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Post by glamourie on Jun 15, 2009 2:50:45 GMT -5
“Ciara, according to K’lir, is unpredictable, unstable, and generally… not a good person. He has an extraordinarily low opinion of her,” R’wign replied honestly, with a nod in the general direction of the greenrider’s weyr. “Not that it’s hard to get on K’lir’s bad side, but Ciara he harbors a particular vehemence for. Hear him talk, she forms weird opinions based on no facts and simply emotion. If his deduction is correct, she probably does hate me, melodramatic or not. I’m not sure I mind that much, but I don’t like the idea of stealing a pet from a child. That’s just… not a good thing to be doing.” He didn’t know Ciara at all but if K’lir’s opinion was anything to judge by, he also didn’t want to; she seemed… well, the level of hatred that his greenrider friend offered her was alarming. He’d never seen anyone, not even Rielana, achieve that level of detest from the redhead. It was unusual to say the least. Part of that probably had something to do with Ciara being the mother of Uu’n’s child, but even so, it was disproportionate. Either something had happened, or K’lir harbored a jealous streak that was worse than anything that the brown rider had ever imagined previously. For his own sake, he hoped it was something else. He just didn’t want to know what. Ignorance was bliss. “But you’re right. It’s not my fault that I attract them. I’m not even sure why they like me so much. There’s definitely not anything special about me.”
Checkoth disagreed with that statement, and made it known to R’wign. The brown weyrlingrider resisted the urge to smile. He didn’t think there was anything all that special about him though. He was a healer, yes, and gifted at it, but hardly enough to qualify for the amount of fire lizards he attracted and healing skills didn’t affect their Impression. It wasn’t as if he rolled in meat continuously, either. Most fire lizards picked whoever happened to be shoving food at them, but R’wign could be not holding any and still walk away with at least one. It was a very strange situation. He’d asked Checkoth why he would pick someone like him and the brown had happily replied because he was the best. Ever so helpful was he, but R’wign knew he was being sincere. He wasn’t ever mean intentionally. Honest to the point of brutality, but not mean.
Meira didn’t have many decorations? Well, that needed remedying. R’wign would make her some decorations for her room, maybe dry some flowers out for her; those were nice, and always very pretty in a glass jar with a ribbon around the lid. It struck him as a good plan, and also a good thing to give Meira that didn’t come off as weird in terms of a gift. She may have had more, prior to her home burning… he was tempted to ask, but thought the question invasive. Meira was his friend but they weren’t exceedingly close, and he didn’t know how much he was in the right to inquire about, even if he was bursting with curiosity. How much had she lost, though? Eventually he’d have to know -- but… There was a time and a place for questions, and that wasn’t it. They were getting along so well without him ruining everything by babbling inappropriately… again.
“Unfair?” The question made R’wign blink and he turned to look at Meira curiously. “Initially, the baby probably won’t sleep big spans. Infants sleep one or two hours at a time, then wake up for the same period. You can’t teach them to sleep more than that until they’re a little older. I think right after the baby is born, she’ll probably sleep more, but once she starts to grow -- well, you’re not going to get as much sleep. Neither will I, but if you’re worried about it, you shouldn’t. I know enough about babies to know that they usually will sleep erratically, especially in the first few months of their lives.” He took a pause, momentarily, in order to glance at Meira and Zesa both. Then he continued, almost reluctantly. “We’ll both be up and down. As for time, of course it takes up a lot of time, but I expected that when you told me -- and I wouldn’t have agreed to help you if I wasn’t prepared for that. I mean, yeah, okay, it’ll take some adjusting, but I think we can work it out fairly. If the baby is awake while I’m on shift, why can’t the babe come with me to the infirmary? Same with you. It’s not like there’s a lot of wildly inappropriate behavior going on in there or anything, and I’m sure neither of us would neglect the child…”
The entire idea of a baby taking too much of his time was… staggering to him. R’wign wouldn’t have agreed to be part of the child’s life if he intended it to be a part time thing. He just… wouldn’t have. No, he wasn’t Ka’rys, who was a natural with children, but he understood responsibility better than most twenty-turn-olds. He’d seen enough death to have some appreciation for being involved in the creation of a life, and he was intelligent enough to know that children were by no means a part-time thing. Cezine was his friend and he’d delivered her son. He knew from interacting with her how much responsibility a baby was, and from K’lir with Kahrelir. It was strange to imagine but he wasn’t, by any means, afraid of the time a baby would take up. R’wign’s fear was more primal: he was sure that he would be a bad father.
As for the name, R’wign was actually growing more fond of it as he thought, too… but he still preferred ‘Meiawin’ or ‘Meiwign’ in terms of girl names. Hnn. Wait, gender-controlling herbs…? “Uhh… no. I don’t have anything like that,” he said sheepishly. “I’m pretty sure nothing like that exists. There’s herbs that can prevent conception, and also can increase chances of conception or sperm count in men, but that’s -- different.” He shook his head, eying the gold fire lizard curiously. “Faster learners my backside. I was a journeyman in just over five turns and the only thing holding me back before that was defiance. Boys can learn just as fast.” He crinkled his nose, and indicated Zesa with one finger. “Did that chirp mean she’s got an opinion or doesn’t have one? She looks a little surprised… and, while I’m thinking about it - what prompted you to want to be a healer, Meira?”
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Avu
Weyrleader Ce'thian Rider A'emi Handler Sena Harper Matteo Weyrbrat Riaren
Posts: 2,439
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Post by Avu on Jun 15, 2009 14:38:27 GMT -5
Unpredictable – unstable – not a good person – and she had a baby? Hmm. Well. Poor baby…? doubtlessly she treated the baby well, at least, though. Meira shrugged noncommittally. She didn’t really like to gossip about other people, especially if said people she’d never met and was not likely to ever meet – she was assuming that, unpredictable, unstable, weird or otherwise, the greenrider in question was diurnal and therefore very likely to never see her unless she got herself badly hurt and ended up in the Infirmary. But…uh, it also sounded kind of like she was liable to be stabbed by K’lir. Nice. She scrunched her nose slightly, and then tilted her head at R’wign’s statement that there wasn’t anything special about him. “The firelizards seem to think otherwise,” she commented quietly. Which was true – she had yet to see a firelizard not like R’wign, though to be fair, she hadn’t seen firelizards constantly swarming him, either. Zesa definitely liked the brownrider, and she emphasized this with a soft twitter and a flick of her tail – “And – Checkoth and Empress, too…” She shrugged slightly: Meira preferred to believe that dragons looked for certain qualities in the Candidates they were presented with as opposed to having one specific person in mind, or surely there would be a lot more hatchlings going between upon being Shelled…
No, she didn’t have many decorations. Her room wasn’t a gloomy place, despite it being constantly shielded from the sun for Meisk – it wasn’t messy in the least, but it just didn’t have many decorations in it at all. There were no flowers, no paintings – occasionally, Zesa would bring in a flower and drop it on her pillow just before the queen woke her up for the night or something, but she never went out of her way to make her room cheerful. It wasn’t like anybody saw it, and when she entered the room, her eyes were all for Meisk and Zesa, not for the colors of her walls or sheets. But – hmm. The baby – she didn’t want the baby to have to look at a blank ceiling all the time. She didn’t necessarily want to get it painted or anything, but – it really did need something. She could figure out what, exactly, later, though – when they figured out what colors the blankets and all would be, so that it could match: If she went out of her way to make something pretty, she might as well do it properly instead of having clashing colors – ew.
That R’wign had echoed the word she’d chosen to use made Meira blink, biting her tongue curiously: Wasn’t it unfair…? The brownrider’s explanation on a typical baby’s sleeping habits made Meira nod slowly. She didn’t really know an extraordinary amount about babies. She’d seen other peoples, but most of the time, she’d been disinclined to inquire on parenthood – because she never thought that it would actually apply to her. Hmm. “I can deal with – with not sleeping,” she agreed after a pause, but she bit her tongue, slightly confused by her own emotions; even after the baby settled – even when she – he – grew up, Meira wanted the baby to be primarily diurnal; most of the children would be, and she didn’t want to take the baby’s chance at making friends away; that was ridiculously unfair and selfish – but she didn’t want to just stick around for the baby’s first Turn or so and then just…fade out because her hours couldn’t match up with the baby’s. She could only stretch her time too far before exhaustion overruled, and Meisk needed her; she couldn’t possibly neglect the wher. It wasn’t necessary to bring it up now – it was something she could work out later.
She’d mostly been kidding when she’d asked the question; Meira didn’t really want to guarantee a girl. A surprise – a surprise would be nice, she supposed, and boys could be sweet, too…even if most of the time they grew out of it. Meira smiled slightly, and then glanced down at Zesa, too; the firelizard seemed to be considering very intently. Riaren – Rameir – Meiawin – Meiwign. Hmm, hmm…Meira quirked one eyebrow at her slightly, and then, to R’wign, countered absently, “I meant in their first few Turns – and anyway, that’s just what I’ve heard.” She shrugged. It was tempting to point out that girls matured faster (mentally), just for the reaction, but – meh. Dropping her gaze to Zesa, she shrugged at R’wign’s question. “I’m pretty sure that means she doesn’t have an opinion – yes?” The last word was directed at the gold, who crooned an affirmative, and then added a distinctly approving chirrup. They were all pretty names – she didn’t need to pick because there was no danger in their picking wrong and it was primarily their hatchling.
R’wign’s question made Meira blink, surprised. The question was…rather off the wall, and the wherhandler bit her tongue for a moment, considering it. It seemed rude not to answer, considering R’wign had told her about his past…she scrunched her nose, and then shrugged. “It’s not really all that exciting,” she admitted, drawing one finger down Zesa’s spine absentmindedly. “I – my mom was a Harper; she wanted me to be, too, but – I don’t know, I just didn’t want to be, so she asked one of her friends – a Healer – to teach me.” She shrugged again. “It just kind of clicked – I don’t know…I guess – I liked watching people leave feeling better than they’d when they came in…” Definitely not as – as glamorous as R’wign’s, but it was the truth.
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Post by glamourie on Jun 15, 2009 21:02:46 GMT -5
Yes… the fire lizards and Checkoth seemed to think he was something special; extraordinary. R’wign didn’t really understand it at all. He looked in the mirror and saw average… or worse. He didn’t like what he saw in himself very much. He’d never been terribly confident (his vanity not withstanding for that was entirely physical), especially not in his own personality, but the attack had all but destroyed what little self-esteem he had. His sister and his weyrmate were both killed and he’d done nothing to stop it. He’d even failed at keeping himself from being permanently maimed, as evidenced by the breathing disorder he had (permanently preventing him from going between) and his complete lack of a left eye. He looked ridiculous, and he was a complete failure of a person. That in mind, he had no idea why Checkoth wanted someone like him - even though the brown insisted that he loved him unconditionally. He didn’t understand why, even after that, he attracted fire lizards. But he did, and Grouch and Crash were clear testament to that fact…
“I don’t understand why,” he admitted with a slight shrug. “But you’re right -- for some reason, they all seem to like me. I think only Savitri’s fire lizard actively dislikes me, and Ellie can’t stand her, so I’m not sure it’s anything personal. Ellie only dislikes her and Brat… hilariously, Hazard adores Brat…” But then, Hazard was a very good tempered fire lizard. Brat could be mean to him without fail and he probably still would have adored her, solely because she was Brat. As it was, he spoiled the gold salamandyr rotten, R’wign knew, and spent an enormous amount of time with her. Had she clutched yet? He’d never asked Lennae, not wanting to know… or rather, not wanting to risk said greenrider’s temper. He was a little nervous she would try to stab him or something. “But then, it wasn’t Hazard’s Flight that Brat interrupted, screaming insults…” He shrugged slowly. Hazard had all but forgotten that occasion, and Ellie was polite enough not to remind her dear brown of it. Such a good little gold.
As for her being able to deal with not sleeping, well - he’d expected that. He’d simply brought it up to point out that she’d have as much time around the baby while awake as he would, since for the first turn or so, they wouldn’t be able to control when their child decided to sleep. His words were meant to reassure, not imply inadequacy; he really was convinced Meira would make a fine mother, young or not. She was more mature than half the dragon rider females he knew, not that it was that much of an achievement since they were the likes of Saeo (who screamed rape because she was tied down; what sort of idiot went around yelling that?). If anyone was capable of parenthood and excelling at it, it would be Meira. He was actually worried about being a decent father because he wanted to measure up. It didn’t make sense out loud, and he didn’t think it fair to discuss those worries with Meira, either. It wasn’t her job to reassure him. He had other friends for that… friends who wouldn’t be made to feel guilty listening to him complain. Meira seemed like the sort to blame herself, and she hadn’t done anything wrong.
Turning his gaze to Zesa again, R’wign crinkled his nose. “Well you’re no help,” he teased, before eying Meira. “I think every baby is different. Boy, girl, both, neither -- it’s our child, it’ll be a genius before it’s a turn old anyway.” He shrugged his shoulder, but he meant every word. He wasn’t unintelligent. In fact, as far as brains went, R’wign knew he was smart. He’d often been called deviously so, but the point not withstanding, he’d never actually been called stupid in all seriousness. Foolish, maybe, but not stupid. At least, not by anyone but Marra, and she’d later taken it all back anyway (and gone on to compliment him on a regular enough basis that she stroked his ego to a size most found unbearable; her death had popped it most effectively). Besides that, Meira was extremely intelligent; even if he was lacking in brains, surely she would’ve countered all of that. He had faith in her.
“Did you ever go to healer hall?” he added, curious. Meira didn’t seem like the sort to have gone, but -- Healer Hall was different than any other northern craft hall. The Master Healer was welcoming of women in his craft, even going so far as to promote them to the rank of Master, a behavior unheard of in the north. Women were treated as equals to men there - at least, in the eyes of most of the teachers. Some were traditional, but most weren’t, most were like the Master Healer. As far as R’wign was concerned, it was practically Southern, except for the sort of patients treated there. The amount of dragon riders from both Weyrs was enough to be nauseating. He’d been glad he was brought to Selenitas rather than Benden or Fort. “I’m wondering because you’ve been an apprentice for a long time - I know Savitri’s almost ready to earn her Journeyman knots, I was just wondering how close you are to it; we don’t work on shift together so I can’t monitor you as easily as I can Savitri.”
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Avu
Weyrleader Ce'thian Rider A'emi Handler Sena Harper Matteo Weyrbrat Riaren
Posts: 2,439
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Post by Avu on Jun 15, 2009 23:31:33 GMT -5
Oh. Of course. Ras. Did Ras like anybody…? Meira crinkled her nose slightly, shrugging one shoulder. “Does Ras even act like she likes Savitri?” she queried, almost amused, before she glanced at Zesa again. “Hnn. I don’t think Zesa really care about Brat one way or the other,” she mused thoughtfully, quirking one eyebrow at the queen in an invitation to contradict her. Both eyebrows rose, however, at the statement about Brat…interrupting Ellie’s Flight. Well. Hnn. “That was…nice of her,” she observed, the dryness in her tone making it clear that it was anything but. “Hazard Caught Brat, didn’t he…? When she Ran?” It occurred to her a second later the implications of exactly that: Hazard Catching Brat. Lennae…? Biting her tongue, Meira bowed her head slightly towards Zesa to indicate the gold, adding absently, “She doesn’t like Ras, either, though…she’d probably disown her, if she could.” Maybe. Zesa did seem to have some loyalty to all of her sons and daughters; but that didn’t mean she liked them. Whether or not she’d disown them…hmm. Well, Meira kind of wished Zesa could disown Ras…obnoxious little green, hmm…poor Savitri…
It sounded really, really cruel to wish that Meisk wasn’t nocturnal, but the thought did pass across her mind, fleeting as it was. She quashed it instantly, but it had been there. She loved the blue too much to even consider asking him to reImpress to anybody, didn’t trust anyone enough with her darling to ask – but if he wasn’t nocturnal…the indecision flickered across her face for a moment before Meira bowed her head, intentionally letting her hair fall in a curtain to block out her face. She knew her face was expressive (and hated it, most of the time). But it wasn’t like she could ask the wher to become diurnal; it was literally impossible, so…meh. Still, though; the contradicting wishes were…very troublesome. The baby would eventually grow up and choose one way or the other: Whers or dragons or neither, and she was very much aware that the baby would probably want to Impress a dragon, especially since Checkoth was so sweet…which meant he – or she – wouldn’t stay up too long in the night and she’d…very effectively be cut entirely out.
Which was not something she wanted.
Zesa’s amusement interrupted her, and Meira smiled slightly at the queen’s reaction to R’wign’s words. The gold firelizard looked up at the brownweyrling and twittered pleasantly, clearly not at all put off by the fact that she hadn’t gotten them much father in their quest for the right name. The wherhandler’s smile widened despite herself at R’wign’s opinion on their unborn baby’s intelligence, and she almost touched her abdomen in a gesture that would have been blatantly possessive and protective both, though she caught herself before she actually did it. Her head tilted to one side and she quirked her eyebrows in amusement. “While we’re being modest…” she commented wryly, though the question that followed was perfectly serious: “What do you think she – he – will look like…?” And who could blame her if she couldn’t entirely keep the wistfulness out of her tone? The thought of the baby was…adorable: She almost wanted the baby, even though another, more practical, part of her was very much aware of the fact that she’d be positively exhausted following the birth.
Meira shook her head at the brownrider’s question, quirking her mouth to one side slightly. Her training had been…very, very informal; she hadn’t even ever gotten Healers’ knots. “No…I wasn’t really formally trained ever,” she admitted, and then shrugged. “I mean, I didn’t get apprentice knots or anything; I just tagged along, and whatever it was that needed Healing – was explained on the spot.” She glanced at R’wign, and then looked down at the blankets again before she added, “Later – I’d actually help instead of just watching, for the smaller things, but it wasn’t – ever – real training…” She paused, and then finished even as she absently ran her finger over Zesa’s neck ridges. “I don’t really know about Journeyman knots or anything, though…” She’d never really been concerned about her rank as a Healer, she noted with some surprise; she’d never actually thought about it till…right now. Hmm.
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Post by glamourie on Jun 16, 2009 21:42:37 GMT -5
As far as he knew, Ras didn’t express any affection for Savitri, no. But R’wign spent remarkably little time around the gold rider if it could be helped; his Ellie would, most of the time, make sure the green kept in line at the infirmary but otherwise - otherwise R’wign had no experience with her. He supposed it was possible Ras blamed him for Ellie’s scolding but he actually had little to do with it; Elegance hated noise, and was not above commanding Ras to shut up if she wouldn’t listen to polite suggestions. It took a lot to agitate Ellie to that level but Ras was noisy enough to succeed. Since the question sounded rhetorical, R’wign chose not to respond to it; actually doing so would have indicated how little experience with Savitri on a personal level he had, anyway, and R’wign didn’t want Meira to know that he disliked the gold rider. It wasn’t completely Savitri’s fault. The fact that she was an incessant nag, and prone to not taking care of herself not withstanding, he simply didn’t like her because she was Ka’rys’s weyrmate. Ka’rys was his friend, and he did not like the effect the gold rider had on him. Plain and simple. He was polite enough to never tell Savitri that, though… and smart enough not to say it in front of Ka’rys. He liked his head on his shoulders.
“He did catch Brat,” R’wign said, but he didn’t elaborate. He cast Meira a nervous look, though. Did she understand the implications of that statement? Kind of awkward, discussing that with her. She probably did know the full effects a gold salamandyr Run had on their bonded… and what effects a fire lizard chasing did not have on theirs. Very awkward indeed. Though, he hadn’t opposed at all. He hadn’t opposed with Meira, either, but… with Meira it was… different? With Lennae, he’d just genuinely liked having blackmail material, but that was something entirely separate. R’wign squinted. “It kind of makes me glad it’s not just me and Ellie. Though, Ellie is really hard to offend. Even salamandyrs, aside from Brat, don’t seem to, and she’s let her irritation with Brat go for the most part.” Ellie did not like that Brat stole her brown, but that needn’t be stated…
Wait, what the baby would look like…?
That was… something he hadn’t thought about. His first thought was red and wrinkly because that was what all babies looked like, at least immediately. He didn’t know what the child would look like when growing up. The thought made him pause and drum his fingers on the edge of the hard wood trunk. He tried to imagine a merging of his and Meira’s features - but in his mind, he accomplished little; he didn’t have a very visual imagination. What he did have was an active one, but… not in terms of mental imagery. He did better with just coming up on things on the fly.
“For the baby’s sake, I hope it looks like you… but is a little more outgoing,” he said with a slight shrug. Considering he thought he was repulsive to look at, yes, he hoped the baby looked like Meira. She was at least good looking; he’d never had a problem with her appearance. He… looked like a freak. One eyed mutant. That thought was quickly pushed out of his mind, and he tacked on carefully (in hopes that she wouldn’t realize his slip), “I don’t really know what it’ll come out looking like though.” At least, not permanently. He had a good idea what the baby would look like when it was born because they all looked the same. Somehow he doubted Meira would appreciate that somewhat-jaded comment though. It wasn’t her fault he’d had bad experiences with babies, after all. It wasn’t anyone’s except his own. He needed to get over that - and fast.
Healing was a slightly safer topic, and R’wign clucked his tongue and then nodded. “If you ever want to learn what you need to know to be an official journeyman, you know I’d be happy to help teach you.” At least, she’d better have known that. “You do fine though. You’re more competent than some of our other healers, who I won’t name out of courtesy. So um -” He paused, then glanced at Meira, “- what do you want the baby to look like?”
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Avu
Weyrleader Ce'thian Rider A'emi Handler Sena Harper Matteo Weyrbrat Riaren
Posts: 2,439
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Post by Avu on Jun 17, 2009 12:59:06 GMT -5
…wow. Meira didn’t quite know whether or not she was amused; the most prominent emotion was sympathy: R’wign had really bad luck when it came to Runs and lust, didn’t he…? First her (and she had been completely mortified afterwards), and now Lennae. Clearly Salamandyr queens and wild whers had it in for R’wign – Brat and that wild green, though Lennae hadn’t necessarily – and then she caught the nervous glance that the brownweyrling sent her way, and she couldn’t help blinking, blood rising to her cheeks, before she looked away, shifting her position from being propped mainly on one arm to actually sitting, legs crossed and pulled upwards, her arms holding her legs up. Easier not to comment, though she did wonder how, exactly, one person got so unlucky as to be jumped – repeatedly due to Runlust. Hmm…
Had he really thought he and Ellie were the only ones who actively disliked Ras? Zesa, admittedly, never went out of her way to scold the green, but she did if Ras got too obnoxious – and Meira, for her part, was usually never around the green firelizard; her shift never matched up to Savitri’s, and if she did see Ras outside of the Infirmary, she could always do an abrupt turnabout and walk away in the opposite direction again (that usually meant she was walking away from Savitri, too – unfortunately, since she liked the goldrider; it was only her pet that made Meira deliberately avoid her). Meira smiled slightly, glancing down at Zesa again; the gold had sat upright at the thought of Ras, and the flute that she offered was distinctly disapproving: She didn’t understand how Ras had come out of her shell so…completely obnoxious, and if there was one of her offspring that Zesa could disown, it would definitely be Ras.
Wait – what? Meira’s head came around and she looked at R’wign for a moment, lips parted slightly, before she dropped her gaze again, still stroking Zesa absently. That had been…extremely self-deprecating on R’wign’s part; she couldn’t help tilting her head curiously to one side. She didn’t think R’wign looked bad, on a purely impersonal basis. It wasn’t like it was his fault that he’d lost an eye, and she couldn’t see why he’d be so…deprecatory other than that. She crinkled her nose slightly, but she bit her tongue for the moment, still watching R’wign. Tilting her face back towards Zesa, she shrugged one shoulder. She didn’t want the baby to look too much like her, though it wasn’t because she considered herself ugly – she just wanted the baby to look like both of them. She didn’t know what R’wign had looked like as a child, and she couldn’t accurately remember how she had looked. “You don’t want the baby to look like you? At all…?” she asked softly, unable to help the question. “Why not?”
Honestly, though; she’d never actually considered becoming a journeyman. For a moment, Meira bowed her head, and then she nodded, smiling gratefully at the brownweyrling. “Thanks,” she said, nodding at him before she shrugged, still hugging her knees: A distinctly childish position, but one she’d never quite grown out of. “I’d like that…” she mused. Hnn. If she was going to learn, she might as well start as soon as possible – before the baby came and she was almost guaranteed to be downright exhausted all the time for at least the first few months. Fun times…? As for what she wanted the baby to look like…Meira shook her head slightly. “I don’t really know exactly – I do know, though,” she added, slightly defiant despite herself, “That I do want her – or him – to look like both of us…at least a little.”
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Post by glamourie on Jun 18, 2009 5:34:50 GMT -5
Was she… embarrassed? She shouldn’t have been; of the two people who had… pretty much dragged him to their beds (metaphorically speaking) due to flightlust, Meira was by far the one R’wign minded least. Compared to Lennae, she was a saint. Not only did she not try to weasel out of him extra fellis (his healer side cringed in irritation), but she also didn’t really act as if anything had happened. Well, aside from the baby. Lennae was someone that R’wign enjoyed teasing, bantering with - that made her different, separate from Meira. Meira was a friend and they’d just… had an accident. Though, he hoped by the time their child was old enough to understand the process that babies came from, the two of them would have a much better explanation than that. Describing a child as ‘an accident’ rarely went over well. Maybe they could use the phrase ‘surprise’ and hope it was better received. Thoughts for another day -- it would be a very long time before their baby ever came to wonder why its mommy and daddy were not weyrmates or indeed any level of romantically attached… and they were at a Weyr; maybe it was because he was hold bred that he was even considering that as a possibility.
Shaking the thought from his mind, R’wign glanced at Zesa, then offered the fire lizard a comical smirk. Her obvious distaste for Ras was hilarious in his opinion, since Zesa was normally so mild-mannered and kind. He could just imagine how she acted in front of Ras herself. Poor Zesa. R’wign would have petted her - but Meira’s question drew his attention away from the fire lizard entirely and the topic of pets itself.
“Well, I have some okay traits,” R’wign said nervously; her focus on that little tidbit was discomforting. “I mean - considering we’re in the south, I wouldn’t mind if the baby got my skin, since I tan rather than burn… I don’t think I’ve ever had a sunburn…” It was definitely a convenient trait. Made lounging in the sun very comfortable. “I just -- generally, I think -- you know,” he began, intentionally moving to change the topic due to his own discomfort with it, “most women would be flattered by someone implying they’re beautiful enough to have their looks pass on through the generations.” He was actually… surprised. And pleased, beyond the embarrassment. He’d been trying for ages to get Meira to open up and voice her opinions, and he was glad that she was doing so. He just… didn’t know how to explain to her that when he looked in the mirror, the image that stared back made him want to break things. He hated the way he looked. But -- he didn’t always look dreadful. Maybe -- “I guess aside from skin, I’ve got an okay nose. I don’t know - I mean, it’s hard to predict that sort of thing… I don’t really -- I…” Why not, indeed. “I don’t like what I see when I look in the mirror. You’re far more appealing on the eyes. Besides, I doubt I’d make a very pretty girl…?”
Despite wearing dresses all the time!
He didn’t comment on the subject of healing; if she wanted him to teach her, she could set the time and date. It’d be difficult for him to, since he was diurnal, but R’wign had no problem staying up extra late if it helped Meira out -- and he wanted to get to know her a little better, anyway. If they were going to be raising a child together, they needed to at least be friends on more than a superficial level. She was so secretive though, dodging questions left and right. It made getting to know Meira extraordinarily difficult, and he wanted to know her - part of him wanted to figure her out. She was proving to be extremely complicated, though. More so than most women and that was saying something really. Women were confusing in general.
“Such a helpful response,” R’wign commented teasingly. “Let’s just hope the kid gets my ability to talk to people. You, my dear, are entirely too shy.” Turning back to the trunk, R’wign indicated some of the blankets. “Do you know which, if any, of these you’d like? We’ve got a ton of them sprawled out here, and I really meant it: I don’t mind you taking any or as many as you want. I’ve never been down to the wherhandler apartments, but I imagine it gets cold there in the dark of winter. Do you guys have fireplaces? Can whers handle the light from the flames? I don’t know anything about them -- I just know I keep mine burning throughout the night in winter time; I like curling up in front of it to sleep, even though my furs are the most comfortable thing ever…”
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Avu
Weyrleader Ce'thian Rider A'emi Handler Sena Harper Matteo Weyrbrat Riaren
Posts: 2,439
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Post by Avu on Jun 18, 2009 15:14:09 GMT -5
The gold firelizard in question caught R’wign’s smirk, and though Zesa didn’t quite flare her wings to emphasize her dislike of her green daughter, she did make a sound that very distinctly resembled a dolphin’s clicking – one sound that very aptly showcased her emotions. She wasn’t downright mean to the green – most of the time, if at all possible, Zesa tried to ignore her, hoping that the lack of attention would make her shut up, or hope that it would make Ras get distracted faster – the queen would much rather just leave the room if Ras was bothering her too much. But she still disliked her greatly – and Ellie had her own bad baby, didn’t she? That mean blue – what was his name – Arrogance. Clearly that meant that every gold was entitled to one – one hatchling who was…less than pleasing in her lifetime, yes? The firelizard flicked both wings across her back before she continued to examine each of the blankets set before her, silently, before she planted herself firmly on one of the blankets – the white, yellow, and yellow-gold one. She liked this one best.
Meira had stopped stroking Zesa by that point (namely because the firelizard had moved out of easy reach); she twirled the hem of her shirt around one finger, the habit going unnoticed by the wherhandler as she tilted her head to watch R’wign curiously. She’d never considered him as actually arrogant, but she’d never thought of him as modest, either. Hmm… Meira bowed her head slightly, though it stayed tilted in order to keep her gaze on R’wign. She glanced down at the back of her own hand, and then looked back up at R’wign: There was no denying the fact that she was pale – though how easily she burned, she wasn’t really sure. She didn’t remember ever burning, but then, she’d spent most of her life inside – and, now, with Meisk, nocturnal. As far as being flattered went – well, she supposed she was, but – still; the fact that R’wign didn’t want the baby to look like him had caught her…off guard, to say the least. “Mm – belated thank you?” she offered wryly, crinkling her nose before she looked at the brownrider and then shrugged, resting her chin on her knees again.
“I don’t – I don’t think you look bad,” she said quietly, trying to keep the comment impersonal by not flushing – “and…I’m sure you could be pretty…?”
As for healing…her schedule was…actually very open. With M’ta in the Infirmary, there were no more lessons on defense for the Night Watch, and that had been her prime activity in the afternoons – mornings for her and Meisk – so…“Um – when’s your shift end?” she asked, biting her lip thoughtfully: Her first shift started at ten at night, and she’d rather get up early to learn than make R’wign get up early to teach her, so if they could…maybe they could fit it between the end of his shift and the start of hers? Or something…she didn’t mind getting up obscenely early (for a wherhandler, anyway) to go to the Infirmary; she spent much of her extra time there anyway because she had nothing else she absolutely needed or wanted to get done.
The brownrider’s comment on her being shy was answered with a small grin – she knew she was shy, but she couldn’t help it; she merely shook her head from side to side, watching as R’wign gestured towards the blankets spread on the ground and in the trunk; Meira smiled softly at Zesa, who had curled up on top of her favorite, eyes whirling to show that she was awake and definitely listening, but otherwise looking almost asleep. “I don’t need any for myself,” she answered, though she smiled at R’wign – it was a nice offer. “We – we do have fireplaces; they’re placed so the whers don’t see them from their couches.” She shrugged; she didn’t often light it because she liked to curl up in a blanket with Meisk as her pillow – which didn’t look too comfortable, probably, but the blue didn’t thrash around in his sleep or anything, and it made both of them feel safer. “I like the one that Zesa’s on, though…for the baby, maybe?” She’d be willing to be the gold liked it because it yellow-gold color was very distinctly reminiscent of her own hide, but it was pretty either way…
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Post by glamourie on Jun 18, 2009 23:37:53 GMT -5
Zesa’s positioning herself on the blanket, following her clicking, made R’wign chuckle to himself; it was amusing, her response to the topic of Ras. She seemed so… agitated. Didn’t she know what half of his fire lizards acted like? Ras wasn’t that bad. Annoying, but not that bad. Roxie was pretty ornery when she wanted to be; the green tended to get loud when she was around other loud fire lizards, as though she felt she had to compensate and defeat them somehow. Collision was downright unpleasant when awake (though in his defense, he usually was woken up rudely; when he woke up on his own, he would beg for food and even be downright affectionate), and Grouch… Grouch was a little mischievous monster. He liked to sit and lecture everyone he could find, tell them off most effectively, and then sulk when it didn’t work. But deep down the little monster liked being held, cuddled, R’wign could feel his delight. Grouch of course protested and made it sound like it was a great deal of trouble for him to sit still, but R’wign knew better: he liked it. Really, the only good tempered ones he had were Ellie and Hazard… Crash insisted on flirting with all females, after all.
Her sincerity astounded him. Really. An eyebrow raised, and R’wign scrunched his nose. However, the wherhandler’s next statement brought a pale blush to his cheeks that R’wign ducked his head to hide. She didn’t think he looked bad. Comforting, that. He did. He couldn’t stand looking at himself anymore. Once upon a time, he was vain enough that he liked staring in the mirror, posing and strutting -- but not anymore. He particularly hated his eyes. Just one look at them made him flash back on the hallway and - and he didn’t want to see the good one anymore. Not that it was common to see one’s eye; in fact, only in front of a mirror could he do so, but that didn’t take away R’wign’s discomfort. He saw Religna in his face, even if she didn’t look all that much like him, and he missed her horribly. He’d failed to protect her and Marra both and -- and he hated the reminder that was his appearance. Better to avoid it entirely.
“I’m on during the day. With Kalierre as badly hurt as she is, I’m pretty much covering morning to night shifts,” R’wign admitted. “Typically, I’m from just after breakfast time - around ten in the morning - ‘til just before dinner time, around four. Savitri, E’rro, K’iel and L’nos come in and take over. But lately I’ve just been taking breaks for meals and then working clear through. I don’t really feel comfortable without Kalierre there to handle the daytime shifts. E’rro’s good, in terms of dragon healing, but we don’t have any other journeymen -- it’s me and Kalierre. I’m sure Savitri can handle it under normal circumstances, but -- she’s also… well, it feels wrong to saddle a pregnant woman with that much responsibility in the infirmary. That and her weyrmate might hunt me down if she stresses herself out. Ka’rys can be scary when he wants to be.” And by ‘scary’, R’wign meant to most everyone else. He was cocky enough that he did not believe the bronze rider would harm him, and he was right.
She was smiling…? At being called shy? Pfft! Apparently she had a sense of humor after all. Pleasing. He’d begun to wonder, considering that Meira was so… so… closed off. He nodded in response to her explanation before glancing at Zesa.
“You can have the one Zesa’s on then, since she seems to like it so much.” The gold did seem fond of it, silly creature. “I really know almost nothing about whers, except that I tried to convince Marra to stand for a wher clutch once and she flung a hand harp at my head. Apparently I was talking nonsense.” He’d been annoyed at the time; R’wign did not like having things thrown at him and Marra enjoyed throwing things when agitated. They’d fought, and then christened his new weyr. He’d moved since -- that room had too many memories, it made him feel sick to even go inside. “Maybe we should just like Zesa have that one, since she likes it. Did you know Ellie sometimes sleeps in my nightstand’s drawer? It’s filled with blankets, too - but they’re hers, and she’d be mad if I took them…”
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Avu
Weyrleader Ce'thian Rider A'emi Handler Sena Harper Matteo Weyrbrat Riaren
Posts: 2,439
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Post by Avu on Jun 19, 2009 13:45:05 GMT -5
He – Meira resisted the instinct to duck her head to R’wign’s level to see his expression; that he’d reacted made her redden slightly, too, and she directed her gaze to Zesa, who still looked rather agitated (but passively, now), sprawled on her favorite blanket. She hadn’t meant to – embarrass R’wign, or – or whatever it was that he felt like he had to hide. If she wasn’t allowed to be self-deprecating, well – she didn’t want R’wign to be, either, and it wasn’t like she was lying to make him feel better or anything: He didn’t look bad, even on an impersonal level. Zesa added her opinion, fluting musically at the brownrider, before she squirmed forward to look up at R’wign: What was he doing…? Apparently Hers thought he was being deprecatory towards…himself; silly brownrider – he was pretty, he was. Did that make him feel better? She thought he was pretty. The gold firelizard crooned again, her head falling to rest on the edge of the blanket, just above the floor of the weyr, her forepaws, too, dangling from the blanket as Meira bit her lip lightly, glancing at R’wign again, almost nervously.
The brownrider’s explanation on his Infirmary shift hours made Meira pause before she nodded, crinkling her nose slightly. If he was on all day – hmm. “Savitri might end up killing herself,” she acknowledged absently, though there was a distinct note of amused exasperation in her tone. Very, very distinctly did she remember the goldrider trying to carry a ridiculously heavy box around herself while very obviously pregnant – and being opposed to Meira carrying it for her. They’d ended up compromising, but – still. “Umm…” As far as her schedule went – “Could I maybe hunt you down after you’ve had dinner…?” she suggested. She wasn’t sure how late or early that was, but she’d been getting up at around four and a half candlemarks past noon, so unless R’wign ate dinner with his lunch, she was pretty sure she’d be awake at that time. “Isn’t Jermayan a journeyman, too?” she added, thoughtfully. “He couldn’t take over during the day, obviously, but I doubt he’d protest taking over in the late afternoon or something…”
One person shouldn’t run the Infirmary all day – even if Savitri wasn’t stressed out, R’wign would be…
She kind of wanted to keep talking about whers; it was all too rare that anybody cared anything about the night-creatures; only the thought that R’wign might not appreciate straying so far from the idea of blankets stopped Meira. He probably didn’t want or need a lecture on whers – their abilities and talents – and to be honest, Meira wouldn’t really know how to go about explaining, either; Meisk had become close enough to her that it was hard to comprehend how people did not understand their Bond – like trying to describe what it was like to be able to see to someone who was blind: It just was. Hnn. She could always just babble about how amazing whers were to Meisk himself, anyway; he’d almost definitely appreciate it, and there was no chance of his ego inflating; the blue was incredibly nervous.
The offer to keep the blanket that Zesa was lying on made Meira bite her lip, wondering if she ought to refuse – it was a gift, which might make it rude, but she didn’t want R’wign to have to give her anything, not when he’d already promised to help her with the baby. Zesa’s pleased flute clinched it, however, and Meira smiled gratefully at R’wign, nodding. “Thanks…” Sticking out one foot to nudge the gold firelizard gently, Meira tilted her head to one side as Zesa sat upright (still on her blanket) and trilled at the brownrider in what was clearly the firelizard-version of thank you; manners must not be neglected. Glancing back at R’wign, a mix of amusement and confusion flickered across her face, and she couldn’t help wrinkling her nose, wondering whether or not she ought to take offense that Marra had, apparently, taken such offense at the idea of Impressing a wher. She doubted it had been meant offensively, though, so she simply shrugged. “She was the Weyr Harper, wasn’t she…? Being nocturnal probably wouldn’t have worked so well,” she pointed out quietly.
Nonetheless, she smiled at the idea of Ellie sleeping in a drawer full of blankets. “That sounds really cute,” she noted, glancing back at Zesa again and crinkling her nose. “She,” and the wherhandler nodded at Zesa, “likes to sleep on my pillow…” And then, amusement flicking in her tones again, “I guess if all your firelizards slept on you you’d be…completely smothered, wouldn’t you…?”
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Post by glamourie on Jun 20, 2009 19:55:18 GMT -5
What…? R’wign blinked and looked up at Zesa inquisitively. Why was she making that noise…? He was tempted to ask, but the slight tinge of pink on Meira’s face prevented him. Instead, R’wign reached over with one hand to stroke down Zesa’s back. Whether it was intuition or simple knowledge of fire lizards was difficult to say -- but he knew what she was trying to say. He was flattered, but no matter what she said, it didn’t change how he felt. When he looked in the mirror, he’d always think of his own inadequacies. It wasn’t something Zesa or Meira could fix. Yes, he was flattered that neither of them thought him repulsive and he did find it somewhat reassuring, but in the end, the fact remained: he thought he was disgusting to look at, and no one could change that. Maybe over time it would get better. Some part of him hoped so; he hated looking in the mirror and detesting what he saw, he did. Only a few months had passed though… the wounds were still fresh and part of him - part felt like they’d never heal. He was smart enough to know better. It was just going to take time and effort to get better emotionally. Bodies healed much faster than a broken heart.
“You’re welcome to hunt me down whenever is convenient for you, Meira. Zesa knows how to find me I’m sure,” he said with a slight nod. “But you’re right. Savitri lacks sense when it comes to her own personal care. She’ll work herself to the point of being sick and it makes Ka’rys angry - then he rages at me for letting her do it, because obviously I should have some control over his pet gold rider.” Rolling his eye, R’wign sighed. He’d tried to explain to Ka’rys that Savitri did not listen to him any better than she did anyone, but the bronze rider, when in a funk, was determined to stay angry until someone’s head went rolling across the floor. At least so far it wasn’t his yet. One day Savitri would learn self-preservation, but no amount of him fussing at her would make her understand that. He strongly suspected that the girl simply was missing a large part of her mind -- but … he was polite enough not to say that to anyone who may have liked Savitri very much.
The second question made R’wign freeze and he crinkled his nose slightly. Jermayan probably could have handled some afternoon shifts, but -- he was selfish. He wanted Jermayan on the night shifts. He trusted him more than he did most of the others there. He didn’t know that Asharra woman at all, and trying to let her primarily run that shift would go terribly. So he didn’t. Instead, he’d left Jermayan and S’lain in charge of the night shift. E’rro wasn’t qualified enough to handle the dragon healer aspect either. Yes, the brown rider was doing a very good job of learning, and he was competent -- but, maybe it was respect for Kalierre, or maybe it was arrogance. He knew Kali would not have trusted anyone but him to run her shift. It was always him she called. Just because she wasn’t willing to speak up, didn’t mean he knew her any less. She wouldn’t have wanted him to let the infirmary go to pot while she was hurt, and he respected her enough to bust his hump in her absence. Besides, he’d ran twelve hour shifts before. Granted, that was before he Impressed, but he could do it.
Clicking his tongue, R’wign shook his head. “Jermayan is needed on the night shift. I’m actually a senior apprentice in dragon healing - I’ve been learning since right after I came to Selenitas, almost four turns now. My main focus is on traditional healing, but Kalierre was insistent that I learn to treat dragons too, and with her hurt, we only have me and E’rro as dragon healers on day shift - when dragon healers are needed the most. I could probably teach Jermayan if he wanted to learn some things, and a lot of the basic principles are the same - stitching and the like - but I wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving the dragon healing in just E’rro’s hands. I know more than he does. Maybe that’s arrogant, but it’s also the truth. He’s good, he’s real good, and I’d trust him to treat superficial injuries, but I know Kalierre would want me to check things first. Actually, she’d want to check them herself, but she’d make do with me if she had to. It’s… I just don’t feel right not being there. Night shift has S’lain, and he’s a dragon healer. During the day -- it’s just me and E’rro right now…”
The topic of Marra was… half-unwelcome, but he’d brought her up, not Meira. He had no one to blame but himself. She was on his mind constantly anymore… “Not the official WeyrHarper, but she was a harper, yes. I don’t think anyone at Selenitas is dumb enough to have put her as the official WeyrHarper.” He grinned slowly, then bowed his head. “Marra, uh… was not very friendly. Harpers are usually outgoing, nice, kind, but she wasn’t by any stretch of the imagination. She hated large groups if she wasn’t performing, and it took a lot to even be friends with her. I think only me and Robika could even be considered close to her.” He shook his head. “She didn’t want to Impress a wher or a dragon. She thought it would be detrimental to her Craft… and I’m not sure she would Impress. Marra’s demeanor… well, Check took an unnaturally long time to come around to her, and Check likes almost everybody…”
Marra had frightened Check. He found her loud and… scary. He called her ‘WenchYours’ to him, a word learned from Ka’rys that R’wign was still mildly irritated (but mostly amused) by. The harper, however, had adored Checkoth -- it was cute, watching her with him, and once Check came around, the two of them were really amusing together. Alas.
Crinkling his nose, R’wign pushed those thoughts from his mind before nodding to Meira. “If they all slept on me, I’d be more than smothered. As it is, only Empress sleeps on me. The rest have their various perches. Sometimes Roxie will snuggle up at my neck; she likes to be touching me. The rest - well, Ellie has her drawer, and the others really like the couch.” He indicated the couch by his fireplace for emphasis. “They tend to curl up together. Except Collision. He just sort of passes out wherever, I don’t know - he sleeps so much. If he’s not woken up, he’s pleasant, believe it or not. He just gets mean when he’s woken up or if his food is taken from him, and sleeping and eating is all he ever wants to do. It’s a wonder he’s not a little rolly polly yet, little monster…”
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Avu
Weyrleader Ce'thian Rider A'emi Handler Sena Harper Matteo Weyrbrat Riaren
Posts: 2,439
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Post by Avu on Jun 21, 2009 14:45:50 GMT -5
It was amusing – Zesa expected R’wign to understand her; she thought she had made the fact that she liked him very, very clear. The queen crooned pleasantly at him, rustling her wings as he stroked her back. She liked being touched, did Zesa. Physical affection was very good. Praise could make her feel just as good, but absentminded petting was much approved of. The gold firelizard trilled low in her throat, not loud enough to distract either of the two humans – she liked it when they talked; she liked the sound of their voices, especially Hers’ (but then, she was biased), especially since they never got loud and annoying – but enough to make it very clear that she liked being stroked and petted. It was nice – and it encouraged her to pay attention the conversation. Some firelizards might have focused solely on being stroked. Zesa paid more attention to what was being said when she was being stroked. Hers petted her when she was happy, and when she was nervous; it made Zesa feel better if she could figure out what, exactly, brought on each emotion.
R’wign’s invitation to…hunt him down, as it were, made Meira smile slightly, and she nodded. Tall Journeyman Healer with seven firelizards – Zesa probably could find him very, very easily. Most of the other firelizards would help her, if she couldn’t on her own, too, wouldn’t they? The queen was very, very polite; most of the time, the others had no problems with helping as long as she asked nicely, from her experience. But – her convenience. That would probably mean anywhere from five in the afternoon to ten at night – and after that, Meira probably wouldn’t go out of her way to find R’wign; it wasn’t fair for her to keep him up at night because of her. She grinned in dismayed amusement when it came to Savitri, though – it seemed that in order to be a Healer, you had to be absolutely hypocritical, too? Savitri was – she had been, before, directly after the Siege, sending Saeo to get rest and not doing so herself. “That sounds very reasonable,” she noted dryly. Hello, sarcasm…
His explanation as to why Jermayan couldn’t take any of the afternoon shifts (morning shifts, for them, technically, due to their nocturnal hours) made Meira nod slowly. She didn’t really know how good E’rro was – Meira distinctly remembered him being the one to examine Meisk’s broken wing directly after his Hatching and Derrisk’s attack on his egg, and she’d had to trust him – but she hadn’t actually ever been aware of how advanced he was. She nodded slightly, and then, her eyes on Zesa – she wasn’t actually paying attention to the gold, but she was safe to look at – added quietly, “E’rro was the one who took care of Meisk’s wing – after his Hatching – it was broken…greenstick fracture, he said…” Meira shrugged; it couldn’t be helped now regardless, but it still made her extremely anxious to see that the blue’s wings were mismatched as far as size went, with the one that had been broken being visibly smaller than his other. It didn’t actually matter since he never needed to fly, but – it was awkward.
Hmm – not the official WeyrHarper? Somehow, Meira had been under the impression that she was. Maybe because she was the only Harper that hadn’t also been a Candidate or dragonrider that Meira knew of. R’wign’s explanation about her made Meira smile softly – the Harper’s death had been noted, when a list noting the deaths had been made. To what purpose, she wasn’t entirely sure – probably so that their families could be contacted, their weyrs claimed by others. Whatever. Nodding, Meira glanced in Checkoth’s direction – the weyrledge – though she couldn’t actually see the brown. “Surely nobody can resist Check,” she commented quietly, the amusement in her tone clear. She…really liked the brown dragon: He was nice to her, the only dragon that actually contacted her without a need to do so – it was nice to think that maybe he liked her, too.
As the brownrider went on to explain his various pets’ sleeping habits, Meira couldn’t help smiling. It was amusing, his firelizard magnetism – Grouch’s Impression proved that he did attract firelizards, as did Hazard and Collsion’s – and Crash kind of did, too. “Well – Collision’s cute when he’s asleep,” she offered, crinkling her nose slightly. She’d never…actually met the blue when he wasn’t either sleeping or eating (he was usually sleeping; he’d paused to eat when Crash Hatched) – but she didn’t really think she wanted to. Biting her lip slightly, Meira was – very abruptly – made aware of the fact that Meisk had woken fully, and he (a) was worried about her, and (b) was hungry, so (c) wouldn’t she please come back and (d) take him to the Feeding Grounds so he could eat? Smiling in amused affection for the blue wher, Meira started to rise to her feet, clicking her tongue at Zesa.
“Meisk just woke up – he’s hungry. I’m – I’m sorry, I’m going to have to go feed him…” She liked R’wign’s company, but she’d have to leave sometime, and now was as good a time as any. At least they’d managed something…? “Are you sure you don’t mind if I take that blanket…?” she added, gesturing at the blanket that Zesa was still on top of, though the gold had sat up to flute at her. “I mean, you don’t have to try and make Zesa happy; she wouldn’t mind or anything…”
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Post by glamourie on Jun 22, 2009 3:04:13 GMT -5
If he wasn’t so distracted, R’wign would have found Zesa’s response cute. As it was, his mind was going thirty or forty different directions; he was thinking about the infirmary, their baby, and how much he really would have liked a bath. First and foremost he was bothered by the realization that they were staffed… incorrectly. So many traditional healers, so few dragon healers. Perhaps it would due to revisit Kalierre’s previous idea of teaching all the healers basic dragon healing so that they could handle the small stuff? It was an idea. There was no reason for him to be the third most qualified dragon healer at Selenitas. S’lain and Kalierre ranked him but only out of experience and with one of them out of commission, things were stressful for him. He was willing to admit to himself that he was stressed out - not to Meira. Unfortunately, part of that was because she had added to it. Unintentional, surely, but that fact wasn’t really considered when it came to the nausea and worry in the back of his mind. The baby was the second biggest thing on his mind - along with the fear that he’d be a pitiful father. What if he made so many mistakes their child came out miserable? It would be all his fault. All his fault. Yes, he definitely wanted a long, hot bath to relax. He’d feel better after that, surely.
“I used to pull twelve hour shifts regularly, on top of candidate chores and lessons. This is not really that much different. Checkoth usually will hunt on his own without me being there with him, physically, and you’d be surprised how many people like oiling him,” R’wign replied. “As for exercise, I find it relaxing to go flying with him, so - all in all, I don’t think it’s that different. Kalerary loves to oil Check. She’ll spoil him at the rate she’s going, and K’lir’s taken to helping, too.” The reason for that had nothing to do with his infirmary shifts, though. R’wign simply couldn’t oil and bathe all of Checkoth on his own anymore. He just couldn’t. The effort it took was too hard on him and he found himself gasping after half the dragon. Strenuous activities were very rough on him. Kale liked caring for the brown, and K’lir pitied R’wign; he knew it was pity, and part of him was disgusted, but most of him was just grateful. Grateful to not have to worry about Check’s well-being, among other things…
She was right though. No one could resist Checkoth. The dragon need only lounge around somewhere and the weyrbrats all seemed to want to climb on him. The brown, of course, was fine with it. Totally, and completely fine with it. He liked children… hence his excitement at the idea of R’wign breeding. The brown definitely favored Meira, too. In his mind, she was the only queen human that wasn’t scary. SavitriHepaticath’s and KaeganMillieth’s were scary (to him). Even if he was nice to them. He was afraid their golds would eat him. AlisciaTanith’s was also scary -- but Tanith even more so; he’d heard from Ciceroth that Tanith was one of the meanest greens. He’d have considered Aliscia a green except that she’d clutched and everyone knew greens didn’t clutch. So, obviously, she was a queen. Even though Millieth said human greens also clutched. But -- Meira was a queen. She had to be.
R’wign opened his mouth to speak when Meira explained that Meisk was awake. He blinked, then glanced at the ledge where Checkoth was lounging, before nodding to her. “You don’t have to apologize. I’ve got that glutton. I know how it is. You go care for your wher. Eventually, you’re going to have to introduce me to him,” he said with a wry smile before glancing at Zesa. “Oh far be it from me to deny the little queen what she wants. But no, seriously -- you can have it. I won’t use it, and I’m glad someone likes it so very much. If you like it, and Zesa likes it, it’s obviously destined to be yours. You should hurry though - it’ll be full dark at the rate we’re going and, well, I’m going to take a long hot bath since you’re heading out. And hope I don’t fall asleep in there. You’re welcome to come up here any time though, you know~” And he meant every word: Meira was welcome whenever she wanted. He certainly had no problems with her visiting.
But he’d have to start wearing clothes more often. Bother.
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