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 Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2013 5:26 pm
He hadn't realized just how often hatchlings had to be fed, or how much work it would be. It hadn't been that bad when Squeak had hatched, but then again, Vociferoth was alot bigger. And a lot more demanding.
That was the whole reason that he was out here, instead of inside finishing up his dinner. He chopped up the last of the carcass, in smaller pieces than what some of the others had been doing, since Vociferoth was so small.
I am the perfect size, the grey snapped.
"That doesn't change the fact that you've got a smaller mouth than some of your siblings."
True. The dragon laughed, his eyes whirling in amusement. That is probably an understatement, my B'yte. Are you done with my food yet?
The boy piled the meat onto the plate, setting it down on the ground in front the hatchling. He had handfed him for breakfast, and had gotten nipped in the process, which wasn't pleasant. It was also something that he didn't want to explain. He was fairly certain that dragons weren't normally able to do that, although he supposed that there might be some leniency while dragons were still growing. It had been an accident.
"There you go, greedy guts."
The grey nudged his legs gently. You know you love me.
The boy smiled. "Yeah."
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Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2013 7:30 pm
So, this was Warden's Weyr was it? Charming. Short, rangy, and dressed in the black and blue leathers of the Watch, A'vea meandered in the direction of the Weyrling's barracks, her mind on other things. Mostly, an old friend, lost for turns, now lost again.
But what did it matter? She had never understood his insistence on holding on after Jadenth's death. She wouldn't have.
That's because you'd be pathetic without me.
Exactly.
Regardless of why she had signed up for the assignment, she was at Wardens. If nothing else, she might get in a knife fight with a dust addled prisoner.
And look, someone in yellow. One of the prisoner-weyrlings, and impressed to one of the new colors. That was something like exciting.
"Hey handsome. Are you Joscelin or Blyte?"
Come make a friend.
Sunbathing.
Are you sure? He's wonderfully strange looking. Really gray, not just a grayish blue.
Mmm. Do you think we could get people to pay to see the new colors? I mean, they're talking about crippling them anyway. Vegalath forced herself up and began ambling toward her rider. Flying would be way too much effort for a gray. For the pink, she might fly.
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Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2013 10:57 am
"I'm Blyte." He wasn't sure if he was allowed to have his name shortened officially, or not, since he was still techincally a prisoner. It was an interesting conundrum. "May I help you?"
He was a little wary of the woman, especially since she was clad in the uniform of the Watch, and he wasn't exactly sure what she wanted. He was fairly certain that she had come with the Queen, likely as a member of the honor guard that had shown up at the hatching, but he didn't see why she would be here. Was he missing something?
Want me to get rid of her? The grey said, glancing up from eating.
No. He touched the grey's head. Play nice.
If I must.
The grey turned his attention back to eating, keep an eye on the woman as he did. She did not seem like a threat, but that could change any moment.
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Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2013 6:11 pm
"Blyte, of course. Of Vociferoth." A'vea's easy confident smile never wavered and, after considering for a moment, she settled in the dirt, leaning back on her arms with her legs stretched out in front of her. "You really should think about choosing an honorific. Tends to remind people of their place. You can call me A'vea. A'vea of green... ah, here she is!"
She pointed a little ways on, to where a large thick-bodied green was making her way to them. Vegalath hide was so dark a green as to appear black in poor light, though her coloring was clear enough at the moment. Spots of paler green freckled her wings and face.
"My Vegalath."
And look at you. Aren't you something, youngling? Good lines you have. You'll be quick in the air, I think. And a good fighter, if you have an eye on life in the Watch. Vegalath ambled slowly in the direction of A'vea, Blyte and Vociferoth, showing no sense of urgency. So tell me, little brother. Are they treating you and your rider with the respect you deserve?
And then, privately to A'vea. Come now, you must see the benefits of displaying something like him at a gather. We would be rolling in marks. He could wear a little hat, and growl at the crowd.
A'vea, accustomed to her dragon's suggestions, ignored her. "Anyway, my handsome young friend. I don't know if you've heard, but we Watch sorts are a bit concerned about the situation we're bringing Weyrwoman Ai into. We don't want to leave her with a mess to clean up, and from what I've heard of the hatching, things went very wrong." She shook her head, and if he were perceptive, he would sense real anger beneath her light tones. "But we weren't here. And, so, we rely on your quick wits and intelligent observations to fill in those gaps. If you don't mind talking about it?"
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Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 11:02 am
"I'm not sure if I'm allowed to," the teen admitted. "I know I'm a rider, but I am still technically a prisoner. It'll be B'yte if I am." He smiled. "It's nice to meet you, and your dragon."
Thank you. The grey said, responding to the green. I do not know what my rider's plan is for the future, but we will suceed in whatever it is. He was very sure of that point. They are treating us well enough, I suppose, though they are forcing mine to wear that yellow color. He is no longer caged, and it seems that we have the same sort of freedom that the others have.
She was nicer than he would have expected, being a member of the watch and all that, and he certainly didn't mind pitching in his knowledge since they were going to try to fix this mess. "I don't mind at all, but I think things really started to go bad before the hatching to be honest. After the queen went between, they took all of us candidates down to the sands where M'onk basically paraded the gold rider in front of us, and told us that this is what would happen if we lost our dragon. Some of the others, the wherhandlers and most importantly Werylingmaster V'tai, objected. He was a Secondary Warden then, I think, and now he's been demoted. I'm pretty sure it's because he stood up to M'onk."
He paused for a moment, checking on the grey now that there was another dragon in the picture. He had stopped eating to converse with the green dragon, but seemed fairly calm at the moment.
"The hatching actually went surprisingly well," he admitted, with a bit of a wry grin. "The first couple eggs hatched without any issues, but then the little grey hatched. He mauled a couple people, not fatally mind you, and then the Warden had him shot." His voice trailed off then, and his grey nudged his hand gently. "That shouldn't have happened."
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Posted: Sun Mar 17, 2013 2:44 pm
Do not hesitate to make your own plans, little brother. You and your clutchmates stand to change the world, if only you choose to grasp it. Vegalath had arrived at last and she lay back down once she judged herself close enough, opening her wings a little to take in the sun. You seem clever enough. If I were you, I would begin to consider my own ambitions. A wise dragon can lead their rider, when the need arises.
"I do not know that I would call that surprisingly well." She had heard rumors of the hatching so far, mostly from other members of the Watch who were quicker to pursue conversations than the locals had been. But it had been hard, the first day. Seeing Spins body on the sands like that. Dead, and dead by violence. A'vea was not an emotional woman, but she had needed time alone to process that. At least a single drunken evening.
"Vegalath killed two candidates and lamed a third at her hatching. I assure you no one was vile enough to harm her. It is what hatchlings do." Her voice had gone clipped and cool, but it was clear enough that her anger wasn't directed at B'yte. "That, indeed, should not have happened."
"And the rest of the hatching? Your own gray's impression went undisputed?"
She did not ask about the body on the sands. She was not here to ask about the body on the sands.
But the goldrider, to treat her so? That was filed away as a very bad sign.
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Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2013 3:07 pm
I intend to, Vociferoth responded. My clutchmates and I will make this weyr strong. He wasn't sure how yet, but that would come in time. Do you know the new gold? Is she strong?
He shrugged. "Well, none of the prisoners acted up, or got shot, there were only a handful of injuries on the sands, so yeah. All the things going on around the hatchling, on the other hand.." He chuckled wryly. "well, I'm just glad I was on the sands. If I would have been closer to M'onk after he ordered the little one shot, I probably would have decked him. I wanted to, and I'm fairly certain that I'm not the only one."
He glanced down at the grey, watching him chew. He had been working hard on not letting his emotions get to the small one, and so far, it looked like he was sucessful.
"It was really because of Him that the second grey and the other odd colors impressed without an issue, distracting M'onk from the going ons and keeping him from giving C'ross another order to shoot. C'ross didn't look very happy after it happened either, but it wasn't going to keep him from shooting my grey. He was going to, you know, when the warden ordered Vociferoth shut up. He was screaming, and it was loud, and things were chaotic, but then one of the greens moved in front of him, and I moved in front of him, and one of the riders and some of the hatchlings kept Brownrider C'ross from doing anything. I don't know exactly what they did, I couldn't exactly see them from where I was, and I did get a bit distracted with impression. Then the blue impressed, and you guys showed up."
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