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 Posted: Mon Jul 19, 2010 2:58 pm
[ OOC Note: This is an open RP for the first two people who post. After that it'll become a PRP ]
It wasn't a rare sight to see the little black-haired girl out wandering the beaches, barefoot despite the sand. Kiipa frequently scoured the beaches for anything she could find; from pretty shells to abandoned flit nests, everything interested her. Today was no different than any other day. She'd dressed plainly, with rolled up shorts and a faded old shirt, and tied her hair up in its usual pigtails. While she'd started off with shoes, they'd quickly been tossed aside to lay haphazardly on a nearby rock. Shoes were the barrier between you and the natural environment and Kiipa wasn't going to stand for that. She would much rather have cuts and scrapes on the soles of her feet than never feel the sand.
As she strolled aimlessly down the little beach on the edge of the lake, she couldn't help but let her mind wander back to the touching. Two clutches! Would she Impress this time? At fourteen, she certainly wasn't on the upper age limit, but that didn't make Hatchings any less exciting. And this time she would get to see two! It was a pity that candidates weren’t supposed to touch the young dragons when they searched for Theirs. It was one of the few things that Kiipa could say she hadn't touched. But perhaps this time one would brush up against her and she could "accidentally" brush her fingers against it. It would even be worth getting mauled just to say she knew what hatchlings felt like.
The thought made her snort and shake her head. Scratch that, she didn't want to be mauled. If she got hurt bad enough she'd never be able to stand and she was far too young to end a promising career now! One day she'd Impress; she was certain! Kiipa paused when she caught sight of a particularly flat stone, bending down to pick it up. With a grin she turned her attention out to the water and skipped the stone across it.
One day.
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Posted: Mon Jul 19, 2010 3:37 pm
The Harper walked slowly along the shoreline, enjoying the feel of sand between his toes, and the kiss of a gentle breeze against his skin. Sandals and shirt had been shed some time ago, and taken back to his quarters by n** and Squeak. The blue and the green were close by again now, wheeling above him at play; they had done enough work for the day. Brown Eldest, however, was still very much on the job; somebody had to show him where he was going!
At the moment, however, Tor wasn't taking any input from the pale flitt. Sometimes... sometimes not seeing was good, it focused him on a performance, real or imagined. Right now he was singing under his breath, well, more muttering actually. Two clutches. He expected that most of the harpers at the Weyr were thinking up songs to mark the occasion, even those who - like himself - did not specialize in composition. It wasn't even just that, it was the presence of Benden... but it was too early to sing of that. Things needed to resolve themselves, the tale needed to finish before it could be recorded and transformed into art. He hoped it ended soon, the air of tension around the Weyr was really getting to him...
Eldest was giving him a very polite mental poke; something important must be happening. He signaled the brown to share what was going on in the world just in time to see a flat stone skipping across the water. Once that had plopped out of sight, the flitt turned his head to observe the girl who had thrown it: friend?
Not friend, Tor told his pet and guide, not known at all. He recognized her - he'd been here a bit more than two turns now so he recognized most permanent residents - but he'd never spoken to her; teaching the children of the Weyr wasn't part of his duties so he knew few of them... He was pretty sure she was a candidate, and reasonably sure that she was a weyrbrat. She did look quite young. What did she make of everything that was happening, he wondered?
"Hullo there," he called, continuing to walk towards the girl, "you got a good few hops out of that stone, I've never been good at that myself. My name is Tor, and this fellow on my shoulder is Eldest." He expected she recognized him, just as he recognized most of the Weyr's population he was recognized in return. Not that many people walked around with a scarf tied over their eyes, after all.
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Posted: Mon Jul 19, 2010 3:55 pm
Optheli had come down to the beach to hunt a flit clutch. She was fairly sure she wouldn't find one though. Everyone from the weyr must come down here on a regular basis. Still it doesn't hurt to look. She'd finished her chores for now so had taken the leisure time to do something she wanted. Maybe I'll find one for Sil too. She giggles at the thought of her brother with a flit.
Skipping and swinging her arms wide as the sand kicks up. Optheli was brought up short by seeing two people already on the beach. Oh dear, that probably meant there wasn't any flit clutches around. She looked closer and saw at least one of them had flits. Would they mind her being here? Her curiosity over the flits caused her to move a little bit closer to observe.
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Posted: Mon Jul 19, 2010 4:33 pm
The arrival of the Harper pulled Kiipa from her daydreams and she turned curious eyes towards him. His flit caught her attention first, instantly drawn to the mini dragon perched on his shoulder. Lucky! She'd lived here all her life and hadn't managed to snag herself a flit. Rumour had it that all of the older candidates snuck out of the dorms before dawn to check the beach and that was why there were none left. It was a pity, really, but she had to remind herself that she was only fourteen and just because she didn't have a flit now didn't mean she wouldn't be lucky enough to find one in the future. Still, she couldn't help but be a little jealous.
It was once she'd gotten over the flit that she realized the man had greeted her and she really ought to reply. Dragging her attention away from Eldest, she was surprised to find that the man was wearing a blindfold over his eyes. There was only one person she knew of who did that – he was kind of infamous, in a way – and without any warning she blurted, "You're that blind Harper!" The exclamation seemed devoid of any real negative emotion; rather, she seemed to just be stating a fact as it came to her mind. "You're not here to collect me for my lessons, are you? I already handed in my homework and it was the best I could do!" She folded her arms over her chest, clearly defensive.
Another girl only roused her suspicions further and with a scowl she demanded, "You didn't tell on me did you?" Optheli was definitely in the wrong place at the wrong time.
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Posted: Mon Jul 19, 2010 4:48 pm
Tor couldn't help a grimace. That blind harper. That was all he ever was, he was sure a lot of people thought it but he still hated it to be said... She was young. He shouldn't be harsh. That blind harper. "Yes. I suppose I am. I would thank you to call me Tor, it is my name after all... But I'm not here to get you for anything, I'm just out for a walk and..."
Who didn't tell on her?
n** flashed him an image; three figures standing in the sand by the water of the lake, see that on in the middle, that was Tor!
...Yes, thank you, Tor knew who Tor was.
Wishing he had eyes to roll, Tor turned his face to the newcomer. "Hello to you too," he said with a nod, still feeling too put out about the 'blind harper' comment to smile, "are you going to tell me your name, or are you as secretive as this other one? In case you didn't catch it, I'm Tor, not Blind Harper." Why could he never be more than that? He could almost wring the rude child's scrawny neck.
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Posted: Mon Jul 19, 2010 9:08 pm
Optheli blinks in utter surprise. She hadn't done anything but walk on the beach! "Excuse me? I don't even know who you are. Why would I tell on you? Unless of course you did something bad which is why your acting like you are." She looks the other girl up and down. Clearly a weyrbrat. 'Theli refrained from fingering her apprentice trader knots.
She gives a brief flush as the other greets her. From the girl's comments she knew he was blind and a harper. Though clearly he didn't appreciate being reminded that he was the former, so she was determined not to mention it. "I didn't mean to intrude. I liked your flit and was trying to admire him from afar. Mine's Optheli. It's nice to meet you."
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Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 4:13 pm
"I'm not secretive," Kiipa protested, planting a foot deeper in the sand as though that helped prove her point. "And you are a blind Harper so I don't see why I shouldn't say so. It's not like ignoring it is going to make it go away. But if you're not here to drag me back or get me into trouble then I suppose I can call you by your name, Harper Tor." She made sure to drag out his name much longer than it needed to be. Why did it bother him so much? It wasn't like it wasn't really, really obvious. He should accept his fame! "I'm Kiipa, just so you know. Does your flit like people?"
At least the other girl wasn't here to tell on her either, which meant that she could enjoy her beach trek. "Because some candidates are snitches and some just like getting other people in trouble, that's what. You don't look like a snitch but you could just be a nice girl someone roped into being a snitch. It happens sometimes." The Weyrbrat gave an easy shrug. "But it's okay that you're not. You're not a candidate, are you?" Kiipa twirled a pig tail around one finger as she studied the girl. Nope, she definitely didn't recognize this one from the lessons or the Touching. Shame.
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Posted: Thu Jul 22, 2010 8:21 am
Sensing their master's growing defensiveness, Squeak and n** appeared from between and landed side by side on his left shoulder. Neither of them knew what he was angry about, and neither did Eldest... Was it the strange people? Was that it? Dragons were cross about them, big Opeth was very cross, even for Opeth.
...No. It wasn't that, but given the circumstances he couldn't really afford to fly off the handle and cause an incident. Keep up a good face, don't show the Weyr up; who knew when Benden was watching, or why. It was the clutches they clustered around of course, but that didn't mean they didn't have other interests here too.
"Kiipa, Optheli," Tor let out a slow breath and nodded slightly. "They're all friendly," he went on, "the brown's Eldest, the blue n**, and the green Squeak. You can pet them if you like; n** and Squeak will hop onto your wrist if you hold it out but Eldest stays where he is..." Humm, not a candidate? Well, he didn't think he recognized her; perhaps she was a crafter's child, or a trader's.
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Posted: Thu Jul 22, 2010 3:50 pm
Optheli stands there for a moment. The girl could easily get on her nerves with that attitude. Maybe she has a reason. She did mention chores... she was trying to be charitable. "Well I'm not a candidate; I'm a trader.... well at least a trader apprentice. And I don't snitch unless there's a really good reason. I don't see anything wrong with a walk on the beach." She tries to give Kiipa a friendly smile. Maybe she just needed a friend.
She gasps softly as two more flits come to land on the young man. For a moment, 'Theli had a flash of jealousy. Her caravan didn't have many flits and she hardly got to see them. The fact this man had three.... and well he was harper, so she supposed it was understandable. Still she was jealous. Though the moment he said they were friendly and she could pet one it all but vanished.
"Thank you Harper Tor, that's very nice of you." She moves around to be included in the group of the other two. Standing just closer enough to be within arm's length reach of the harper. A wrist is shyly proffered to the blue and green, "I'd like to pet one if they don't mind."
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Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2010 6:06 pm
Had they been able, Kiipa's ears would have perked instantly when Tor said that his flits were friendly. Her opinion of the Harper only grew when he even said that she could pet one provided it flew to her outstretched arm. Grinning widely, the candidate did as she was instructed, holding out an arm in the hopes that one of his two "extra" flits would make their way over.
"There always seem to be so many of them flying around but no eggs. A couple of Weyrbrats have them though." She asked as she waited, eyes darting between the flits as though trying to suss out which was more likely to come and visit her. "Did you get yours as eggs? I've been trying to find them on the beach but I haven't been able to." Judging by the tone of her voice this was clearly terrible.
Optheli proved herself interesting when she declared she was a trader and Kiipa let her attention slide back to the other girl. "A Trader? Really? So you've been to like all of Pern then? What's it like?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 2:47 am
Squeak gave a characteristic cheep and fluttered over to Optheli, while n** cooed softly and hopped onto Kiipa's wrist. "I did get them as eggs, yes," Tor smiled at Kiipa, his annoyance with her fading away as he was given the chance to talk about his beloved pets. "I got Eldest and n** about two turns ago now, Squeak over there is only just a month old..."
Trading. Not the life for him, he knew the realities of traveling long distances over land, but before he had experienced it, he had always thought the life of a wandering merchant was quite exciting, oddly romantic even. "Trading has always sounded interesting to me," he went on, turning to Optheli, "it must be hard though. I can't imagine traveling every day, never being settled... Still, perhaps living in one place for a long time seems dull to you? I suppose it's a matter of your personal preferences, and how you were raised."
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Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2010 4:44 pm
She was trying to hold absolutely still, so as not to frighten the flits, which was difficult on the shifting sand under her shoes. She gives a soft friendly laugh as Kiipa's presumption. "Well, not quite all over Pern. We're traders specific to Trine and its holds. It's wonderful and scary. We get to see all the different places. My favorite is meeting the people. But we also have to be careful. The caravan has been attacked before; that's why we have whers with us."
Optheli gave a small gasp as green flit alighted on her wrist. "She's so sweet Tor." Gingerly she reached up to rub eyeridges. For a moment a flicker of jealousy crossed her face. With her apprentice status she'd never get a flit for herself. Still it raised her spirits that the harper was willing to share his, if however briefly. "Oh, I guess trading is ok. My brother is really good at it."
She gives Tor a soft smile. "It's not that bad, really. We travel everyday, but we're a family. We take care of each other. Honestly, I don't see that we differ all that much from people in the holds." An infectious giggle, "we're just like a... a mobile hold. I think you're right. Seeing the same people, doing the same things, over and over, day after day." Optheli shakes her head. "I'm not sure I could do that."
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Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2010 11:15 am
The Weyrbrat couldn't help but grin at the feeling of a firelizard on her wrist. Careful so as not to upset the creature she ran two fingers down his head and along his back, grinning wider at the feeling of his hide under her fingers. It was the closest she'd ever been to a flit and she was going to take advantage of every moment. "He looks just like a miniature dragon! Such a pretty blue…" She continued to stroke him, momentarily mesmerized by the little flit.
She was snapped back to reality when the talk turned to trading. Had she been able to her ears would have perked at the mention of the adventures it held. "I've never been anywhere but here," Kiipa admitted as she idly stroked n**. "Have you met any Holdless? I heard they were dangerous with peg legs and one eye and all kinds of brutal scars." Clearly somebody had been listening to a drunk Harper far too closely. "And you have whers? Really? What are they like? Have you ever seen a wher, Harper Tor? Er, I guess I mean, have you ever uh…" She waved her hand in a frustrated gesture. "Touched one. Felt one. I don't know. You know what I mean."
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Posted: Mon Oct 18, 2010 5:38 am
Holdless.
Just naming them was enough to make him shiver, enough too to make all of his firelizards glance at him and cheep in a concerned manner. He could remember it as vividly as though it had happened yesterday. The last time he'd seen with his own eyes. The sound a man made when a knife was driven into his back. The blood...
"...What?" Whers? Tor shook himself back to reality with an effort of will, and tried to regain his composure. It had been a long time ago now. It was passed. "No I've... Well I've seen whers, but I've never touched one."
Eldest, still perched on his master's shoulder, gave a deep croon and nuzzled his face. He wasn't sure what was the matter, but it would get better, he would make sure it did by... by... Well, he'd make sure of it. He'd be here.
Smiling weakly, the harper reached up to stroke his small companion. It was alright. He'd be fine, because Eldest was here; good flitt.
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Posted: Mon Oct 18, 2010 3:27 pm
Optheli had to consider the girl's questions seriously. "A lot of people I've met have never left their hold." She hoped it sounded reassuring. "You mean actual Holdless. Yes, some have tried to attack and some have just wanted to trade with us. I feel I should mention that most of them don't have peg legs and they have both their eyes. Some have scars, but you or I could easily get scared too. Does that make us holdless?" She asked the girl trying to be reasonable. Not all holdless were bad, and Optheli felt she help their image just a little.
She took a deep breath. "Also, traders like my brother and me are counted as holdless too. We don't belong to any one hold. No one in our caravan has peg legs or just one eye either." She smiled when talk turned to whers. "We've a couple. One blue belongs to my friend Relys. Their both really nice. And Relysk lets the kids climb on him sometimes. They protect us very well."
'Theli glanced at the flit on her arm as she cheeped worriedly. She glanced at the harper and wondered. Something seemed to upset him. "Sometimes Relys can get his wher to accept a petting from strangers if you bring a piece of meat for him." Was he afraid of whers? Sometimes there was good reason for that. She knew some hold whers were quite mean.
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