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 Posted: Wed Feb 10, 2010 4:05 pm
Lelia loved her flits. Very, very much. They were small and cute and good listeners, most of the time. Now was not one of those times. Zev, the little demon that he was, had perched his brown butt up on a kitchen shelf that Lelia could not reach. Now, this wasn't a big deal, he wasn't getting in the way of Lelia's working or anything, except he had that look. Lelia knew that look, the way he shifted a little in place, the way his eyes whirled so blue. He had stolen something, again. "Zev, come here," she requested, standing on tip-toe to stare at him. She was trying to be quite. It wouldn't be very good if people knew just how much trouble he got into. His habits were already infamous enough; she didn't want to be bothered any more about her firelizards poor manners.
She'd been told before that he needed to be trained, and she'd tried! He was actually fairly decent at following commands, when he wasn't distracted by someone or something. Clever little guy that he was, he had even been sure to choose a resting spot that he knew Lelia wasn't tall enough to reach. Curses, weren't firelizards supposed to be stupid? Lelia sometimes wished Zevran were a little less clever. He was impossibly difficult.
"Zev, please come down. I'll trade you a snack for your treasure," she reasoned, sending him mental images as she tried to entice him. He would have none of it. He chirped amiably, and scooted to see her a little better, but he was adamant about holding onto his treasure. It was a nice, shiny thing, a perfect gift for any female. Zevran did have a fondness for the ladies; and what better way to earn their approval than to give them nice things? His simply didn't understand.
Lelia looked around, to make sure no one was watching her. The kitchen was busy, thankfully, and no one seemed to notice what she was doing, at least at a glance. She hoped to resolve the issue quickly, so as not to get into trouble for not attending to her chores. She was supposed to be helping prepared dinner right now, and she didn't fancy getting a lecture from anyone. "Zev get down here!" she commanded in a hushed voice. No luck, Zev didn't budge. Lelia sighed. She loved her firelizards. Very, very much.
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Posted: Wed Feb 10, 2010 4:15 pm
The hustle and bustle of the kitchen was welcome; kneading dough and slicing vegetables as was required of her kept her mind off other things. At the moment she was dividing her attention between a batch of rising dough, and a large kettle of klah. The latter had just taken quite a hit - a wing had come in from drilling - and so she moved across the kitchen to fetch fresh water to replenish it. This done, she padded off in search of the large box that the raw bark was kept in, trying to think only of the stimulating drinks she was to create...
But then she spotted a brown flitt on a high up shelf and smiled a little, then turning to its mistress. "Hey Lelia, is Zevran playing up again?" She knew the girl only in passing, but she'd seen her around a little more now that they were both standing for this clutch. She supposed she ought to see the other weyrbrat as a rival, but there was really no point in that. As everyone said again and again, it was the dragons that chose. Getting worked up about the other people who would be on the sands was silly in the end, not that it mattered to quite a few girls in the dorm of course. The atmosphere was getting tenser by the day, and it wasn't helped by everything else that was happening. The sooner those eggs hatched the better.
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Posted: Wed Feb 10, 2010 5:15 pm
When Lelia heard footsteps behind her, heard a voice, she felt herself tense. Once she recognized the speaker, however, she relaxed greatly. "Unfortunately yes," she admitted sheepishly, fingering with one hand the end of her braid. Not that she knew her well, but Lelia had a pleasant impression of Layla. Telgar was full of so many girls anxious about the hatching that one couldn't spread their arms without hitting a few. Understandable, seeing as there was a gold egg on the sands and that gave the girls a chance to impress but...Lelia wasn't too keen on all of the hostility. Why people got so worked up about something like that she couldn't say. In her opinion, they should be thankful for getting to stand in the first place! But that was beside the point. Layla was sweet and unassuming, and that was refreshing in a time like this.
"I'm afraid he's lifted something and he won't show me what it is, much less give it to me," she explained, casting Zev a glance, as if she stared at him enough, he would give it back. If only. "I think he gives them to his lady friends, and then I never see them again," she continued, making clear just what the hold-up was. It would be fine if he returned things, but the things Zev 'borrowed' had a handy way of staying that way. Lelia'd given up on the idea of owning any sort of jewelry or trinket.
"Not to infringe on your time, I'm sure you're very busy, but...perhaps you could ask him to come down? Ask to see his shiny? He expects me to take his things away by now, but maybe he'll be a little more naive with you." she requested, politely. She wanted to get back to work, idling would allow her mind to wander, and she really didn't want that right now. Boys and Dragon Eggs were not good things to have on the mind if you wanted to relax.
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Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2010 4:33 am
Layla gave a lopsided smile and shook her head. "Silly boy," she looked up at the flitt, unable to be annoyed at his antics; really firelizards were to sweet to get really cross with. It would be nice to have one of her own, but she had to admit to being a bit worried that it would turn out to be more trouble than Zevran was. How did you train them to behave well anyway? She knew that they sort of thought in pictures... so you had to picture them in trouble if they didn't obey you? What if they didn't care, what if they valued what they had or were doing over avoiding a scolding?...
Speaking of, or thinking of at least, she nodded to Lelia's request with a smile. "Sure, I'll give it a try... Zevran?" she tried to address the brown flitt with the idea of him paying attention to her as well as the words. "Could you come down here to me please? Can I see the shiny you have?" Right so... picture of him coming down to land on her arm - she extended her arm - and picture of him letting her see whatever it was he was hiding. She really was very interested to know what he had there; was it pretty?
Having done her best to get through to the mischievous little creature, she shot a hopeful smile over at Lelia and waited to see what Zevran would do.
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Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2010 9:01 am
Lelia recognized that her firelizards weren't the best behaved creatures in the world, but like Layla, found them too endearing to be truly obnoxious. Sure, they were annoying sometimes, but they were also wonderful friends and companions, even if they were of limited intellect. Lelia had tried, very much so, to train her firelizards. Unfortunately, Zevran was easily distracted by the ladies and the shinies, and Shayle, well...Shayle was dumb as bricks. Oh well.
Zevran perked up when Layla adressed him. Ooh, look at this! A girl, and a pretty one, giving him attention. He checked his shiny, and then looked at her. Would she be happy with him, if he showed her his shiny? He decided so, and dropped off his ledge, flapping only once or twice to slow his descent, and delicately landed on her arm, keeping his wings out for balance so that he didn't have to dig his claws in. He didn't want to injure Layla in any way, she was a lady, after all. His prize, formerly clutched in his forearms, was extended to her, and he chirped happily, wondering just what she thought of it. It was nice, yes?
Lelia's smile in Layla's direction grew larger when Zevran gave in to his desire to impress Layla, and he flew down to show off what he had. Lelia's mouth formed a little 'o', however, when she saw what he had. "Zev, where on Pern did you get that!? That's valuable," she questioned, refraining from scolding him. It wasn't really his fault, he didn't know better, but where on Pern did he find something like that? For in his little hands, Zevran clutched a rather large gold ring, with an impressive blue stone set in it. Oh dear. Hopefully she could find its rightful owner before they came looking for it and discovered the thief.
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Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2010 12:56 pm
That was... a very impressive shiny. Layla shared this thought with the brown firelizard right away; she didn't think she'd ever seen such a high quality piece up close. She'd dreamed about jewels like that when she'd been a little girl, along with lovely gowns, and a lovely man to dance the night away with... Alright, if she was totally honest she still dreamed about those things, but as she'd grown the fantasies had become more centered on the man and less on the trappings. He'd be quite tall but not towering, fit but not bulky, kind, gentle, with a wonderful sense of humor, and handsome if at all possible as well...
Back to reality, where by the first egg had Zevran found it? She echoed Lelia's question to the flitt, a thought of the ring and then a feeling of question. She had no idea where she'd ever find something like that, where had it come from? "I hope it had been lost and he just found it," she said aloud, peering more closely at the ring. "If he took it from somebody... that would be bad." Very bad indeed, and Leila would probably get the blame for not controlling her pet! Oh dear, she did hope that the ring had been lost, preferably for some time so that the flitt couldn't be accused of taking it even if he was innocent. A treasure lost of decades maybe, now found by chance, and soon to be returned to its rightful owner. Lelia would be praised, and Zevran would get a treat. A happy ending, if that was the case. If not, all of this could turn into a horror story.
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Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2010 1:19 pm
Under scrutiny from both Lelia and Layla, Zevran fidgeted in place, shifting his weight from foot to foot. What was wrong, didn't they like his shiny? No, they were telling him they did. In fact, Zev got the feeling that His liked the shiny a lot. Was that a tady streak of envy he felt? He didn't know, but why were they so concerned? Normally his gave him a half hearted scolding and took it from him, but this much attention, and he had yet to receive a scolding? This confused the little brown. They wanted to know where he'd gotten it? He tried to rember, but the happiness, the joy of finding the shiny eclipsed where he'd actually found it. Or did it? He thought harder. It had been...on a desk? On a shelf? Something like that. He hadn't taken it from someone's person, that much he could remember; if solely for the fact that it was very hard to take someone's ring while they were still wearing it. He sent this vague idea to both His and Layla, and hoped that he had done well. While decidedly clever for a flit, there was a limit to his intelligence.
Layla sighed, and rubbed her temple with her index finger and thumb. Not one to get upset easily, she tried to think the situation through instead. It had been on a desk or shelf? Well, that could be pretty much anyone's, but for convenience sake, Lelia decided to rule out candidates, and the Weyr had no weyrlings, for now, so that meant it was most likely a riders? It was possible it was a weyrworkers ring too, but...it seemed more likely to be the former. She considered pressing Zev for more info, but it didn't seem likely to help. The riders weyrs pretty much looked the same from the inside, so it was unlikely that he would be able to give them any information that would help them distinguish just whose it was.
'Well, in order of likelihood, it's probably a rider's, then a weyrworker's, and then a candidate's," she mused outloud, looking up at the ceiling as she thought. "I don't suppose you know any dragonriders?" she questioned with a sheepish smile. "Anyone we could ask, if they recognized it?"
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Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2010 1:52 pm
Well, he'd tried to remember for them, and for that Layla sent the flitt a feeling of thanks; they'd try to work it out from there... A shelf or desk or something. He had taken it from someone, they'd probably be missing it already, a piece like that. "I don't, no," Layla bit her lip and shook her head. "A ring like this... I think it must either be an heirloom, or belong to a rider of some rank. A normal wingrider wouldn't be able to afford to buy this... though it could have been won or something?" If it was an heirloom or won, it could belong to nearly anyone. For now, though, best to assume a rider, it was the most likely.
"Maybe you should turn it in to somebody," Layla suggested, peering closer at the ring. "Maybe to a wingleader, or even take it to the headwoman's quarters? They'd be able to put out word that it's been found... Or they're who somebody who's lost something valuable might go to?" Maybe if she turned it in quickly, Leila wouldn't be in trouble. Sure she'd be the owner of a very unruly flitt, but at least she'd be seen to be dealing with it responsibly.
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Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2010 2:05 pm
"That's sound advice, Layla," Lelia complimented, smiling at her companion. "I think I'll take it to the headwoman. She seems like the best option, and she's dealt with stuff like this, I'm sure. Zevran is far from the only flit with quick fingers," she reasoned. Besides, did she even have to mention Zevran. Couldn't she just say she'd 'found' the ring and wanted to turn it in, because it seemed valuable and it seemed a shame for someone to lose a ring like that? Norra was a motherly, caring person, and Lelia was confident that, if she played up her girlishness and innocence, she could get away with few questions asked. Or, perhaps, she could just leave the ring someplace where Norra or some other high up would find it? That seemed the best idea. That way no one would get in trouble.
"That'll be easy, and no worries of getting in trouble," she assured, because she was getting hints from Lalya that she was a little anxious, or something of the sort. "Everything'll work out," she added, smiling at Layla in what she hoped was a confidence-boosting manner. She extended a hand, onto which Zevran hopped, happily. In a practiced movement, Lelia's other hand came up and snatched the ring from Zev's grasp, before he had a chance to even realize what was happening. Lelia had a lot of experiencing at getting things from him; this sort of thing happened far more often than she would have liked.
Zevran wasn't down about it though. Much like his, he was fairly laid-back, and hard to upset. His had taken the shiny, which was sad, but...he would get something else; and then His would take it again, in a never-ending cycle. This was life to Zev, and he wanted it no other way.
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Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2010 2:16 pm
"Yea, it'll all be okay..." It wouldn't. Oh, this ring thing probably would be, but everything else? It was all just getting too much. Wondering if she would find her dragon or be left standing. Wondering what challenges would face her if she did Impress. Wondering if the plague would come to Telgar, and make all her other worries into nothing as people dropped like flies.
"So, err, do you want to do that now, or later on? I could come with you later but I shouldn't leave in the middle of a shift..." Oh yes, she'd been coming to get bark for the klah. Still, it would keep for a while, it wasn't like anything was going to burn or explode without her watching over it every moment, and there were other kettles of klah if thirsty riders came along before hers was read again.
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Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2010 2:29 pm
Lelia held her hand up and Zevran hopped from arm to shoulder, quickly nestling himself against His and curling his tail about her neck in a well practiced motion. This was where he liked to relax when he wasn't getting into trouble. Lelia's attention was not on Zev, however, but on Layla. Highly empathic, she couldn't help but notice the way she allowed her sentences to trail off. Was something bothering her, was she worried about the ring? Lelia felt a little guilty for having dragged her into it. She clapped her hand on Layla's shoulder and looked her dead in the eye. "Hey. It's okay. The problem's as good as solved, thanks to your expert advice," she smiled, and removed her hand from Layla's shoulder. Hopefully she was okay with being touched, Lelia had encountered people before that didn't take so kindly to her physically affection nature.
"Don't go worrying yourself about my problem, really, I'll take care of it," she said as she pocketed the ring. "I'll get to it after work, no problem; with luck, any working person won't have notticed its absence yet. I'm sure we'll be fine; but I'd love your company for when I do drop it off, I find your pleasantness a nice change of pace," she complimented, hoping that that would make Layla at least a little happier.
"Now, what were you doing? After having robbed you of these minutes, I feel its only fair if I help you out until I've paid off my time debt," she decided, eyes pouring over Layla's face, as if she could find the answer to her question there. Never mind her own work, she would get to that afterwards. It was only fair if she helped Layla out first.
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Posted: Sun Feb 14, 2010 4:49 am
"Sure," Layla nodded and twitched her lips into a faint smile for a moment, "I'd be happy to come along, give me something to do before my next chore... Anyway," she nodded, "I was coming over to get more bark for the kettle of klah I'm watching... It's not exactly a two person job I'm afraid," she managed a genuine grin as she imagined them carrying a measure of bark together as if it weighed as much as a herdbeast, "but you can come talk to me over by my work area for a bit if you want... Oh, and could you put the lid back on the box when I've got the bark please?"
As she spoke, Layla opened the large box of klah bark, took a measure of it - a double handful for the size of kettle she had - and carried it over to the steaming kettle. Dumping it in and dusting off her hands, she reached for a long wooden spoon and began to stir.
"So... tell me," she looked back over at Lelia with another slight smile, "are you standing for this hatching?" Always a good fall back, talk about the eggs.
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Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 7:25 pm
"I'd be glad to have your company. Things are always more fun when you do them with other people," she said, following Layla on her way to the Klah box. She did as she was told and closed the lid after Layla finished, then turned and followed her back to the kettle. She watched her stir it for a moment, and almost didn't notice when Layla spoke. Oh, eggs? Familar, if generic topic. Layla was fairly comfortable with it though, having gone over it so many times.
"I'll stand at any chance I get. I'm just glad there's a gold egg now, so I can have a fair chance down on the sands. It's frustrating that I only get to stand every so often, when one of the queens lays another gold but...I'm thankful that at least we have our new Weyrwoman. Things were tense for a while," she noted, on a similar subject.
"But yes, I'm going to stand. I'll impress any dragon that would cast a glance my way, it just seems so exciting, don't you think?" Lelia questioned, becoming a little glassy eyed as she disappeared into thought. Oh, to impress would be so lovely...Lelia kept to herself, however, the fact that she wanted to impress blue. She didn't know what Lelia's opinions were on the matter, so she kept that to herself. It would stay her relative secret, for now.
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Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2010 6:47 am
Layla took a deep breath of klah-scented air and closed her eyes, allowing her spirits to rise with the steam for a moment, and imagining that in a turn or so she might be rising into the skies with her lifemate... Opening her eyes again, she came back to Pern with a painful thump of her heart. Why should any dragon want her?
"Yes..." Layla sighed wistfully and gave the klah another stir. "This is the first time I've been old enough to stand with a gold egg out there... I've wanted to before but it's not really... well... it's not supposed to be our place, right? I'd love to Impress any dragon," she went on, lowering her voice somewhat so as not to be overheard by the other kitchen workers. "I don't know if I could manage the stress of Impressing a green or a blue... but I don't know if I could manage the stress of Impressing the queen either. All I can do is try, whatever the outcome... all I can do is hope that one of them wants me." Shards, she'd even be happy with a brown if one wanted her! She knew it was pretty well impossible given her preferences and her manner but if it happened... she'd be forced to leave the Weyr, but at least she'd have her lifemate beside her. Maybe Yulu and some of her other friends would come with her, and they'd start a new life in a new Weyr and... It wouldn't happen. Silly of her to even consider it.
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