A Proposal She Couldn't Refuse... (Tag: Ruby)

[Ivy]

Storming out of the house she slammed the door behind her, "I don't care who he is, you cannot force me to marry him!"

Through the door came a deep voiced reply, but Roselle was no longer there to hear it. She had already sprinted down the path leading from her home and towards the main Hold. The shoulder bag she usually had with her was stuffed to capacity - she'd grabbed all the clothes she could, a few books, her sandals, and all the gems and metals she'd been given to make jewelry with for her father's profit. Boots hit the ground hard with each rushed step as she worked towards putting as much distance between herself and her father.

"Like he could expect me to marry off to some crackskull from Blossom Hold that he just met! What good would having a husband gone to sea so often do? He only thinks of himself! He'll see when he loses out on all the marks I bring in for him." Roselle swore under her breath and kept her dark eyes focused on the ground in front of her. She veered off the main path before reaching the main Hold, she knew Rusel would send one of her brothers after her - he was too lazy to do so himself of course - and the first place they would look is the tavern or the workshop she was permitted to do her jewel crafting in.

Instead she kept to the outskirts of the Hold, closer to the trees than she knew even her brothers would venture. The feline problem at Hyphen was no longer overwhelming but still many people seemed to prefer the mines over the tall trees and cool shade. She had never figured out why exactly, surely the tunnelsnakes they encountered were just as bad as the felines. Both places provided their own hazards but at least along the treeline it was more peaceful, and much nicer to look at. Glancing around she found a tree with a root growing out of the ground and took a seat. Leaning against the large trunk she sighed and stared up at the tree tops and then at the darkening sky.

A few moments of quiet reflection before a turn of her head brought her eyes to the Gather area. Immediately she recalled the chaos that had occurred just days before. A shiver worked down her spine and arms wrapped over her chest as she hugged herself lightly. Nothing good had come from the Gather really, except a few marks and discovering who it was that was most likely responsible for the tithing thefts.

She hadn't even known of the exiles' existence until the Gather, when some from their lot had been killed. Of course she thought the choice to kill the others in public, at a Gather no less, was a poor one - but it wasn't as if they didn't have it coming to them. No one in her family ever spoke of dragonriders, but weren't they supposed to be more honorable than to stoop so low as to steal? A snort was given and a shake of her head before she let her eyes return back up to the tree tops. If she was a dragonrider, she certainly wouldn't lower herself to a common thief.

[Ruby]

Ok, now she was really being stupid. Honestly, Ten couldn't imagine her own audacity, returning to the scene of Wasteland's discovery of Burimyu riders at the gather like some idiot thief. She didn't like to lie, and here she was, setting herself up for it. Not to mention that she still didn't have knots, still looked suspiciously scruffy... But she had to know.

What, exactly, she had to know was beyond the Greenrider - in her mind, it was some vague confusion involving Mi'rah and the girl, 'Miela', and maybe even the mysterious Sylvie. There was a stab of jealousy at that thought, one that Ten attempted to smother with only limited success. So what was she looking for? In her most silly fantasies, it was a grievously injured Bronzerider who she nursed back to health once she'd removed him to Burimyu, possibly even snubbing the mystery woman in the process. More practically, of course, she wanted to find 'Miela' and thank her, see if there was anything she could do for what she assumed was a local holdgirl (And she'd be keeping an eye out for doppelgangers. If there was a Sylvie, she wanted to know).

It had been easy enough to give T'mund and Jagjith the slip on patrol - Burimyu was staying away from Hyphen as a rule, but there was some talk that a Candidate may have been left behind, and the Council wanted the area carefully surveyed in case Wasteland had gotten any hint of where they were going. T'mund was off tracking some invisible Rider, and Ten had said she would stay behind, keeping watch on the area they were supposed to be sweeping. Technically, she could still see the trees they were supposed to be watching, but her tubby emerald Rajnith was quickly leaving it behind. She only had a little while before T'mund came back and found her gone, and who knew what Jagjith would make of that. She'd tried to leave her menagerie behind, with little success - Grip and Cujo, as usual, had perches, the salamandyr clinging to the side of one arm, and the flit coming in for a landing on the other shoulder as Big Brother found a tree in the forest with a good vantage point.

Composing her face and tugging the edge of her sleeve down over the gash in her arm (still healing), Tenlie instructed Rajnith to land at the edge of the courtyard where the gather had been held. There wasn't much of anyone around - almost all of the stalls had been dismantled already, and it was the lunch hour besides. You are an idiot, SlaveLove,[/i] Rajnith confirmed as her rider slid off her side, landing lightly in the dirt. At least the Green had consented to come. Do wait here, Ten instructed, starting across the gather square. One unknown girl would have an easy enough time slipping in among the holders, so she could see if Miela was still here.

She was halfway across the courtyard, wishing she'd left her knives with Rajnith, when the Green's voice entered her mind again. There is an interesting one over here, TenlieSlaveLove. Like the girl we found at... the other hold, but older. I am going to take a look,[/i] the Green announced, stretching before she heaved her bulk on to her too short legs, waddling Roselle's direction. No, no! Rajnith, stay in the trees! No- But it was too late. Rajnith waddled regally towards Roselle, head held in that graceful curve that came so naturally. As Ten frantically looked for a place to hide, the Green lowered her nose so it was opposite the girl's, and sniffed. Interesting.

[Ivy]

Eyes had closed as Roselle thought more about her current situation. Should she go home her father was sure to let into her until she remembered her 'place'. Then she would be shipped off to Blossom Hold to marry someone who was no doubt more than ten turns older than her (if not older). No thanks.

It wasn't that she hadn't heard the snapping branches or rustling of leaves, she had on some level. It was that she just wasn't fully aware of her surroundings, so lost in thought she was. The feel of warm breath blowing over her snapped her back to the here and now - eyes flew open and she found herself face to face with a dragon. A dragon!

Fear immediately flashed across her face, but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. Pressing herself back against the tree trunk as much as she could she held her chin up and looked at the much larger beast. While she couldn't see the full form of the Green she could tell its rider was absent. "That is a bit impolite, don't you think?" She managed to speak in an even tone, though her heart was pounding in her chest.

Of course she knew about dragons, about the Weyr. Of course she'd seen a dragon - on more than one occasion. But never this close. It was rather unnerving for the usually calm young woman. "Could I... Could I have some space please?"

[Ruby]

Rajnith raised one perfectly sculpted eyeridge at the brunette before her, turning her head just slightly so she could see Roselle better. Her eyes were a gentle blue, but they shaded towards green with a slight hint of yellow as the human insisted on speaking to her. She should be addressing the rider, not the dragon, no? A quick search for her mindmate found Tenlie still panicking in the middle of the square, indecisive about her next move. Well, it looked like the green would have to deal with it, then. With her usual tact, Rajnith cocked her head, answering both questions with a simple, No.[/i]

Her dragon's rudeness (and absolute inability to listen to Ten's mental begging) made the decision for the rider. With a sigh, she headed over to the site of the confrontation, jogging reluctantly when Rajnith spoke to the girl - woman, Ten mentally corrected herself, she had to be near Ten's own age. Catching sight of the woman's expression, Ten had to smother another sigh. She hadn't heard what Roselle had said, but apparently 'No' wasn't the right answer. The girl looked unnerved, if not exactly afraid. Of course, Ten had been somewhat unnerved by dragons, long ago, but the image of Rajnith practically rolling out of her egg, a chubby little ball of dragonflesh, kind of ruined dragons for fear-inducing.

Shoving Rajnith's head to one side, Tenlie leaned against the Green's shoulder, attempting to force her back a step. Ten's weight alone never would have done the trick, but luckily mental pressure combined with physical pressure seemed to do the trick, giving Roselle room to breathe. "Quit it," the rider said aloud (for Roselle's benefit), Ista accent heavy. "I do be sorry, she thinks the world revolves around her backside." Do not[/i]. Do to. Don-[/i] "Git," Ten interrupted her dragon, shooing her away. Rajnith took one huffy step back, settling to the ground just barely outside of Roselle's personal space. This left Tenlie slightly inside it, but the Greenrider wasn't worried, she had always been friendly. "Again, I do apologize for my big green lump." That got a violent snort from the green. "I do be Tenlie." With a sideways look at her green, she added in a stage whisper, "I think she does like you."

Do not.[/i]

[Ivy]

No? What kind of an answer was that? Roselle's nostrils flared a little - as they were prone to do when she was annoyed or angry. Before she could reply though the Green's rider appeared and pushed the beast back a bit. Eyes quickly flitted over the other woman for a moment before returning back to the dragon.

"Roselle." She gave the rider her name while still eyeing the dragon. "I don't know why she'd like me."

Roselle seemed to relax a bit more with Tenlie's presence but she was still a bit stiff. Interacting with a dragon was only mildly more intimidating for her than interacting with another female. The only one she had contact with on a regular basis was her mother - aside from some of her customers of course. But then she was always business only, she never gossiped with the other hold girls and women and once she had their marks she moved on to the next customer. Content that the dragon wouldn't be in her face again with its rider there Roselle rolled her shoulders a bit and directed her attention to Tenlie once more. A bit more attenton was paid to the rider, but not much. She had only met a few riders in passing - the recent Gather was the only time that had happened though - but shouldn't she look like... well more?

"I didn't know the Hold was expecting guests from the Weyr. I take it you're here for the hot springs?"

[Ruby]

"Roselle, pleased to make your acquaintance," Ten said, still trying to get the green to move, and failing for real now. "Well, I do no know why she would or would not like you, Rajnith does make her own choices for reasons completely unknown to me. But if she did no like you, she never would have come over. You'd be beneath her notice. Apparently, the Queen deigns to inspect you, and even to speak with you. That do be rare, at best; I must conclude that if she do no like you, she do at least find you interesting."

That much was true enough, it seemed, because rather than ignoring the woman, Rajnith had lowered her neck to lay as much of her enormous head as she could on Ten's shoulder, one eye still turned towards Roselle. Snaking one arm up around the Green's neck, Ten went on, "Oh no, we are no guests. Simply passing through, although I have heard the hot springs at Hyphen are to be seen before you die. I shall have to return. Erm." The greenrider's eyes canted sideways for a second - she'd never been especially good at hiding anything. "You've lived here most of your life, aye? Do you know a Sylvie? Or anyone with a cousin Sylvie?"

There, she'd said it. Ten's cheeks colored slightly, and she thanked her father for his darker complexion. They could certainly blaze away if they felt like it, but for now, at least, the blush was more subtle than it would have been on someone with Roselle's skin tone. Grip, perhaps sensing his mistresses distress, uncurled from Ten's arm, scampering up to the shoulder Cujo had vacated in favor of the half-eaten corpse of something someone had left behind at the Gather. Flaring his frillless spines and eye-marked wings, the little blue asked, Yes? Fritter? The second word there mostly for his own curiosity, not Tenlie's. Did she have firelizards? He wanted to say hello!

[Ivy]

Eyeing the Green and her rider still, Roselle arched a brow skeptically when the rider said she'd just been passing through. Dragonriders didn't just pass through Hyphen. Why would they? Most the Hold hated them, s'why only the worst of the mined goods were sent to the Weyr.

"Aye, the hot springs are very nice... If you're not here for them, may I ask why you are passing through?" Roselle asked, then paused at the rider's question. Sylvie? She looked thoughtful for awhile and then shook her head, "That name is not familiar to me."

When the odd looking creature scurried over Tenlie, Roselle couldn't help but blink a few times and look at it curiously. Did it... just speak to her? She just stared at it for a long while before giving a shake of her head, dark locks falling down about her face and shoulders as she did so. A hand stole up to brush the hair from her face, as she did so the bangles on her arm - ones she had made herself, set with gems her father had mined and she had cut - jingled a bit as they hit one another. Dark eyes switched from the creature to Tenlie then to her large dragon - this certainly wasn't what she had been expecting when she left the house a few hours ago.

(I thought I read that 'mandyrs were from Selenitas and since Hyphen and the Weyr aren't on the best of terms I assumed she wouldn't see them often and may not know what they were. If that's wrong I'll fix it. )

[Ruby]

((sounds reasonable to me!))

"Shells," Ten said, trying not to pout. "That do be my reason for being here, Sylvie and her cousin, although..." She trailed off there, shooting a quick look at her Green. "Although that may no be the reason any longer. Rajnith says you do, well, 'feel' like another girl we searched the other day. If you would be interested, we could take you back to the Weyr - there will be a clutch on the sands within the month, I do believe, and we do need more candidates. If you're interested, I could search you."

Reaching up to fiddle with a glass drop hanging from her ear, Ten considered how to broach the next subject: Burimyu, and the prohibitions that went along with Candidacy. It had been easy with Nividya, but the little girl had been lost and alone, clearly. Roselle was a different story; a self-admitted local, clearly not living on her own based solely on her clean appearance and jewelry, although she did have what seemed to be most of her belongings with her. Chewing a lip, Ten decided to gather a little more info before spilling the beans. "I do like your bracelets. Did you get them around here?"

Grip, however, wasn't having it; he was being friendly, and she was ignoring him. Flapping his wings this time, he asked, Know? matching the words with a chirp and a tilt of his head. "Oh," Ten said, gesturing at the blue, "This do be Grip, my Salamandyr. He's trying to say hello, but he do be pretty bad at making himself understood..."

[Ivy]

Search? The rider was talking about Searching her for the Weyr? Ha! That would show her father, wouldn't it? They would spend days searching for her around the Hold but she would be no where to be found. A soft smirk tugged at her lips as she nodded a bit, aye then he would lose out on the business her gems and jewelry brought him. Perhaps meeting this rider wasn't as bad as she first thought. "Being Searched sounds... nice. The Weyr would be a welcome change from here."

Dark eyes seemed to light up a bit when Tenlie asked her about her bracelets; she was fairly proud of her work and welcomed the opportunity to brag a bit. "You could say that I suppose, I made them. Father is a miner, decided the only use for a girl in the family would be something that could be done out of the way and bring him marks. So I learned gem cutting and jewelry crafting." With that said she held her arm out a bit to let the Greenrider get a better look at them.

"Salamandyr?" Roselle asked curiously as Tenlie motioned to the creature on her shoulder. "Haven't seen any of those around here before..." Eyes shifted to Grip and she nodded a bit, "Hello."

[Ruby]

"Oh, aye?" Ten asked, delighted both that Roselle wasn't outright rejecting search and that she was a fellow Crafter, if not hall-trained. You ran across few enough females that weren't Healers, it was worth keeping track of them when you could, especially one whose trade was fairly to Ten's own. "I do be a Glasscrafter myself, these're my work," she added, reaching up to touch the eardrop again before examining the bracelet Roselle held out. "Fine work indeed. When you're at the Weyr, we shall have to collaborate - you did say you wanted to be Searched, yes?"

There, that seemed smooth enough, she could get a definitive yes or no out of Roselle before explaining everything. For now, though, it was Grip that spoke, this time a cooing Yes! Ten laughed a little, reaching a hand up so the little lizard-creature could run out onto her palm. She offered him to Roselle for further inspection, and he flashed his eye-marked wings at her, cooing again. He reached one forepaw out to bat at a strand of Roselle's hair, although his paw came several inches short, at least. "Aye, a salamandyr. They do be fairly common at Selenitas Weyr... Grip here is quite sweet, but they do be a rather pestilent breed overall. I recommend staying away from them if you come with us - not that we... um..." Oops. Hopefully Roselle would overlook Ten's stuttering?

[Ivy]

As if he had been timing it for just that moment, Roselle heard the voice of one of her father's calling out across the abandoned gather area. Eyes shifted in that direction and then she set her shoulders and nodded, "The Weyr would be a welcome change of scenery I would think."

Had she really just accepted this woman's offer to be Searched? Was she really going to go off to the Weyr and be a Candidate? Had she lost her mind? Rusel would surely disown her once he discovered she'd gone off with a dragonrider... And a small smirk tugged at her lips at the thought.

Her brother called out again and she could hear he was getting closer, "If you're done with your business here, I should think leaving sooner rather than later would be best..." Roselle said to Tenlie, glancing at her salamandyr and the dragon looming behind her.

[Ruby]

"Aye?" Ten asked, unable to keep the smile off her face. It was fine, she could explain Burimyu in the air or something? The man calling out made her nervous, and it appeared to make Roselle nervous as well, so Ten waved Rajnith over, asking her silently to kneel so they could mount. "My business... well. It do be silly, now that I think about it; I do be done enough. Shall we?" she asked, cupping her hands so the woman - now Candidate - could mount. Yes, explaining Burimyu could wait. Now it was time to leave.

((End!))