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Post by kysseh on Sept 17, 2008 20:15:50 GMT -5
Something for other people? He certainly seemed quite nervous about the entire topic, and Savitri could not quite blame him on the matter. It was confusing, to be sure, as love meant different things for different people. And there were so many kinds of love too. The love she had for her father was largely respect... and the love for her mother was more obligation than anything. Her siblings were like her own children in many ways, so that love was... the love one had for kin. But friends... Savitri did not love her friends, as a general rule. She did not love Mutasim, though she was undeniably quite fond of him. He did not make demands of her or expect things. And he was good company when not.... being difficult.
His proclamation about Kanden did have her chuckling... and then outright laughing, if quietly so. Stupid, hmm? Oh, she had thought of that before. Really, she thought the young man to have escaped the whole situation relatively intact. Granted, the man had little dignity left after all that had transpired. Savitri did not have friends back in the hold, but the children who had looked ot her as 'mother' had not forgotten the young man's "betrayal" that had, for that time, truly hurt her. But, now she was glad for it. Had she stayed at the hold, with the idiot, she would never have Impressed her Hepaticath. Hepaticath alone was worth all of the heartache and the brooding.
"Oh, he is stupid. I did not miss the fact that the girl he Joined with was a slender, dainty thing... which I am not. I also did not miss the fact that she was unfaithful to him during the first Turn of their Joining." That had been wonderfully hilarious. And had she felt sorry for her former friend? Not in the least. He had brought that personal hell down on his own head. She did give a slightly wicked sort of smile, her eyes holding a promise of slight mischief. "I got him back, though. It's a source of pride for males to be the first and only bedmate of their spouse. She wasn't a virgin, and he was... mysteriously unable to... perform. His new wife might've heard... fourthhand or so... that a specific herb was good for the libido."
Her smile turned about sullen, though she seemed not less proud of her small attempt at revenge. Mutasim wouldn't tell. "Of course, the masterhealer had to point out their error within a few days as he continued to use higher doses of it in an attempt to improve his.... capacities. And he nearly made himself incapable completely. But... well... it was satisfying to witness." Highly satisfying, actually, considering that he had made her cry when he outright rejected her and took another spouse. "He'd made the whistle a Turn before all of this... happened, though... so, it was important to me. Still is. Reminds me of the whole thing."
Savitri shifted her position on the rock a bit to get more comfortable, settling the box safely in her lap. She kept looking at it... if only because the etching on the front kept drawing her attention. The subject of the imitation was currently sprawled out on her belly nearby, apparently with a brown flit on her nose. That made her chuckle mildly at the image before returning her attention to his queries. His estimate of her age had her wrinkling her nose at him. "Nineteen. Will be twenty.... sometime in the next few months. Virast never misses the date and tends to do something dramatic to remind me how old I'm Turning. I've stopped bothering remembering it; he'll be difficult about it, regardless."
Den? Well... she supposed the herd of siblings could loosely have been called that. "I... suppose? I dragged them all to eat at the hold kitchens, watched out for them, bandaged up all sorts of injuries, forcefed them wherry broth when they were sick. It does sound like it, in ways. But everyone had their own family to go home to at night, so at night, it was just my own siblings and especially Virast." Yes, most especially Virast. Mutasim's questions could have been insulting, but she as not one to be bothered by them. They were honest enough inquiries which she saw no reason to leave unanswered, and her green eyes narrowed thoughtfully as she turned them over in her mind. "I don't know if it's normal, but it happens. It's still not very well accepted in the holds, but it's very accepted in the weyr for both boys and girls to prefer their own gender. So... it's not... uncommon? I mean, look at all the male greenriders we have. They tend to prefer men over women, but some prefer both. That one's hard to answer." She offered up a shrug. "That's just how Virast is, so I've accepted him that way. The first man, though... that damages him.... is going to seriously regret it. I understand first-time pains. But if there is any deliberate damage, there will be consequences." The darkness in her expression was fleeting but present. She would not tolerate there to be injuries to her little brother who was sometimes so... so clueless.
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Post by reqqy on Sept 18, 2008 7:17:37 GMT -5
The boy regarded his friend critically for a moment, his eyes running over her figure. No, not dainty, but she certainly didn't have the cast of someone inactive about her either. Perhaps dragonriding had toned her a bit. He really hadn't noticed her - or anyone Standing for the last clutch - before, so he couldn't say. Her hair wasn't so light, her eyes so brilliant, her face so picturesque as to be considered a beauty. She wasn't tall, for all that she was taller than him. But Savitri was soft and firm in turns, and there was a definite energy about her. Not a beauty, then, but a handsome creature just the same. He shrugged. "There are people who would love to have your looks, Savitri. Slender and dainty only goes so far. Most of those girls age terribly anyway."
Curiosity flashed in his dark eyes when she stated she'd 'got him back,' the boy straightening up a little. The more she spoke, though, the more discomfitted he became. Faranth. She'd done what? Mutasim chuckled nervously, not really appreciating this particular form of 'justice,' no matter how fitting it might have been. "Remind me not to cross you. I'd rather not break out in hives or something equally unpleasant," he commented, a touch of humor in his tone - though he wasn't entirely joking. In truth, it rather disturbed him, even if he briefly entertained the notion of learning which herb this was and spiking the drinking water of all the resident male dragonriders...
The candidate was more than just a little relieved when that topic wound to a close. Thinking of herbs that could produce such things made him think of other effects herbs could have, and no, it wasn't a comfortable train of thought. The topic of the whistle was definitely more within his comfort zone. "I really don't see why you'd want to be reminded. If it were me, I would have already chucked it in the ocean," he stated simply. Mutasim was loyal, but only until he was betrayed. Then it usually got...ugly. Very ugly. "I guess everyone has their own way of dealing with things, though." Like rendering old fiancees impotent. "Does it even work?" He was curious, as he hadn't been able to get a sound out of it when the whistle was still in his possession.
"Oh. Forgive me. Nineteen," he smirked at her, making it fairly clear how little one turn mattered to him. It was strange to think of her as older than him, but...well, he could very well be over twenty and not realize it (although the likelihood was very, very small). "Should I start calling you ma'am now, or wait until your brother ushers you out of your teens? I wonder if you'd even notice if he forgot for a turn or two. Forever nineteen." Did he find it funny? Oh, yes. For someone who didn't have a known birthday to speak of - or a known age - it was highly humorous that someone who should know simply didn't care enough to keep track.
That was when Jabari apparently, having fallen asleep, began to slide from Hepaticath's snout, the little brown striking the sand with a startled squee. He twisted, his wings throwing up a dust cloud, then promptly hopped Between and plopped onto Mutasim's head in a rain of sand. The candidate sneezed, the brown slid off, and the boy found himself laughing at the crazy little thing as he skittered to gain purchase against Muta's thigh. He righted Jabari with a soft tutting of his tongue. "You just fell asleep, silly. What's with all the flailing?" Jabari fluted at him questioningly. "See?" Mutasim pointed to Hepaticath. "You were with her, remember? Then you just went 'plop!' " The brown regarded the gold, fascinated all over again, but in the end he remained in Muta's lap where it was safe.
He'd obviously made a mistake, however, when it came to matters of dens and asking after her brother's...preferences. The candidate was instantly sober, his thighs pressing tightly together, though that was really the only sign of unease aside from the bland expression that had leeched the life from his face. "We protect our own," he finally said, more to show he'd been paying attention than anything else, but the words sounded surprisingly hollow to him. Mutasim quickly changed the subject, lighting on the first object in his line of sight: Hepaticath. "She's getting so much bigger now," he commented, forcing a touch of lightness into his tone. "Hepaticath has to more than make up for stupid backwater holdbrats, no?"
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Post by kysseh on Sept 19, 2008 23:27:12 GMT -5
Savitri might have been oblivious to things on some occasions... purposely so, even. But she was not unobservant enough to miss the fact that Mutasim was looking her over. It was not in a sexual manner, though. More... analytical. He seemed to be sizing up her shape, and so she chose to not call him out, just smiling wryly at his statement. Was that supposed to be reassuring... comforting... flattering? She thought he was just being honest about it and took it as that. She didn't have time to offer up thanks for his assessment, though, for he was soon moving on to analyzing her choice of revenge. That bothered him, hmm?
"I wouldn't do that to you, Mutasim. I might get upset with you, but I reserve things like that for people who really, really, really earn it. He broke my heart and publicly humiliated me choosing her over me. If it weren't for all that, I wouldn't have done it. Vengeance just isn't worth the energy," she admitted, remembering that hollow feeling, that burning embarrassment as the pretty little beauty had sauntered off with her childhood friend. She had gotten her revenge on him, and the beauty had brought vengeance down on her own head. But... that was neither here nor there. "Yes, it works. I'd blow it now, but it is piercingly loud. Hepaticath would protest. I keep it for sentimental value... and if I ever get in trouble, I'll be able to be heard." Not that her voice wasn't loud enough, but the whistle was far, far louder.
He was commenting about her birthday, and she rolled her eyes and snorted. It was not that she didn't know when her birthday was! She remembered the month and the day if she thought very hard, but she didn't put much stock in it. "Hardly. It's in southern midwinter, so I know how to mark it each Turn. I just forget the day. I hate it when people fuss about it. Virast... I don't mind. It's his way of thanking me, I suppose," she said with a shrug, eyeing him a bit curiously as Jabari rejoined him. Shards, but Mutasim seemed so young at times, like now as he spoke to his little pet. And then other times, he seemed so old.
Young again. He was afraid, his thighs pressing together and his face completely neutral. He had been abused... by men. Her mouth drew into a thin line in sympathy and anger at those men who were beyond her capacity to punish. Even his voice sounded empty, and he seemed to be eager to change the topic. She let him do so without protest. "She's getting quite a bit bigger," she said agreeably, glancing at the gold dragon sprawled nearby who was getting up now that her nose decoration was gone. His surprised protests had startled her. "She makes up for... everything that ever happened. Everything. I can't even... describe it. You'll see one day," she promised him, smiling. He would. He was too intelligent, too capable to be left Standing forever... in her opinion, anyway.
Hepaticath had stirred from her sandy bed and was hopping lazily over to join Hers. It only took a few hopping strides to each Hers' side, and the gold very lightly nosed at the young woman, crooning low in her throat. Then she moved on toward Mutasim and rumbled curiously, tilting her head to regard him with one gently whirling blue-green eye. Her nostrils flared, and she just held her head there, patiently waiting. "She wants you to scratch her eyeridges. She's just being a little demanding," Savitri said mildly, earning a soft snort from the partially-grown weyrling gold.
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Post by reqqy on Sept 21, 2008 6:52:18 GMT -5
He didn't know whether to be relieved or...Well, honestly, it was just kind of confusing. Broke her heart? He definitely understood the part about being publically humiliated. That was pride. That made sense. No one likes being second-best. Or third or fourth, especially in a relationship that you put a lot of work into. He could definitely understand that one. In truth, he'd never really seen anyone who he would call 'in love' and considered the concept a silly adolescent fantasy. But he wasn't about to tell Savitri that. No, Mutasim settled for letting one of his feet dangle down the side of the rock, then kicking the sand in her direction. "I should hope not, Sav," he replied, mock stern. "Or I'm afraid I'd have to punish you."
The boy was quickly distracted by thoughts of the whistle, though. It worked? How then was he unable to get it to do so? Strange. He frowned slightly, then laughed, his eyes flicking over to Hepaticath briefly. "Not much for loud noises, eh, Cath?" he asked her, projecting his voice so he wouldn't have to shout. His gaze shifted back to Savitri, then, one eyebrow raised. "I should think you had something far more effective than a whistle in your mindmate. Why would you bother with something like that if you could just have Hepaticath rustle up a good couple dozen dragonriders at a moment's notice?"
Jabari was a bit distracting. Mutasim had listened to Savitri (well, half-listened) but since she didn't seem inclined to allow him to continue teasing her, and the topic of birthdays held very little interest to him when all was said and done, he didn't pursue the line of conversation any further. The goldweyrling's relationship with Virast genuinely intrigued him. It wasn't enough to risk the talk moving down a line he didn't want to go down, though, so he just allowed himself a couple of moments with his brown, who seemed to very much like his lap. The silly little thing was all nuzzling around up in there, trying to get comfortable. Muta rolled his eyes. "Just find a spot already." He flicked the creature lightly, enough to get Jabari's attention and little else. The brown gave his minepet a playful hiss and snapped at his fingers. A little contest then ensued, with Mutasim trying to poke the flitter without getting his fingers nibbled at.
The candidate regarded his friend searchingly, his dark eyes narrowed. He couldn't tell if she was letting the subject of her brother's - sexual - interests go as a response to his lack of perfect control over his emotions or because she was just generally oblivious to the whole thing. It was sometimes hard to tell with Savitri. She would seem to pick up on something and then she'd say...well, she tended to assume she knew what was going on even without all the information. Mutasim let it go, though, as he was just relieved and a little grateful that they could move on to something...safer...to talk about. Relatively speaking. The topic of impression wasn't particularly high on his list of favorite things to talk about, either. With most everyone else, he would have said something suitably cynical and self-deprecating. He certainly made it no secret that he felt his chances of impressing a dragon were next to nil. They didn't particularly like damaged goods as a general rule, and after four Hatchings, it was just a little bit difficult to dredge up anything in the way of confidence regarding this next Hatching...or the ones after that. Mutasim took to studying his fingers for a moment. "That would be nice." If there was a trace of yearning in there, it was well-buried beneath the studied neutrality.
Fortunately, the awkward-looking young dragon snagged his attention almost immediately, the candidate watching her odd progress across the sand with a small little grin. He half-expected to see her plop right over onto her side, but she somehow managed to keep her feet. Jabari's head came up and the brown uttered a soft croon in her general direction, his skull sliding to one side curiously. Why didn't she just fly? That looked awkward. Muta's amusement faded as Hepaticath drew uncomfortably close. What was she doing? He still didn't feel very much at ease with these creatures most of the time, and having her head just hovering before him like that was nothing short of unsettling. The boy cast a questioning glance at Sav, nodding slowly. She wanted...to be scratched? Tentatively at first, his fingers ran along her eyeridges. "Is that what you want, Cath?" he queried, softly. "Just don't eat me, 'kay? I don't taste very good." He smiled, making it clear he was only joking and really was just making fun of his own apprehension. Why should he be afraid of dragons? Well, actually, it was more an issue with wondering if they could feel him out with that mental telepathy of theirs than ought else, but whatever.
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Post by kysseh on Sept 26, 2008 21:52:34 GMT -5
Mutasim seemed to be trying to warn her off vengeance, but Savitri merely chuckled and pulled her feet up to avoid the spray of sand. He was such a child at times, and that stirred her maternal instincts.... well, that and his reaction to all of her questions. She was almost tempted to go fussy on him in response but decided it would only make the situation worse. She just relaxed on her rock and watched her dragon, shaking her head at the little gold's obvious liking of the attention she was receiving. Hepaticath liked people as a general rule, with some people being notable exceptions. The creature was incredibly possessive of her Savitri, though, but Savitri could deal with that. If that was one of the rare manifestations of the stereotype of golds, then that was manageable.
Hepaticath was crooning softly at Jabari, amused by his little game with his humanpet. So silly, humans were! But the little brown was apparently having fun, and it was entertaining to watch, so why quibble over details? At least his human was now running his fingers across her eyeridges, and her soft rumbling was meant to encourage, eyes whirling a bright blue-green as she regarded him. The DangerousOne was not so bad as she had first thought. Hers liked him... and he was owned by a nice little pet-thing. He was trustworthy, she supposed, though Tanith's distant mental 'snort' amused her. Tanith liked no one, apparently.
"You can scratch a little harder, actually. Their hide is tough enough around the ridges," Savitri added, smiling at his nervousness. Oh, he was clearly joking about being eaten, but she still wanted to reassure him that he was in no danger. Hepaticath found him perfectly acceptable, though she thought that was partially due to Jabari and the little gift that Mutasim had given her. Apparently, giving gifts to Savitri was an easy way to get onto Hepaticath's good side. Strange how that worked. "She likes you. You are now worthy of her acceptance. Congratulations." Her tone was a bit derisive and directed at her mindmate who huffed softly in response. "She's an odd one. We enjoy teasing each other."
Hepaticath's snort echoed that statement, which set Savitri to chuckling. "Hope you don't get one like her, Mutasim. And I think you'll Impress. You've got Turns left to Stand, and there will be plenty of clutches. I'll push you onto the sands if I have to," she said, waggling a finger in warning to make sure he knew she was serious, despite the smile. She did not intend to let her friend slink out for fear of rejection. He would make a fine dragonrider, she was sure. Granted, she hoped he didn't get another Tanith in male or female form, but... well, if that was what made him happy, she could hardly deny him that. The thought of him bonded to Tanith made her grin, though, despite herself.
Talking about Hepaticath reminded her of that whistle, though, and she frowned slightly. Why couldn't she just use her mindmate...? Oh. "If Hepaticath isn't close enough to reach out to dragonriders for me, then I'm in a tough spot. Besides that, loud noises tend to scare off a lot of things. I think even a flock of wherries would run from this. It's rather shrill," she said mildly, chuckling as Hepaticath gave her a remonstrative look. Oh, that dragon was ridiculous at times. "And it is rather loud. She wouldn't mind it if she was farther away, but it sort of pierces the eardrums." Sort of? Definitely, really. She reserved it for emergencies.
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Post by reqqy on Sept 29, 2008 21:49:32 GMT -5
Mutasim deepened the scratching, cocking his head to one side to gauge the dragon's reaction. Strangely enough, in his two turns here, he'd never been this - familiar - with a dragon. The candidate had certainly ridden with a few, but that was about the extent of it. Savitri's words, though meant to be light, drew out a strangely soft smile from Muta. "That's good. She was upset when I first met you, as I recall." He'd also been his typically difficult self. Not that he wasn't that way now, though he was generally more open around Savitri and thus a little more tolerable than normal. A little. The goldrider...definitely had a strange effect on him.
Jabari crooned back at Hepaticath enthusiastically and, since Mutasim had stopped the poke game, he summarily flitted up and settled behind her first neckridge, burrowing into the depression quite happily. "Now's not a good time," Muta stated, his voice low as he spoke to his bonded. "You'll fall asleep again, and then you'll be upset when I have to wake you back up." He cast a slightly sheepish glance at Savitri. Did she mind his brown hanging all over Hepaticath? For that matter, did Hepaticath mind? He generally trusted the gold to be good about things, but...well, he couldn't help but worry a little for Jabari. It was simply part of the boy's nature to be protective of those he considered his.
"Honestly Savitri...it's probably silly for me to be choosy," he responded, with a somewhat uncomfortable chuckle. "Faranth knows I wouldn't turn aside a dragon like Hepaticath. Or any dragon." His nose wrinkled mildly. "And I'm quite certain you'd have to get in line as far as dragging me to the Hatching goes. Too many old acquaintances who would frog-march me there if I decided to skip." He smiled wryly. Yes, despite the fact that he most certainly was difficult, Mutasim didn't exactly have a dearth of friends. If anything, it just meant that the ones who did align themselves with him were sharding hard to get rid of, no matter what he did. A bother, that.
He wasn't sure why she was grinning, but that was fine by him. Mutasim wriggled a little, anxious. "You and Hepaticath should have your swim. I've got chores I should probably get to. No sense in being late there with all the other rules I regularly break." A cheeky grin was directed her way. Muta was on his feet and moving just that bit too quickly, snatching up Jabari, who, as expected, had fallen asleep again in that brief interval and let loose with a disgruntled cry. In a moment, though, he'd wrapped himself around Mutasim's arm, the candidate hurrying off with a curious gait, the belts of sheathed knives that normally crossed his chest thrown over a shoulder haphazardly.
Oh, yes, he was definitely going to be late!
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