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 Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 2:29 pm
It was a fine day outside, bright and clear with hardly a cloud in the sky to deter the flights of the many dragons that circled high above in practice formations, the afternoon sun glinting off of their well oiled hides. Many people, both riders and non-riders were out and about, running here and there on errands or simply enjoying the good weather and taking in a little sun.
Jericho hardly noticed any of this as he stood inside the candidate barracks, having just plopped his bag on one of the beds. Everything that he had to his name, now, was in that humble bag, and he couldn't stop staring at it. He wasn't really staring at the bag, mind, more just in its general direction, his head was still reeling from the flight here. Tillek was such a long ways away from High Reaches, and yet it had taken but few minutes to get here a-dragonback. Only a few minutes to take him from his old life and drop him unceremoniously into this new one. His feelings were so turbulent that he hardly knew what to think for several minutes as he stood there in the dimly lit building, afternoon sunshine pouring in through the door.
Then he smiled.
Jericho stared at his hands a moment, they were rough and calloused from working on ships, and they had clung so tightly to the jacket of the rider who had searched him out, had pulled him up behind him onto the back of his might dragon, an honor the man had never thought to have. And yet here he was, in a Weyr...a candidate to become a rider himself.
The smile widened and Jericho did a brief little dance as the happiness overflowed from within him to the point he had to let it out somehow. He quickly stopped though, clearing his throat and wiping his hands on his breeches before turning and walking back out of the empty barracks and into the wide open Weyr bowl, feeling a little at a loss as the warm sun beat down on his tanned skin and honey brown hair. He looked around him with his bright blue eyes wondering what he should do first. He had a little spare time, after all. The rider that had brought him had said he had a few hours before he had be anywhere...hmm.
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Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2009 7:42 pm
Panata had spent the last bits of his early morning in the infirmary, saying good-bye for the final time to all the healers gathered there. They'd checked over his wounds and pronounced him fit enough to not have to worry or return to them anymore, and the youth was both happy and sad to see his visits go. Being healthy meant that he wouldn't have to endure their stares or the salves any longer, but it also meant that there was a chance he'd be sent home until the next impression. That thought rather saddened him, as Panata had come to think of the Weyr as something more of his home, even more than the Crafthall and the Hold from which he was from.
So it was with parting farewells and even a few bows and waves that Panata got himself outside into the fresh air of the Weyrbowl, Meisir appearing from between over his head as soon as he left the halls. The brown gave a happy bugle at the good emotions his owner was releasing, the blond boy even daring to hum a bit as he continued out and around. There was nothing on his agenda for the day other then to report to the kitchens later on to see if they needed a hand, so for now he would be content to wander and perhaps talk to others. It seemed like there were a few people out and aimlessly moving from here to there, so it wasn't like his conversation partners were limited.
"Well Meisir, shall we find something to do?"
The boy seemed content to just speak with his firelizard, but Meisir seemed to have other plans. He darted off towards someone that Panata had never seen, his actions apparently unprovoked, and Panata turned to run after him, calling out his name.
"Meisir, wait! Don't go over there!"
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Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 9:19 am
Jericho ducked expertly as a brown firelizard came streaking towards him, letting it sail right over him. He'd had quite a lot of practice with his mother's flit who would always fly at him, looking for a perch. It had a rather unfortunate liking for sitting on peoples heads, which was rather painful if one wasn't wearing a hat to protect them from it's little needle sharp claws. the man righted himself and watched in bemusement as the brown went to circle back around, but was distracted as someone nearby shouted, no doubt, at the firelizard. He looked around to see a boy, probably around 15 or 16, running towards him.
"Is he yours?" he asked the boy, nodding towards the brown flit with a rueful smile.
Jericho looked down at the much smaller boy and smiled at him, letting him know that he wasn't annoyed by the errant lizard, his white teeth making a stark contrast with his dark, tan skin. The boy before him was quite small, a little mousey, but seemed nice enough at first look. Was he a weyrling, perhaps? Or another candidate, like Jericho? Only one way to find out.
"I'm Jericho." he said with another smile, offering him a hand "I'm one of the new candidates, just arrived a few minuets ago, actually."
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Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 3:16 pm
Panata gave a whistle after Meisir took a dive at this new gentleman, the tone long and harsh, causing the brown to give a small bugle and promptly go between for a moment. He reappeared at Panata's side before landing on the boy's shoulder, claws digging into flesh that seemed overly used to the touch of something sharp. He didn't wince or flinch, instead he started walking towards the man who called out to him with a question and then gave a name.
". . . . Yes, he's mine. Meisir."
The boy didn't give his own name right off, instead giving the name of his brown instead. He hadn't been asked his own name and his manners told him there wasn't a need to give it unless someone wanted to know, since perhaps this meeting would be brief and exchanges were not needed. Still, it would be beyond rude of him to not smile and acknowledge the person before him. . . who seemed to tower over Panata's small frame. The little blond first thought this youth was a grown man, a bear of one at that, considering there was a good foot of height over one another and he looked so much more adult, so when he'd said 'candidate' the smaller youth was slightly taken aback.
"Candidate? Ah, I see. It's a pleasure to meet you then, I am a Candidate as well. My name is.. . . Panata."
He'd given his name after all, oh well. Some habits were hard to break, even with him trying to be slightly tougher in the long run.
"The closest hatching is a while away, so why did you come now?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 4:10 pm
Jericho wondered for a moment whether the boy's name was Meisir, or if it was that of his Firelizard's. Luckily, it was soon clarified, and Jericho chuckled quietly when the boy almost jumped in surprise when he announced that he was a candidate.
"It's nice to meet you." the man said as the boy finally gave his own name. So, he was a candidate as well? Jericho knew that most candidates were quite young, and that he was rather on the older side of the line that was drawn when it came to impressing dragons, but he hoped that wouldn't impede him when it came to impressing. He could hope, right?
"Well, the riders were on search and so I just left with them the same day instead of coming later...Just needed a change of scene I guess..." Jericho said with a slight shrug of his shoulders. It was true. He had been more than happy to get out from under his father's controlling thumb, even if it did mean leaving behind his craft, and the work he loved.
Jericho pondered on how to phrase his next question. He didn't want to sound rude when he asked the same question of the boy. after all, if he was asking why Jer was there so early, that rather implied that he'd been there awhile yet. He knew that there had been a hatching recently so...really, he must be one of the candidates who did not impress a dragonet. In the end, the man decided it would just be better not to ask. He was nowhere near socially apt enough to phrase such a question without sounding like a complete jerk. So he wouldn't.
He settled on a safer question "where did you come by your fire lizard?" he asked with polite interest. Certainly that was safe enough ground. Most boys his age didn't have flits, after all. Normally they were gifted as a reward, as the eggs were few and far between enough that not everyone had one. He must have done something to earn it.
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Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2010 8:52 am
"Ah well, that was rude of me to ask it that way, and I'm sorry. Welcome to the Weyr."
Panata frowned a little at how he thought he must have sounded, quite rude and almost accusatory. This person had come here with the same dreams at the little blond possessed so Panata had no right to ask anything of him. Perhaps though this would mean luck on his side, a new person indicated he hadn't been there during the last hatching and witnessed his...ordeal.
Still, time to move the conversation along. Apologizes had been issued and he'd bowed his head, so there was no need to linger on that specific topic.
"Meisir was a gift to me during the time at the Crafthall. My parents wanted to reward me for picking a future profession, so they gave me his egg for my fifteenth turn anniversary. That makes him a little under a turn old, but sometimes he still acts as though he is fresh from his shell. I had hoped we were better connected than this, he seemed so well behaved before we came to the Weyr."
It wasn't that Meisir was a bad flit, it was more or less he had a lot more stimulation at the Weyr than he had possessed at the Crafthall. There were almost twice as many people, not to mention at least a third more in the number of flits. Panata hadn't factored in all the dragons as well into his little brown's behaviour, but it wasn't as though he was upset with how Meisir was acting. He more or less was getting used to it, albeit rapidly.
"It makes me wonder what would happen were I ever to get a dragon...though that seems rather unlikely."
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Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2010 11:45 am
"Well," Jericho said thoughtfully, after waving off the boy's apologies "Maybe having a dragon would make him calmer? At the very least a dragon could make him calm down." he mused. He looked at the boy before him, knowing that he must be bothered by the fact that he hadn't impressed previously, judging by the tone of his voice. He couldn't be blamed though, that feeling of being unworthy or someone or something...it was always a bitter sensation. "Well, you stand as good a chance as anyone out there on the sands. It's all a matter of finding the right dragon, or so I've heard. Sometimes it just takes a little longer for you to find your match."
The man turned his attention to the Weyr bowl around him, taking in his surroundings.
"Is that a lake?" he asked in mild surprise, pointing in the general direction of the lake where the dragons bathed. He had hardly noticed a thing while he had been up in the air. He had been far to busy shivering in his wher hide boots after the cold of between, a new sensation for him.
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Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2010 12:54 pm
"Oh there? Yes, that's Faseth's Lake. Legend has it the body of that Bronze is still floating beneath the water's surface, though I'm not sure if I believe it. Some of the other candidates who grew up here won't tell me a direct answer, so I have to believe something on my own."
He sounded like he knew what he was talking about, but in reality Panata had no idea. He'd only been to the lake a few times since his own arrival, and even then no one really talked about that water and what was or was not inside of it. His memories of the discussions they shared were vague at best, so it wouldn't be prudent to bring anything else up into the conversation.
"It's probably frozen over now, but would you like to go look at it? I've never been here during the winter, and there weren't any lakes at the Hold or Crafthall. While I may be used to the cold I must admit that there are many things about it that I still don't know about."
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Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2010 4:31 pm
"Interesting." Jericho said, bemused at the idea. Somehow he sincerely doubted that the people of the Weyr would have allowed a dragon's bones to remain at the bottom of a lake. Still, an interesting tale all the same.
"Sure, lets go." He said with a smile at the younger man and set off towards the distant shimmer of the lake where it lay on the opposite side of the bowl. "Do people ice skate here?" he asked curiously. There weren't any large lakes around his home hold, where it sat on the coast, so he had never had a chance to try. The harper that lived at Tillek, though had told the children about it. It was supposedly pretty fun.
"I've never been able to try at home, the ocean never freezes over there." he remarked. "Best we got was sliding over frozen puddles in our boots."
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Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2010 5:59 pm
Meisir snuggled close to Panata as the boy moved to follow the taller man, the blond having to take several strides to keep up with just one of Jericho's own. He felt a little silly, like he was toddling after his older brother again, though instead of making him miss home it merely made him smile for now. His family would be fine back at the Hold without him, as he now belonged here at the Weyr.
"Ice skating? You mean actually moving around on top of the ice?"
Panata's voice sounded rather surprised, he'd never thought of doing something like that before. He'd heard many a horror story of someone who had stepped on ice only to fall through and drown, their cold bodies pulled out perhaps during the spring seasons, so why would anyone actually want to do it without being dared? That baffled him.
"Why would you want to do that? Isn't it dangerous, and can't you get seriously injured? How would you even go about trying to do something like that? Surely you can't progress at all with just your boots, you'd slide like you said. Is that skating?"
Right away the questions started to pour out, the youth's face holding a puzzled expression and his mind obviously thinking hard enough that his little brown flit chirped from his resting location.
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Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2010 6:22 pm
Jericho flashed the boy a grin as he suddenly erupted into a flurry of questions. He had been so withdrawn before, and quiet, that it made for a rather sudden, though nice, change. Despite his previously quiet disposition, Panata seemed to be just as curious as most boys his age.
"Well, its hard to skate with your boots on, but our Harper said that in some of the colder holds where it gets cold enough to make the lakes freeze into a thick sheet of ice, they put thin bits of metal on the bottom of pieces of wood and strap them to their feet and skate that way. Apparently you can go pretty fast." he remarked thoughtfully. "Never tried myself." Jer admitted. "Sounds like fun though."
By that time, they had arrived at the edge of the lake, and he was disappointed to see that there was only patchy ice on the surface, not even covering the entire lake, let alone thick enough to walk or skate on. He figured that unless it got really cold, it probably would freeze over all the way, what with the dragons constantly coming and going from it.
"Ah, that's too bad." he murmured as he looked out at the water thoughtfully. He knelt down and inspected the ground at his feet, sorting through a few rocks he found one that was apparently to his taste and stood up once more. Taking it in one hand, he tossed it at the lake with a deft flick of his wrist, sending it skipping across the surface of the water, managing a good five skips before it finally sunk into the watery depths.
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Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2010 6:46 pm
"I take it the ice isn't think enough for what you want to do? I've never heard anyone here talk about it freezing all the way over, but this is also my first winter here."
Panata had been nodding and listening to what Jericho had to say the whole time they were walking again, eagerly absorbing any bit of information this new person had to say. It was interesting to learn new things everyday, and since this person here obviously had more knowledge on something Panata had never even heard about before, he was fascinated.
"I wonder if it will get cold enough here. We're still early into the winter season, and I do remember the buckets and objects from before at the Hold and Hall were always frozen over if we left water in them the later it got into the months."
Meisir peeked his head out from where it had been resting against Panata's neckline, the Brown finding that residence there was best against the slight chill that was starting to flux the air. He watched as the rock skipped against the water before he let out a little bugle, probably amused. Panata was having a hard time telling these days.
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Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2010 6:57 pm
"No, but maybe that's for the best. I'd probably fall and break my neck." he said with a chuckle as he knelt down to find another stone to skip. "It probably won't freeze over all the way, since there are dragons coming and going constantly to bathe. It wouldn't have a chance." he went quiet a moment as he selected another rock "Granted, I don't envy them having to bathe in such cold water."
He threw the rock and it skipped sixe times before sinking to join its comrade at the bottom of the lake. Jericho looked over at Panata as he spoke "Do you know how to skip rocks?"
He bent down and grabbed two more flat stones, offering one to the boy in invitation to join him in the activity.
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Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 11:15 am
"If you were to get hurt, let me tell you that the Healers here are wonderful people. They're also very skilled, so you'd probably come out better than you went in...if it didn't kill you."
Panata smiled and watched as the rocks were being skipped, actually not quite that interested in such a thing. The only think Panata liked rocks for leaned toward grinding, and he found it odd that he hadn't even thought about working back with bellows and pestles in a geed sevenday or so. He wasn't going to refuse a stone when offered though, since he did want to see if all of his movement had come back like the Healers had said.
". . . .I've done it once or twice. I'm not very good."
'Not very good' meant that the rock Panata tried to skip didn't even make a single bounce.
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Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 11:28 am
"Well that's good to know." Jer said, bemused "If I feel the urge to break my neck any time soon, at least I'm in a good place to get fixed up again." he joked as he watched Panata wind up and throw the rock, only to have it fall with a plunk directly into the water.
"Here, try it like this." Jericho said with a smile, taking a rock and placing it in Pan's hand, showing him the best way to hold the stone "Then you just move your arm like this..." he said, doing a slow motion swing of his arm "and let it roll off your pointer finger, like so." Jericho threw for real this time, letting loose the stone he had picked up, and watched as it skipped a few times across the surface of the icy water before vanishing.
"Just takes a bit of practice, no worries if you don't get it the first few tries." Jericho said reassuringly with a grin. "Took me ages to learn."
The man turned his gaze towards the lake for a moment and watched as two dragons approached the opposite side of the lake and enter it with loud, protesting bugles. No doubt they were displeased by the rather shocking temperature of the water. The green and the blue wallowed as their riders looked on, and a few little waves reached them there on the other side, making the water the icy water lap around the toes of Jericho's boots as he looked on.
"Wow." he murmured, watching the dragons as they resurfaced from the water, soaked and much cleaner, their hides shining like emeralds and sapphires.
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