morning responsibilities, and if he was indeed a Candidate as she was, she planned to offer to help with his chores.
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Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2009 12:19 pm
"It's not hard, if that's what you're trying to say or ask. I just don't go out of my way to talk to most people, and most people don't do the same. Usually only people who have never seen me before pick up the conversations like you did, and I just answer. I've no reason not to respond, I'm not entirely rude."
There was a very slight hint of a chuckle in Leicha's words as he shrugged, clearly admitting that while conversations weren't his forte it didn't mean that he avoided them entirely. It was as he said - he just didn't go out of his way to create them unless something was in a dire need of communication occurring over it.
"And yes, I'm a Candidate. Been standing for Impressions for a while, I've forgotten how long its been. Is this your first one?"
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Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2009 12:37 pm
"Ah, that makes sense, then. One who doesn't speak unless spoken to, mostly."
A smile curved the left corner of her mouth upward, the pucker in her brow from the loss of her drawing subject now gone and replaced with a gregarious expression.
"I tend to talk to anything that crosses my path, even if it's just a simple, one-word greeting and that's it."
Amo tittered nervously, reaching up to rub the back of her neck in an embarrassed way.
"I suppose I can be extremely talkative at times, but I mostly keep to myself.." She took the drawing pad in her hand and held it up slightly. "..Especially when I'm drawing or writing."
Her emerald eyes brightened as he answered her question, the young woman happy to have found another Candidate companion. He mentioned that he'd been standing for a while--a veteran at it, she supposed, which made her face fall slightly with a surge of pity. It was quickly snuffed though, as she did not want to seem offensive to him, and a nod along with his words led to her affirmative answer to his question.
"Aye, this is my first time standing. I admit, I'm a bit nervous--excited-nervous, though."
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Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2009 1:15 pm
For once, a smile actually crossed Leicha's face as he listened to the nervous chatter of a person standing on the sands for the first time. He could remember his own emotions, how he'd cried hidden somewhere in a hallway after everything was over, but he wouldn't admit to that.
"It's alright to feel nervous, because there will always be a first time for everything. You may do something everyday the same way, but the moment you do it different it becomes a first, you know? Each time I stand on the Sands feels like a first to me because I'm older."
It was true, Leicha had found that he approached each impression differently as turns passed. He no longer was so awkward around the eggs, and while he still didn't talk to them, he could feel something for them other than just words in his head and mouth.
"But you know, firsts don't always have to apply to big events too. I remember the first time I got lost in a hallway I'd been down so many times before."
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Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2009 1:47 pm
"Hm," came her response, feeling a bit reassured about the whole affair with his words. "Each time is a new chance to see eggs that have only ever been seen by a handful of people, life that hasn't really been acquainted with the world yet. I'd feel nervous too every time I stood amongst them, no matter how many times I'd done it before!"
A grin crossed her face as he spoke of firsts, her head nodding in agreement.
"Aye, indeed. I myself got lost in a similar situation, but things worked out in the end. Even if they turn out for the worse, they always seem to leave you with a feeling of accomplishment, those First situations, don't they?"
She curiously looked up at him, her head tilting to the side slightly. Amo had spent her whole life mapping out the Weyr in her mind, so that singular incident had come as quite a shock to her; and she'd been quite fortunate in how that one time had turned out. The memory was vague, and quickly dismissed in favor of returning to her drawing.
"As you progress in age and learn more, does it not bring more understanding into the whole process? Maybe that's why it feels like the first time every time. Everything's new to your growing senses."
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Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2009 1:56 pm
"I can attest to that, the whole growing and changing and making each day a new experience, but sometimes it's good to stop and think about your old ones as well. You wouldn't be able to move on if you couldn't figure something out from your lessons in the past."
Leicha was feeling really talkative. This was a first, and it was probably because it was very early and he still hadn't had the proper amount of time for his personality to set in place for the day. If this girl were to approach him later on, when chores and work had long since been started, she would find a very different man. Well, not very different - but still not entirely the same.
"Take for example you getting lost - how did you find your way out? The first time I was lost I ended up being found by a bunch of Riders on their way out, so I made sure to never go down that hall again without proper lighting."
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Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2009 2:07 pm
"I was found as well," she said simply, shrugging her shoulders as if the details eluded her. "And remembering lessons of the past tend to be the purpose of the mistakes we make, do they not?"
Saying mildly philosophical things like that made her laugh. The mirth she felt lined her chuckle like lace on a handkerchief, noticeable but not unpleasantly so. Amoreth was pleased that he was being so sociable with her, after mentioning his disinclination to do so--it only proved him as good as his word in saying that he didn't avoid conversations, but didn't actively search for them either.
She finally put away her possessions and faced him fully, folding her hands together while leaning her elbows on her legs as she spoke to him directly. This conversation was more substantive and more enjoyable than many she'd had lately. She found herself a bit jealous that he'd been on the sands during many Impressions, as he didn't appear too much older than herself--maybe one or two years at most. Amo had purposefully held herself back from Impressions until she felt ready for the responsibilities a Rider had to undertake; indeed, she regretted it at times, but she felt it was the right thing to do. Now, she was eighteen years-old, older than most Candidates, and had never even touched a Dragon's egg. That would change, though, as the Touching for Dorath's clutch was soon to be held. She was ready this time, ready to try impressing one of the Dragonets, ready to become a Rider.
Mentally, she forced herself to digress. Focus on the man before her became a priority--it'd be nice to have a friend on the sands with her as she stood for the first time at an Impression.
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Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2009 2:25 pm
"You were found as well? Really?"
A look of thought crossed the youth's face as the girl turned more towards him, as if he were trying to figure out what exactly he wanted to know. It was perplexing, he'd had an idea on the tip of his mind for a while since she'd been talking about getting lost and being found, but each time he tried to drag it up he found that the period of his life were he really went exploring was rather blurry. Sometimes anger over events could do that, and perhaps he had really lost several turns with memories that were not deemed important to possess.
"No wait - you're a Weyrbrat too, right? Are you sure we haven't met before?"
It was almost there, almost to the front of his mind and clear as day. The sounds of someone sobbing, him yelling at them to be silent, holding hands as they ran for a while until both were in the bright light. Two children, just probably past their ninth or tenth turns, acting as though a dark beast were chasing them down the halls before neither could really run anymore and their pace slowed to a walk.
One was a boy with a scar, a fresh scar that pained him to look at or even think about, and the other was a little girl. Her face seemed blurry now in Leicha's memory, but the rest of it was fairly clear.
"I remember once, helping a little girl out of one of the back halls. It's got to be more than ten turns now, at least, since that happened, but for some reason talking to you makes me remember it clear as day."
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Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2009 2:50 pm
"Aye, I was."
Her expression brightened. Having something in common with her new friend made her increasingly happier at the moment. Her eyes fell on his face again, and the look of pondering he now wore distressed her so that her face fell slightly again--his next question made her brow crease with confusion and sudden thought as she scraped the recesses of her mind, trying to find him in her memories.
"Yes, I am, but.."
The furrow deepened as he gave his recount of the event, and she lost herself in thought, her words trailing off as she folded her arms across her chest and stared hard at the ground. Years and years of memories had buried the recollection of the event, but slowly, it resurfaced. Tears stained her face as she grasped the hand of the person that had found her, running as fast as she could to keep up with him. She tried to quiet her choked sobs as he directed her to. Light urged them onward, and they ran and ran until they burst into its welcoming embrace. She looked up at him in the new light, her eyes falling on his eyebrow...
"Ah!" came her sudden exclamation. Her eyebrows rose on her forehead as she looked at his, studying the scar with a new sense of recognition. He bore a resemblance to the boy, if in no other way than he had the same scar, though a bit more faded than it had been due to his age. Had he been the one to help her out so many years ago? It was hard to imagine that it could be anyone else; she hadn't seen much of him after that. Amoreth's voice was quiet now, as if she hesitated to speak, wanting to directly inquire if he had been the one--she knew they were both thinking that, but it seemed somewhat impolite to assume that he was the same child only because he bore the scar. Something told her it was a sensitive subject.
"I had aged into my eighth Turn," she said to confirm his judge of time, "when it happened. That was ten Turns past. Indeed, seeing your face brings the memory into perfect clarity for me as well.. I got lost in one of the dark hallways that no one ever goes down while trying to find a place to draw. It was the first time I'd ever gotten lost in the Weyr, and though I wasn't prone to scaring easily, it frightened me into near-hysterics."
She narrowed her eyes in thought, placing each of the little boy's features in her mind and aging them. Indeed, it looked to be the same man that sat before her now."He never told me his name, the boy that helped me find my way."
She hadn't given a verbal recount of her experience or even of her current thoughts, but as they seemed to share both, it became hardly necessary to. Besides that, her increasingly happier expression would've given it away in a heartbeat to anyone who noticed that.
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Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2009 3:43 pm
Almost as soon as Amoreth finished telling her part of the story did Leicha's cheeks place up with red, his lips pursed close together as he attempted to hide how suddenly embarrassed he felt. He and this girl were telling the same story, just both sides of it, and yet neither of them really seemed to know that they'd been the other in their memories.
Of course, now that both ends were out it was pretty clear who she was, even if he'd never bothered to get her name from that time. He'd always stored the memory as one of those where he'd never meet the person involved again, but here he was - sitting next to her. To be honest, Leicha was really at a loss for what to say next.
"So that little runt was you? I can't believe it."
That probably wasn't the right thing to say either, calling her a runt, but to Leicha's memories of the time he'd found her to be a small little girl who was just sobbing and looking generally useless. He hated when others cried, it meant that they were hurting for some reason or another, and he'd gone out of his way to get her into the light because he didn't like the idea of her crying alone.
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