[PRP] Well then soldier, how goes the day? (Mari, Vossie)

[Thaliawen]

How was he supposed to react? To all of that? To death and blood, and nearly losing his brother? It was like the first days he’d spent at the Weyr, all over again. He’d heard about Threadfall returning and got word that his hold, and everyone there, were gone.

Dolly had been dead.

And now he was alive.

And he’d almost died again, today. Nothing else seemed to matter. Not his own wounds, not the screams he’d heard—but Dolly. Dolly had almost died. He’d almost lost him again. Was there a way to react that didn’t have him sitting outside the candidate barracks, atop a rock and ripping pieces of parchment? He wasn’t sure. He twisted a piece between his fingers.  

[magnadearel]

Thaliawen

Vosin knew the weyr was reeling from the sudden death of one of the candidates during the Hatching. Everyone was dealing, or perhaps not, with it in their own way. Even she was. In fact she was talking a walk with Killakeeth just to walk off some nerves and jitters.

So when she saw a candidate, in clear distress, sitting and rocking and ripping pieces of parchment, Vos stopped. She regarded him quietly for a few moments before approaching. "Hey there. Want to take a walk with us?" He looked like he needed something physical to do even more than she did. And ripping a poor piece of parchment that had never done anything to him wasn't nearly enough.

The gold dragon paused and eyed the boy with blue whirling eyes. She tilted her head side to side for a moment before adding her own comment to him, you are troubled.  

[Thaliawen]

A walk? Marinel blinked a few times at the offer before he stood. “Sure,” he agreed. A walk might be nice. He could think about things and clear his head.

“I’m Mari,” he said. And she was a goldrider. That gave him pause, and he looked up at the gold. “I’m okay,” he added. Troubled? Probably.  

[magnadearel]

Thaliawen

She'd clearly taken the boy by surprise in her offer. Despite that he readily agreed to accompany her. "Excellent! I was hoping for some more company." Which was why Killakeeth was also walking with her. Now she had human company as well.

"Pleasure to meet you Mari. I'm Vosin, and that lump is Killakeeth." The gold rumbled in amusement at being called a lump. Really the gold was getting rather plump again. She'd have to start exercising her more and cutting back her food. Fun times. "She says you've got a lot on your mind right now. Would you like to talk about any of it?" It was clear to see that he was a candidate, and he didn't look like he'd been in his sick bed anytime recently, so he would have been at the hatching. Pretty obvious what he might have on his mind.

 

[Thaliawen]

“Hi Vosin. Hi Killakeeth,” he greeted rider and dragon with a slightly forced smile. He dropped the parchment he’d been tearing to pieces, and studied her for a moment.

“That awful bronze attacked my brother,” he said, after a moment. “I thought he was going to die. I can’t see him right now, so I can’t help him and—“ He couldn’t make sure Dolly was really okay. he rubbed at a scar on his cheek. He hesitated and took a breath. “Right. We’re going on a walk.”  

[magnadearel]

Thaliawen

The dragon crooned back in response to his greeting. Vosin resumed her interrupted walk at a slow and steady pace. Walking aimlessly, she had no real destination or purpose in mind. She listened to him talking about the hatching as she played with the end of her red braid. After he finished she walked on in silence, giving herself time to consider.

The bronze had attacked a number of boys. Vos remembered it had only been boys, never a girl scratched. So it wasn't that the dragonet had attacked any old candidate, it had been this boy's brother. Family. "Hatchings are fraught with danger unfortunately. It's a risk we take with walk away with the other half of our hearts." Killakeeth rumbled in agreement.

"I sure bet it was scary though. I know I would have been torn apart if anything had happened to my sister or brothers." She glanced at him. "Why can't you see your brother Mari?"

 

[Thaliawen]

“This is the first one I’ve ever seen,” Mari admitted. He kept up with Vosin. “I hope they aren’t all like that.” Was that the norm?

“It was. They wouldn’t let me stop him, the bronze. I wanted to.” He knew he couldn’t have fought such a strong creature—but maybe he could’ve distracted it.

“Because he Impressed,” he said. “He’s going to be busy till the feast, and he’ll nevsr tell me how badly he’s hurt when there’s a bunch of people.”  

[magnadearel]

Thaliawen

She shook her head and smiled, "no, most of them are not like that. I'd say that one was pretty unusual." Thank goodness for that! They'd have traumatized candidates after every hatching. Soon no one would want to be a candidate here.

It was good for him to admit it. Vos gave a sigh. "Unimpressed dragons are...." she trailed off trying to find a good way to describe them. "Well its hard to describe. Mainly we don't want to encourage the dragon into going between before he or she has found their rider." The dragon would be lost forever if it did that.

Vos gave a soft chuckle. "Silly boy. Just because he's impressed and totally besotted with his beast doesn't mean he won't make time for you! My twin impressed before she and she still made time. If your brother really cares for you, he'll make time for you." Family is very important to my rider and her siblings. If he is injured as you say and impressed, perhaps he will need help caring for his dragon? The gold suggested.

"So get him alone." She tilted her head at him.

 

[Thaliawen]

Oh... Good! Marinel gave a hesitant smile at this knowledge. Unusual was better, in this case. Maybe the next one would be better. “The candidatemaster told us we were risking our lives, before we got onto the sands, but I didn’t expect that.”

“Scary?” He supplied, with a shrug. Terrifying? They were nothing like the the adult dragons he’d met. They were all so gentle.

He paused in following her at her next words. He seemed comforted. He swallowed, and nodded. “We’re all we’ve ever had,” he said. So they’d have time together. That knowledge seemed to lift an invisible weight from his shoulders. “I’d like to help him with his dragon,” he agreed. “Then I could talk to him, too.”  

[magnadearel]

Thaliawen

Derp I mistyped in my last post. "My twin impressed before me and she still made time." is what its really suppose to read.

She walked slowly with him and nodded. She remembered the candidatemaster telling her that in her time too. "Honestly, I personally believe newly hatched, unimpressed dragons are a little it unstable. Simply because they haven't bonded or found their rider yet." Vos glanced at him. If a dragon suicides immediately upon his rider's death, then when they hatched it was almost similar, except they were looking for that rider.

"They can be. Not all of them are." That demon bronze had been one truly. But she'd known others who were sweet.

Vos waited for him when he paused. "I was lucky that I had my parents, my twin, and my little brothers. We lost our parents to the first few threadfalls, so I cherish my siblings all the more. Treasure your twin anytime your with him." She chuckled when he mentioned helping with his twin's dragon. "As his dragon gets bigger I'll bet he'll come looking for your help! Plus it'll give you plenty of practice when you impress yourself." She winked at him.

"Feeling better?"

 

[Thaliawen]

Marinel hesitated, and for a moment, he tried to see it from the dragonet’s point of view. It must have been scary, being born into a world where you only knew you had to find your person or die. “But the bronze who hurt my brother, he was laughing,” he said, after a moment. “He was laughing. He meant to hurt people. I think that green that attacked me, did too. She attacked only boys. If they...” If they were just scared, why had they seemed to enjoy hurting people? Why had they continued to do so?

He wet his lips with his tongue. “My father never wanted me, and my mother died when I was born. I thought Dolly had died in Threadfall. I could see Thread eating him, in my dreams. And then I found him. And I—“ another hesitation, he seemed to be struggling for words. “He’s the only person who really matters to me.” He did feel better, talking to this woman. She seemed to understand.

“I hope so. I don’t want there to be a day when he decides he doesn’t need me anymore.”  

[magnadearel]

Thaliawen

Well that observation pretty much popped her theory. She smiled at his observation. "You're right there. Sadly I have no answer for you. If I did, I would be able to tell which candidate would impress." Vos chuckled sadly. They could have saved this whole mess if someone had that ability.

She placed an arm around his shoulders. "Well we of Western want you, and I bet you that your brother will still want you around. I'm sorry to hear about your mom." Vosin listened supportingly as he told some of his history. "I bet you were so happy to find him again hm?" She knew if she'd thought Ves was dead and then found her alive... Well. "I hope someday you'll find other people who matter just as much, or almost," she gave him a playful wink, "as he does to you."

"I don't think he will if you continue to love him. C'mon, what say you to a ride? I'm tired of walking." She looked over toward her gold. The dragon gave a groan of mock-drama. Just a lowly beast of burden I am. Killakeeth readily knelt down so they could climb up onto her shoulders. "Don't worry Mari, she won't fly just walk." She waited to see if he'd take her up on the offer.

 

[Thaliawen]

“It’d be nice if someone could,” Mari nodded. Then they wouldn’t have to have disappointed candidates, or candidates that were attacked.

Marinel’s expression started to change. His lips started to curve upwards. “Thank you,” he said. “I was. I’ve never been happier than I’ve been since I found him.” Well. Maybe, maybe he would. He liked Jarah—but there wasn’t that connection he had with Dolly.

“A ride?” His smile brightened. The last time he’d been on a dragon, it’d been when he’d been Searched. He reached to pet the gold, and slowly climbed on. “Where do you want to go?”  

[magnadearel]

Thaliawen

Ah that it would. No more hatchings to frighten candidates out of their wits. It was a good dream, but Vos had never even heard of anyone who could accurately predict impressions. Sure they had Searchdragons, like Killakeeth, but they were just for identifying youngsters who had a chance of impression.

"I can imagine. Well give it time Mari. If I reckon right, you haven't been here very long right? Give the other candidates a chance." She grinned at him. Hopefully with his brother as a weyrling, he'd find himself as he interacted more with other candidates.

It worked every time. Vos had yet to find a candidate who could resist a ride on her beautiful queen. "Yup!" She gave him a hand up, then swung up behind him with practiced ease. She was never happier than when she rode her dragon. Because it is right, Killakeeth said smugly to her rider. She turned her head back to look at her passengers as she rose to her feet, her eyes whirling a slow blue. Where would you like to go Mari?

"You pick and tell her." Vos was happy to let him decide. She hadn't been into trouble recently anyhow. She wondered if he'd tell his twin about getting to ride Killakeeth.

 

[Thaliawen]

She was right. It’d been—six months since he’d come to Western? And less since he’d found Dolly. Somehow it seemed like so much time, and yet so little, all at once. “I’ll try,” he promised.

“Me?” Mari was stunned. The last—and first time a dragon had spoken to him, it’d been that awful green. This gold’s voice was gentle. “We could go to the beach,” he suggested. “I like watching the water sometimes. It’s always pretty there.” And it reminded him, just a bit, how big everything was.

“Do you think Dolly will be impressed about my riding a gold?” He asked.