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 Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2015 3:05 pm
“Okay, so,” M’ere said, the rider sprawled out on the back of an unmoving green dragon. She could see some of the other riders - and the men who the expedition had taken on - practising arms on the deck. Not her scene, not right now: she wasn’t dressed up (because exposing her nice clothes to sea salt was the last thing she’d do), but she wasn’t in the mood to let other people try and put holes in her - or put up with the free company men staring, like they weren’t used to women riding dragon. If she heard one more comment about how she’d be pretty with a little more meat on her bones… (or the ruder variant thereof), someone was going to end up with spinners in their hammock, and it sure wasn’t going to be her. “I don’t know about you people, but I feel like we could have just met these ships at Nerat! This is such a slow way to travel!”
It was, too. The dragons took shifts flying and resting, though they all bunked down on the land at night (something which wouldn’t be possible when they were crossing the sea). If they had just jumped between, they could have been there in a few breaths, rather then sevendays and sevendays.
“More to the point, I’m bored. I propose a little contest"
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Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2015 3:16 pm
Re'ka was leaning on the rail nearby, trying to focus on the feeling of wind under Pycath's wings rather than the motion of the deck under her feet. Getting used to travelling on a ship was a good idea, she told herself. Survival skill, always good. Ugh, shaff.
M'ere's voice was a welcome distraction to say the least, more pleasant than her lifemate's rather unsympathetic mind for a start. Only the strong survived. "I know, right?" Re'ka responded as she turned to M'ere with a smile that was only slightly drawn. "It's got to be for a reason, for show?" Thinking in corkscrews like that wasn't her way so she wasn't all that sure. Funny, she hadn't thought it was O'ail's either. "Anyway," she dismissed the thought with a broad-shouldered shrug, "I'm game, what you got in mind?"
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Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2015 7:40 pm
L'ssa paced between ship rails restlessly, her eyes on the horizon. Traveling by sea had sounded so exciting, a grand adventure from the tedium of paperwork, but the novelty of the situation faded once she realized that their means of transport was so tiny. The walkways were narrow, short--far too squat for the powerful stride L'ssa normally used, and her shoulders scraped against the threshold of every door. She was used to caves and weyr-life, but this was truly stifling, especially with the faint updrafts of ocean breeze reminded her that somewhere above her Caldweth slowly circled. Eager for just a taste of the open sky, L'ssa closed her eyes and hummed, tugging at the bond between her and her dragon.
Caldweth's stern admonition came to L'ssa as a tension in her jaw that made her grind her teeth, and she felt him shove her away with a shrug. chose this for us.>
L'ssa huffed, tossing her hair to the side. It wasn't just that her enclosure was physically petite--there was only so much to explore, only so many ship-hands to intimidate by licking her lips, and she was bored. She no longer even looked the part of sporting buccaneer; the wide-lapelled shirt she'd commissioned specifically for this voyage had been the first and most tragic casualty this journey would have, sacrificed to the ever-cruel and fickle gods of sea-sickness as L'ssa christened the starboard bow with breakfast just out of harbor. She'd had to replace it with one of her sleeveless tunics, looking distinctly less like the pirate queen she'd envisioned and more like the cabin boy (albeit a cabin boy with totally ripped arms). But at least she'd made peace with the ocean and the churning in her gut--Re'ka seemed absolutely miserable in her fight to maintain dignity.
Then again, given that Re'ka was taller than L'ssa by a good head and shoulders, she wondered how the wingrider could even manage coexisting with all of these dwarf-people and their dwarf-boats. It was truly a testiment to the other woman's patience and will.
The wingleader's posture perked up at the sound of M'ere's voice, more than a little eager to be participating in something, anything. "Of course it's a show," L'ssa insisted, tossing her hair back. "We're riders, anywhere we go is a show to the smallfolk." Of course, there were always machinations at work, and she herself a cog in the grander design, but that was for people with smaller arms to ponder. L'ssa envisioned herself as a big, brassy cog, one that couldn't make precise little ticks but could probably smash a face or two in if needed. Yeah, this metaphor worked.
"Contests are my favorite," L'ssa added with a curious spark in her eyes, her lips peeling away to show a toothy grin. "Gimme something good, M'ere, whatcha got?"
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Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2015 12:58 pm
V'den and Suuyeth
V'den dealt with boredom and drudgery easily. She had, after all, been a drudge, so things worked out. In fact, she found the voyage to be very settling indeed. She had never been on a boat before, and the newness of it helped to block out the constant feeling of being an 'alien' - of being in a familiar place that was not familiar at all, the feeling of which had not subsided. Not yet. It was good, honest, seagoing work, and the air was fresh.
Suuyeth himself was never bored. Somehow, the dragon was able to amuse himself, and it didn't take much. This whole trip was exciting.
It was he that heard mention of the 'contest' and he who was the most interested. he chirped to Tarazeth, stretching happily in the sun.
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Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2015 4:23 pm
“We-ell…” M’ere said slowly, with an affected low-land drawl, not unlike the Captain of this very vessel (the cheerfully named “Couldn’t Have Happened To A Nicer Person”, with its sister ships “Now We Try It My Way” and “Don’t Try This At Home”), “What I reckoned was, we’re going to be onboard for a while, right?”
She sat up, looking more alert then she had in hours and folding her legs beneath her in a slightly off lotus. To the very sharpest eye, there was the outline of something a little heavy strung about her neck and dangling just below her chest.
“So this game we play. I’m gonna bet, none of you can find’n’catch me or Tarry once we bed down for the night, ‘cause I’m a better hider then any of you guys are at hunting. You guys catch us more nights before we hit Nerat then we can hide, we’ll do… I dunno, I’ll buy you lots of drinks, we’ll get really drunk in Nerat. We hide more then you can catch us, you’ll buy me… a brand new set of clothes, as pretty as I like. I could do with a new gather dress”
Tarazeth said indulgently, tucking her wings closer to her body.
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Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2015 9:51 am
Vosin and Tiaeth
Vosin had been truly excited for the first time since they had arrived in this new time when she heard she would be included in those assigned to the ship voyage. It would be a grand adventure! The only dark point was her twin hadn't been included for whatever reason. She'd be flying this one solo, something she hadn't done in a great while it seemed when she thought about it. Vosin was determined not to screw up and show her family proud.
The young woman was leaning on the rail, watching her dragon skimming low over the water and waves. Tiaeth was endlessly amused by the creatures called shipfish. Not that he wanted to eat them, but just play with them. Vosin found it just as interesting to watch him. She'd managed to adjust to the rolling of the ship, but there were times when the nausea still over came her. At those points she'd get on Tiaeth and go flying for awhile. Flying she could handle, ships were iffy.
The tiny bronze was as pleased as his rider to be included in this trip. The ships were fascinating, though dangerous. He'd managed to become entangled in some lines the second day out. It hadn't been his fault though that those lines had been left there! It'd taken hours to untangle him. Tiaeth was always fascinated by the creatures his called shipfish. He went out to play with them whenever they showed up.
Luckily for him, he had not gotten seasick as his rider had teased him before they'd left. However, Vosin was not immune either. He was always happy to take her for a flight whenever she felt ill.
Vosin glanced back over her shoulder as she heard M'ere speak up. She grinned at the complaint of the slow moving ships. "We could always get the dragons to tow the ships, or get enough of the bigger ones to lift it and hop between to Neret, M'ere." It was an amusing idea, but probably impractical. Plus she wasn't sure how a wet wooden ship would handly between. Vosin appreciated the ability of her dragon all that much more now when she couldn't use it. She perked up a bit more at the mention of a contest. "Contest you say?"
Tiaeth felt the interest in his rider. For once, leaving the shipfish, he twitched his wings and came skimming across the water and up to the side of the ship. Probably scaring several of the shiphands in the process. Luckily he wasn't the only dragon interested. He laughed at a blue also wanting to join. Count me in too!
Vosin pursed her lips as she consider the proposed contest. "Interesting. Are we putting parameters on where you're hiding? Like for say you can only hide along the coast we've passed so far?" She could see difficulty if M'ere was able to hide anywhere she'd ever been on the continent. The riders from this time would have way more experience with the locations than Vos or any of the other timeriders. She was learning, but that didn't mean she knew all the available spots.
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Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2015 2:24 am
“No more then five klicks from wherever you’re staying that night” M’ere said smoothly, hands resting on the sides of her bare feet. Unlike the other riders, she hadn’t experienced seasickness - both a lucky quirk and the product of having grown up in Tillek, where she’d made a habit of falling both into and out of boats. “She was joking!” she added, raising a hand to one of the passing crew (who looked a little horrified by Vosin’s suggestion about the ships). “Point is, it’s unfamiliar terrain to all of us - or it will be, when we get a couple of days in. It’s not like any of us know the whole continent like the back of our hands. Tarry'n'I'll be within... a klick of each other? I'm open to negotiation”
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Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2015 5:51 pm
Di'no finished his latest bout with one of the sailors exhausted. He'd given the man a decent match but the man had experience and reach on Di'no and in the end, the freshly minted rider lost, earning a light scratch to mark his defeat. Feigning a disgruntled attitude but deeply satisfied with the physical activity, Di'no slouched his way back towards where the riders gathered. "What's this about hiding?" His focus sharpened as he caught the tail end of the current conversation.
Overhead Aioth coasted on the warm thermals, saving her energy and soaking in the bright sunlight. I'm interested. She dipped her wings low, passing over the ship but staying aloft and on watch.
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Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2015 8:31 am
"Hu, yeah that sounds like it could be fun," Re'ka nodded, smoothing a hand back over her hair and down her neck to rub at a knotted up muscle. It did sound fun and as M'ere pointed out it wouldn't hurt any of them to sharpen up on their hunting skills before they reached the islands.
"Hide and seek," she continued as Di'no joined in with the conversation. "A little contest M'ere is suggesting."
Pycath put in on a general channel to the other dragons involved in the discussion, sharing the details of what Di'no had missed with Aioth a moment later.
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Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2015 8:40 am
Tarazeth assured, not mentioning that some of those ample funds were technically meant for expenses. Alcohol was, after all, an expense.
“I think it’s a done deal now” M’ere said cheerfully, clapping her hands. “At least, assuming any of you people can find me. We're pretty good at this” It was a game her wing played a lot, and they were probably a good deal better at seeking then this shower.
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Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2015 11:29 am
Horteth had been listening to the conversation with great interest, a game. Games were good. They made this very long trip a lot less very long. V'via and him went flying, but there were only so many times they could fly out and then come back before that got boring and swimming in the ocean had lost it's novelty by now. Horteth didn't have the longest focus and this trip was testing it terribly. It had all sounded like a very exciting adventure, but now it was just fly, sleep, fly, sleep. Still this game didn't happen until the night. What would they do until then?
V'via made a sound in the back of her throat. She didn't like the idea of derailing the conversation from M'ere's game of hide and seek. It looked like a natural opening though. Didn't it? Maybe? The young rider was still working on finding her voice in large, informal, groups such as these.
"Um, since it's still a while before dark. Does anyone fancy a game now? Maybe a race or something?" Should the dragons be trying to conserve energy? Maybe this hadn't been a good idea, but she'd said it now.
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Posted: Wed Apr 08, 2015 9:43 pm
L'ssa licked her lips, the corners of her mouth pulled upwards as she listened to the challenge. However, at the mention of a drinking sort of reward, she pulled her shoulders back and squinted at the sea, letting out a slow huff. She'd been so good about staying away from the drink for Turns, but when L'ris took that nasty spill--
--she wasn't in a downward spiral. She refused to think of a few nights of recent indiscretion destroying turns of hard work. She was better than that. She was a wingleader, and shards, she needed to act like it, even if her seasick body ached with a thirst no waterskin could quench.
"No drinks for me when we win, but I'm in," she finally interjected, coming back from her mental reverie. L'ssa wiped her mouth until her trademark grin came back into place, the expression a more comfortable suit than the pensive one she'd worn just moments before. "Maybe they could make me a pretty dress, too," the rider snickered, snorting out a chuckle at the thought. "Put me in some proper lady clothes for once, it'd be worth just t'see the look on O'ail's face."
She turned to face the bluerider (was she really a rider at her age? They just kept getting younger, didn't they?), intrigued by the idea of a more immediate challenge. "Depends on the race, sweetling, my Caldweth was never any good for tight turns." L'ssa rotated one arm, her fingers brushing against the heavy threadborn scar on her shoulder. This barely-graduate had the gall to be a good two-inches taller, but she had the sweetest doe-like eyes...far too innocent for this crowd, much less this kind of work. It was fascinating.
"I'd race you, though, Little Duck," L'ssa added wryly, grinning madly at the idea of this new plaything. "Or we could spar on the deck, if you'd like. What does Y'in teach you to fight with? I'm curious."
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Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2015 3:02 pm
"I think I'll keep out of the challenge," Ra'fe said dryly listening to the group. "But I'm open to settling disputes if needed." He had not got sea sick, a rather pleasant surprise and found his legs fast enough. He was also short, a bit helpful when walking about the ship. He tipped his head, listening to Banneth and nodded. "Ban is willing to enforce rules as well."
He wasn't overly interested in getting drunk and someone had to be keeping a sober eye on the youngsters, considering they had two new weryling on the trip.
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Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2015 1:49 am
Tarazeth suggested brightly, in a cheerful burst to all of the dragons nearby. And hell, considering how loud she was, probably some back at the Weyr.
(sometimes it was a little terrifying how well the two complimented each other)
M’ere hung back for a second, wanting to see where L’ssa’s flirting - she was certain that was flirting - went, though she felt she had to point something out. Sometimes speaking up was irresistible, and seizing on a new entertainment was fun. “I don’t think matching a sword ‘gainst a pen is exactly fair, WIngleader. If you’re gonna fight the poor kid, you gotta handicap yourself. Tie an arm behind your back or fight with your other hand or something”
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