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 Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 2:57 pm
It was nearly impossible for Dezima not to feel any sort of excitement with the clutch on the sands. And the eggs! They were so huge! She had stolen a quick glance once or twice now before heading to chores or lessons. The current gossip was that Yirath's eggs were the largest in a long while of any of the Weyrs. Haha! How cool was that? And, rumor had it, the Queen egg alone was possibly as large as the one from old Harper tales. That was going to be one gimassively large Queen dragon! Soooo awesome.
Yeah, Dezima was totally excited.
Plus, clutch on the sands meant there was going to be a Touching and a Hatching soon. Oh shards she hoped she could Impress to a dragon! It would be such an amazing and fantastic thing. She always loved hearing of the close bonds formed between dragon and rider. And of the elation that one feels from flying on dragonback....! Dezima couldn't wait for the Touching and the Hatching that would follow. The Touching alone should be full of awe. She really wanted to get up close to the eggs and see just how big they were.
Unfortunately, she would have to learn patience as the egg shells were still hardening. And one of those 'ways of learning patience' was lessons. Not just any lessons though. These were actually lessons that, on occasion, she enjoyed. Harness maintenance. Something all prospective riders should learn. And, Dezima had to admit she did find it relaxing at times.
Slipping into the large room, Dezima inched towards the back of the other candidates already here, taking a seat and petting the flitter that sat on her shoulder. Mal had been on good behavior today. She hadn't flown after anything new and interesting or tried to weasel her way into overcrowded shelves. But it was still only morning-ish. There was a whole day to go for her to get into some mischief. Dezima just hoped they could go exploring later. She also hoped Mal didn't chew on the leather she was given to work with today.
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Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2011 1:59 am
Excitement was the direct opposite of what Brynja was feeling, which was utter, complete, and devastating boredom. About two minutes in, her mind had already slipped away into a daydream, idly fiddling with a few of the braids that hung around her head. The last few days had proved her utter inability to sit still and pay attention for more then a few minutes at a time - the words were washing over her and not penetrating at all. It wasn't that it wasn't important or that she didn't care... it was just really, really dull. She'd prefer to be out somewhere doing something - no matter how much she tried, she couldn't pay attention to this... but then, she hadn't sat still this long since she'd left harper lessons as a child.
The candidate was idly fantasising about what it would be like to actually impress a dragon when Dezima slid into the seat next to her, startling her from her reverie, and completely distracting whatever remaining attention she'd been paying. Eee, a firelizard! Oh, she was adorable - Brynja was half-tempted to try and tempt the flitter over to her, because they were lovely creatures. She didn't recognise the other candidate (unsurprising, considering she'd only been here a few days), but that just meant she got to meet someone new. Which was exciting. It was exciting, right? Yes. Yes, it was exciting! More so then harness maintenance, anyway, and she would latch onto anything that wasn't that.
"Hi!" she said, only just remembering to keep her voice to a low whisper so as not to attract attention. "I'm Brynja - what's your firelizard's name? She's gorgeous"
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Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2011 11:05 pm
It was probably a good thing this was one of the few lessons she could semi-get away with not paying attention in. Dezima knew a good portion of what their 'teacher' was attempting to teach the candidates. One of the perks to being Weyrbred, she supposed. Not that she really thought much on this. Nor did she care much on who her parents were - which she didn't know. In fact, her mind was already elsewhere (still on the eggs and faintly wondering what she would do after this lesson). So when the girl next to her spoke up, it took Dezima a full minute to realize she was talking to her.
"Huh...? Oh! OH!" She winced when the last was said slightly above a whisper. Thankfully, only a few heads turned her way. Really, most of the candidates around her (and the candidate master for that matter) were used to her. Or so she told herself.
"Hi!" Dezima whispered back, Mal chirping curiously at the new-person! The green readjusted herself so she could see new-person better. "I'm Dezima. Call me Dezi, if you like. Or...whatever." She grinned at the girl - Brynja. "Oh, Mal? This is Mal. And thanks!" Looking the other candidate over, Mal raised her head to sniff at the air. Was this new-person fun? She wanted to sit on new-person. Was sitting on new-person allowed?
"You new here? 'cause I don't think I've seen ya around." Dezima asked, ignoring the feelings of 'begging' coming from Mal. The green needed to behave still. And if she behaved, Dezima promised to get her a treat afterwards. This made the green huff a little, but she laid much like a feline would, front legs tucked under her as she stared at new-person that her-Dezi said was nice-new-person.
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2011 1:35 pm
The full minute between the end of Brynja's question and Dezima's response almost had the other candidate convinced that she was ignoring her intentionally - but no, apparently she was just slow. Not slow-slow, because surely there wouldn't be a candidate who was slow-slow, like Lares back home who'd been born wrong and was nice but not very good at things that weren't simple and got upset easily, 'cause you obviously couldn't have someone like that on a dragon. Poor Lares.
"Nice to meet you - and that's right. I've been here..." she counted up in her head, resisting the urge to use fingers to count back. "Three days, except the first day doesn't really count because by the time we got here it was pretty dark, and... uhm, today probably doesn't count either 'cause it's not over yet, so a day. Which is why you haven't seen me around" All this was delivered in quite a rapid whisper, and seemed to be more stream of consciousness then anything else.
She was about to reach across to touch Mal before remembering that no, touching a strange flitter without an obvious invitation might lead to biting and pain. "Can I pet her?" she whispered, much more interested in the flitter then the lesson, because - well, firelizards were engaging, and types of leather weren't.
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 1:55 pm
"Woah, really? Not that long at all! How do you like it so far? Or is it too early to tell? I've been here all my life." Dezima stretched back in her seat a little, leather and lesson pretty much forgotten for now. "Welp, I've seen ya now! Probably not the best lesson to get used to when your new either." She gestured airily around them, oblivious to the other candidates who were working. Though there was plenty of hushed talk going on as they were supposed to be working with their leather strips. "Promise you'll be thankful to have learned this later, though. Y'know, if you Impress." Alright this was still one of her favorite lessons out of the grouping.
Mal tensed, getting even more excited when she thought the nice-new-person was going to pet her. But it didn't happen and the green huffed. She wanted pets and to meet nice-new-person! Couldn't she just slide down and say hi quickly? That was still being good, right?
Dezima blinked at Brynja, then at Mal before grinning and chuckling a little. "Yes you can! In fact..." She moved her arm so it was stretched out towards Brynja. "Remember to behave, Mal." The green chirped and scrambled across her-Dezi's arm over to sit on nice-new-person's lap. Tilting her head up, she gave nice-new-person big curious eyes and peeped. "She's been sendin' me thoughts of 'exploring' - which for Mal means anything exciting to check out - the new person. She's a sweetie, don't worry."
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Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2011 2:12 pm
"It's - " Whatever Brynja was about to say was cut off by the arrival of Mal in her lap, who was immediately subject to a serious amount of fussing and petting - although rather more cautiously then was perhaps warranted, because new creature. "Oh, you are gorgeous. She's gorgeous. Aren't you the cutest? How old is she?"
Getting back to her original point, she grinned broadly, still fussing over Mal. "So boring though - I swear, you missed the most exciting part of the lesson" Which was, quite evidently gearing up for a story - if Dezima took the bait, anyway. "But the weyr? Kind of... very different" It was, it really was. She'd seen two girls (well, women) holding hands. Which was strange, and kind of nice. "I think I could fit in - although it's weird being away from the ocean. Where I grew up, you could always hear it - I couldn't sleep at all the first night 'cause it wasn't there" Which wasn't entirely true, but that was besides the point. It made a better story.
She was, honestly, completely ignoring the lesson now, for all Dezima's advice that she'd be thankful for learning it later - it might cause problems, but it was so dull, and that was something that future Brynja would have to deal with.
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Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 12:39 am
Mal chirped again and sniffed at the nice-new-person before she was being fussed over as well as petted. Oh this was nice! She was getting attention from nice-new-person that her-Dezi said was alright and she could stay in nice-new-persons lap! The green flitter rubbed along the hand petting her and sat like a good flitter!
Dezima giggled behind the back of her hand as she watched Brynja and Mal. "Thanks! And she is pretty adorable. I love her." A fond smile was directed at the small flitter. "Oh, she's fairly young. Still only a hatchling." One that always loved to steal her shirts and 'hide' them. Usually in obvious places and never outside of her room. It only took Dezima, maybe about five minutes to find anything Mal hid. But it was still a game her flitter liked to play. And she didn't really mind either.
"Really? I did?!" The girl sighed and quietly let her hand smack her forehead. "I always miss the exciting stuff!" She glanced over at Brynja, hoping for some fantastic details on what she missed. "It does probably take some getting used to for a Holder. But it really is nice here, I promise!" Especially as of recently, though Dezima didn't know which story to believe when it came to their relationship with the other Weyrs. Still, their eggs were definitely something to be proud of after the previous clutches they had been having! "That's really neat. I think I would find it weird sleeping outside of the Weyr if I were to visit a Hold. Where'd ya grow up?" She asked curiously. "I mean, if you don't mind my asking."
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Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 6:26 am
"It's totally true" Brynja said mock-seriously with a big grin spreading over her face, keeping her voice low and soft as not to draw attention. "You missed seeing a flitter come through dressed in pink ribbons - talk about surreal. I giggled so hard" This was, obviously, patently, not true. "He sprung right out of the cupboard the leathers were kept in and nearly gave the guy openin' it a heart attack before going between" If pressed for more details, she'd make them up as she went along - the more absurd the better.
She continued to fuss over Mal, who was frankly becoming her favourite firelizard ever very rapidly, thinking out a reply to Dezima's question. "Me? Nowhere special, really - a little hold on the coast. The only exciting thing about it ever was the occasional teeny-tiny gather, and they weren't much to write home about" Which was about true: she'd no doubt that she'd miss the people, especially her family - but not the place itself. She'd have to write a letter to send home soon, to let them know she was doing alright - maybe she could ask someone to send it by firelizard, or just get it stuck in some runner's mailbag.
"So..." she said, putting that little bit of homesickness behind her, "What was it like growing up in the weyr?" Curiosity killed the firelizard, and Brynja was curious.
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Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2011 11:18 am
"Pink ribbons?!" Dezima asked in an equally soft voice, eyes widening. Shardit! She always missed the good stuff, didn't she? "Oooh I don't blame ya for laughing that hard! I totally would have been too." Well, there was always next time, right? The weyrbrat couldn't help but giggle at the mental image she was forming of this whole situation. "Drats! And I missed it. Wonder if it was someone in here's flitter...?" She pondered curiously, glancing around at their fellow candidates. It sure sounded like something that Mal would do.
Mal was overjoyed with the fussing. It was so nice! Nice-new-person was becoming a favorite-nice-new-person. And maybe more snuggles and pets and treats could come from favorite-nice-new-person?! She peeped over at her-Dezi before looking up at favorite-nice-new-person with big eyes that would trap you and make you give even more attention to the green!
Dezima's brow furrowed a little. The most exciting thing from where Brynja was from would have been teeny tiny Gather's? What must that have been like? She herself couldn't fathom it, having grown up in the Weyr. "Must have known a lot of people in a small hold like that. Do you miss it?" She asked before giving the girl a sheepish grin. "Well, it definitely ain't like growin' up in a hold, that's for sure. I mean, for starters, the whole Weyr is like your play place. And all the weyrfolk are like your family. I don't even know who my parents are!" Not that this really bothered her. "S'not so bad growing up here at all. Though, I think in comparison to a hold, we are much more laid back?" She wasn't sure if that was true or not, never having been to a hold before. "I dunno, you tell me! You were born in a hold, what differences have you noticed?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 5:48 am
"Pink ribbons" Brynja said gravely, tickled by Dezima's response - she would have geared up to something more spectacular (maybe having the flit tap-dance across a desk before it left) - if she hadn't been more interested in what Dezima was saying about the weyr (and, alright, she'd admit it - fussing over Mal, who was so cute with those huuuuge eyes and d'awww! She had to get herself one of these).
"Well," she said, a tad too loud before she brought her voice down a little again, remembering exactly where she was. "Well..." She found it peculiar that Dezima wasn't even aware who her parents were - it was a big, big difference. How odd would it have been to grow up without her own family...? She really should write, just to let them know that she was doing alright, and remind her Da to not let her eldest brother mend the nets because he was awful at them and they'd lose half the catch. "Kind of. I don't know - it's been so busy, and.. hm. I don't know. There're a lot of people, and they do such strange things - I've never seen men holding hands before, and the dragons" That last word was delivered with a gush and a grin. "Is it weird not knowing who your parents are? I can't imagine it"
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Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 11:27 am
That must have been such an amusing sight to see! Shards, if only she'd made it to the lesson just a little bit quicker - but stealing a peek at the eggs from afar had been fun too. Dezima giggled. "Maybe I'll make it just in time to see it next time." She sighed and glanced down at Mal, lips curling into a smile. Mal was definitely on her way to making best friends with Brynja! She was eating up all the attention like a fat little hatchling.
She really was curious to hear this answer, as she was naive in all things outside of the Weyr. And the response she got wasn't too surprising. She'd heard similar things from others that were holdbred as well. "Ah, yes. It's always busy around here. Have to take care of dragons. Feed the weyrfolk. Make sure there is 'nough stuff to treat threadscores. Though I never thought it would be any busier than a Hold." Dezima blinked at mention of 'men holding hands'. "Those men were probably weyrmates." She said, entirely missing the actual point behind that statement. "And yes. The dragons! They are so awesome!"
A small pause was given as Dezima frowned a little. She was not asked such a question very often and never by weyrfolk. "Um, well...I dunno. I've grown up without ever knowing them so I don't know what it's like to actually know parents. I was raised with other weyrbrats. But I guess it's not really that weird. Always had stuff to do and the Weyr itself was basically my family. Have never really been bothered by it." She shrugged. "The only thing I really know was that they were both riders. And I want to be a rider too!"
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Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2011 4:26 am
"Wait wait wait" Brynja waved a hand to stop Dezima with a frown, temporarily distracted from Mal. "Back three steps. Weyrmates?" She thought she had learnt what that meant, but the context seemed wrong. How could two men be weyrmates? Was that a thing? She'd clearly misunderstood it when the term was explained to her before - it had seemed more like a kind of informal marriage then anything, but maybe it was just some sort of friendship thing. She'd address the other things in a moment, once she had that misunderstanding sorted out - she'd look ridiculously stupid if she used the term completely wrong, which was obviously a possibility. Shells, the weyr was peculiar.
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Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2011 3:29 pm
Dezima blinked at Brynja, mouth snapping shut. Had she said something wrong? Or...what? "Yes....? Weyrmates." What was wrong with that? It wasn't that strange of a word....unless you weren't from the Weyr. Oh. OH! Dezima couldn't help but giggle a little. "Oh! I'm sorry. I'm so used to just throwin' out terms common around the Weyr. Didn't think they might not make sense to someone from a Hold." She kept her voice down as she leaned in to explain it. "Okay lemme see...I think the Hold equivalent of what we call 'weyrmates' is getting married?" Dezima paused and her brows furrowed. "No wait. That's not right. It's...umm...okay see when we find a weyrmate, that's like a long term boyfriend or girlfriend. Whichever is your preference. We don't have such things as marriage here. But becomin' weyrmates is about as close to such a thing as you get."
The weyrbrat grinned. "Flights don't count as, what you might refer to as 'cheating', though. But you can have such a thing as a stand-in. Which is what weyrmates tend to do." She paused again, then added, "Usually, the most commonly found weyrmates - or at least the ones I've met - are riders whose dragons are mated." She hoped all of that made sense to Brynja.
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Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2011 9:50 am
"Oh" Brynja absorbed this information thoughtfully, going back to tickling Mal - although rather more gently now. She had got it right the first time. So that meant the two men had been practically married? Was that even...? Was it because of their dragons being mated, because she did know that dragon and rider gender didn't necessarily match up...?
Hmm.
She would have to think about this more later, and maybe ask one of the riders who seemed more approachable, rather then pestering her new friend with stupid questions that were probably obvious to anyone who had been brought up in a weyr.
"Okay" she said, not having to think about keeping her voice low now. "Right. Sorry. You were sayin' 'bout how you want to be a rider"
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Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 12:08 am
Brynja's reaction had her a little worried that maybe she'd said something wrong. Everything she'd spoken had been fact and truth. Although it was true (or at least she'd heard anyways) that weyrfolk and holdfolk held different views on such things as, say, two men being weyrmates? Was that it? Did it bother the other girl that such things as gay couples could be found around the Weyr? Quite frequently?
Dezima felt her brow furrow just a little with her worry as she glanced from Brynja to Mal then a brief look around them before back to Brynja.
Mal was more than happy to receive the much more gentle and nice pets and tickling. She chirped and lifted her chin, legs, wings...whatever allowed for more tickles and pets to be had. She sent Her-Dezi more happy thoughts and trilled softly - she was supposed to use her 'indoor voice' while in lessons.
She was relieved when Brynja finally spoke again, though she didn't say anything about what was on her mind. Dezima didn't pester her and obliged by continuing with where she'd left off before. "S'all right. And yes. Me wanting to be a rider. May not know who my Ma or Da is, but I do know they were both riders. So that's good enough for me and I do my best to try and learn what I need to in order to hopefully one day be a good rider." Dezima smiled at her new friend. "Nothing else much after that. Have been going to lessons like any other kid since of age to speak."
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