Requiem
Weyrleader S'rei WM M?ta Rider A'nd Harper/Handler Dmitri Weyrbrat Miguel
Posts: 2,861
|
Post by Requiem on May 15, 2010 21:22:54 GMT -5
Back to drills again this morning, though maybe M'ta should've held off for another day. He was coherent today, though, not feverish or anything. Still, there was a noticeable difference, both in drills and later when he stubbornly went running. (Partly because it was practically an addiction by this point; he was convinced that he had withdrawals when he missed a day. He certainly felt worse, and tended to get headaches.) Not that it mattered now. No, he was back into his usual routine, and mid-morning saw him working with wood. Which lately meant making furniture for Kalierre's office, since R'wign had decided to indulge her when she'd reacted to his anniversary gift so jealously.
A quiet trill followed the soft pop of displaced air as Sneak circled above his head, dropping a sack of woodscrews in M'ta's lap. The brownrider lifted an arm for the firelizard to alight on, stroking him tenderly as Sneak took up his customary position coiled around M'ta's bicep. Much as he'd not been terribly overjoyed to find another mind attached to his in place of Jabari's, Sneak proved to have his advantages. Now the short brownrider didn't have to go to one of the two mountain smiths to request his screws, for one. A quick check of the other two minds was greeted with two different pulses, Ruth assuring him that Teri was still fast asleep. PMS was...somewhere in the laundry rooms. M'ta made it quite clear to the little one that if he got himself caught in the wash again, there would be no rescue coming. A sentiment met with amusement. It had been a long time since PMS needed rescuing, after all, but not a single one of his mindmates was likely to believe an ultimatum like that from him.
Taking a pull from his hip flask - never go anywhere without water, one of the few habits he'd picked up that was purely a Selenitas habit - M'ta upended it over his head for a few seconds, shaking his head vigorously. Better. Much as the heat didn't bother him as much as R'wign or a few others, M'ta was raised Bitran, and he was used to blizzards that lasted months. This was nothing like that.
He fixed the rolled sleeves to make sure they wouldn't drift downward, Sneak's presence only a small hinderance, before bracing his foot against the base of the stump on the edge of the trees that he'd been using as a makeshift workbench for ages now. Lining up the notches was one of the more important things, simply because it was so easy to make a mistake, and then the furniture wouldn't come together right. Clamping his dirk between his teeth (he used the hilt to hammer in pegs, having not yet acquired a hammer) M'ta began boring a hole into the side panel.
|
|
|
Post by glamourie on May 25, 2010 7:59:42 GMT -5
“What are you making?”
Because ‘hello’ was for people who weren’t Ka’rys, obviously. Though truthfully, he was so confident in the fact that M’ta heard him walking up that he saw no reason to break the ice with formalities of ‘hello’; he found them to be terribly awkward most of the time, fumbling conversation movers that really just made people uncomfortable and anxious for others to get to the bloody point. (Yes, Ka’rys was a particularly grouchy entity and always looked on the negative side of things – it was so normal for him anymore that he didn’t realize he was doing it, so pointing it out would have been fruitless for anyone else.) With anyone else – save perhaps Savitri, R’wign or E’rro – he would’ve bothered with the typical manner of conversation just to avoid awkwardness, but he felt at least moderately comfortable with M’ta – enough to be himself, anyway, and that meant beating around the bush was out of the question. Right to the heart of the matter: what was he doing?
It wasn’t that typical to find Ka’rys out of his office in the middle of the day. Between paperwork, catnapping (he didn’t sleep like a normal person, despite his best efforts), and um, avoiding people like the plague (TM), the average person could expect to go through their days without seeing the bronzerider at all. ‘Elusive’ was one word for it – but the accurate one was more ‘reclusive’; he didn’t like people and he was busy, the combination of which kept him inside a lot. The heat didn’t help. Being fair-skinned and likely to resemble a lobster if he was out in the sun for too long, it was very normal for Ka’rys to stay inside. Plus it was cooler indoors. Not by much, mind, but cooler. He blamed the shade. He was outside today because he was fleeing responsibility. He didn’t really mind having things to do that much but sometimes a break was nice – he’d settled for running for awhile before wandering off on his own. He was doing that a lot lately.
Ever since Merce...
He forced that thought from his mind, instead leaning on a tree – which was the direction he’d come from. Random Weyrsecond wandering through the jungle – not weird at all. He’d actually been ‘exploring’ – just... avoiding people. He was doing a lot better than he’d have thought, but it was really more typical of Ka’rys (as of the past sevenday or so) to simply stare off into space, distracted and lost. Ever since Merce betweened – a response to his mate’s disappearance, probable death. He didn’t even know how he felt about it. Numb, perhaps. He’d latched onto Ciceroth and positively hissed at the prospect of another pet. Reggie was harassing him regularly – but that was nothing unusual. He didn’t want anything else. He missed Ophelie badly. Some of his memories were filtering back – enough for him to remember the incredible fondness he had for the firelizard. Some affection for Merce, too, yes, but – no, he missed Ophelie worse. He felt kind of alone. Wandering made it go away. A little. Sort of.
“Ciceroth is worried about Behruth, you know,” he tacked on – to make sure that it was oh-so-obvious that it wasn’t a social visit (it was). “He keeps insisting that maybe I should transfer you to S’rei or S’kor’s wing, that Behruth is miserable on ours. He doesn’t like seeing him unhappy.” Ciceroth was sound asleep, or probably would’ve protested him voicing that thought – surely M’ta knew that his dragon was not pleased; it wasn’t their job to handle that. The lazy bronze liked to plow his rump out by the river after drills. So unhelpful.
|
|
Requiem
Weyrleader S'rei WM M?ta Rider A'nd Harper/Handler Dmitri Weyrbrat Miguel
Posts: 2,861
|
Post by Requiem on May 28, 2010 13:12:43 GMT -5
M'ta didn't answer immediately, turning the bore another quarter turn before he drew the implement out, along with a long unbroken shaving. He extracted the knife from between his teeth and set it aside with the other small array of tools. Shifting to make sure the holes would align properly, he responded to his wingleader without looking up now that he didn't have a blade in his mouth. "This will be part of a cabinet once I've finished." He nodded toward the longer pieces of wood off to one side. "The office set I finished for R'wign for his turnday...apparently Kalierre fancied it. And R'wign asked me for her. Sort of. R'wign-style. So..." An amused half-smile flicked over his face, boring another hole now that it was aligned to his satisfaction.
Sneak had taken some small interest in Ka'rys - one of the reasons M'ta hadn't been surprised by the bronzerider, despite the odd directions, though yes, he'd heard him coming. No need to look with a firelizard spy, though. As soon as Sneak realized that the intriguing one who spoke in riddles wasn't present, however, he'd quickly lost interest.
Pausing for a moment at Ka'rys's comment, he returned to boring the hole. "Ah. Yes. Ruth is irritated with me for not requesting just that," M'ta allowed. But not, notably, enough to do more than grump at his rider. They hadn't even discussed the issue, though both knew what it was - likely because there was no point in arguing when they already knew the other's points. M'ta finished with the hole and set the tool aside again, draping his arms loosely over his knee and regarding Ka'rys quietly. A wry smile tugged at one corner of his lips. "He'll live. Right now he's blaming it on the wing, but he's really been off since Fort attacked. Never been fond of violence, my Ruth...which is odd given who he's bonded to, but..." A shrug. You don't question the choice of a dragon.
"I can't protect him from myself. Best I can do is try to give him the tools to handle himself if my anger washes over again. We got lucky this last time. Your wing? Best one for teaching him, as far as I can tell." Straightening, he went back to making the holes for the other side of the shelf. "I think Kyrahth is probably the first dragon he's ever hurt - accidentally or intentionally. And being out of control at the time? Yeah, I expected him to have trouble with it. He's logical, though. He'll adapt. Eventually." A slight pause, followed by a glance up at Ka'rys and the first flicker of uncertainty. "Am I wrong, to make him?"
|
|
|
Post by glamourie on May 28, 2010 13:37:26 GMT -5
Ah. Furniture. Well, put into perspective, it made more sense. They were nice, Ka’rys thought to himself, one finger brushing over the tools. His expression never indicated his thoughts though. He didn’t particularly understand the reasoning for having such fancy types of furniture – his were the standard issue and he was happy with them; they served their function just fine. But then, Ka’rys wasn’t really materialistic in any sense of the word. His single most valued possession was the dirk that Kalerary bought him solely because Kalerary bought it for him – not exactly the most wildly complicated theory there. If it made M’ta happy to work on furniture for the more superficial members of the Weyr at his weyrmate’s behest, though, more power to him. Ka’rys tended to stick with building functional things for the kitchens and dining caverns. He was half-tempted to ask for more details – like how R’wign’s furniture got that sheen; he’d never managed that – but he didn’t. He didn’t think it was any of his business and, in true Ka’rys fashion, was keeping his mouth shut on it.
Besides, Behruth’s predicament was more interesting to him at that moment. Had Ciceroth ever been reluctant to fight? He searched his memory. The dragon didn’t like hurting others – except those who hurt His, and then it was more spurred on by Ka’rys’s anger than anything else. Not actual violence. He couldn’t remember Ciceroth being horribly upset about it though. That was probably a product of conditioning more than anything else. His dragon was really used to fighting because he’d been hatched amidst the chaos and insanity – it was hard not to accept the war when it was right in front of your nose. He had some sympathy for Behruth – he really did – even if he didn’t know the dragon at all and was certain he was being held responsible for his discomfort. Then again, Ka’rys was usually more at ease with people (and dragons) disliking him than being fond of him. Friends were... weird.
“If you want transferred, I’m fairly certain I can convinced S’rei to put you on his wing. It’s not really a demotion if you go there,” he offered, leaning against one of the trees to keep himself balanced. “If he’s not a fighter, Legatus probably isn’t the place for him. I picked you because of your abilities, and Ciceroth had utmost confidence in you. I didn’t really consider how it would affect your dragon; I probably should’ve.” He didn’t know anything about Behruth though, except that he was close to Checkoth. Ironically, Ka’rys was pretty sure Checkoth was more suited to fighting than his rider – but that wasn’t exactly a big vote of confidence, since R’wign had all the aggressiveness of a wet noodle except when angry and even then he couldn’t really bring himself to hurt people willingly. At least he was taking to self-defense.
The question kind of surprised him, though. Ka’rys tilted his head and glanced off toward the river before shrugging. “I’m not the person to ask that. I grew up in the environment that your dragon seems to disdain so much. It’s normal to me. Weyrling lessons involved learning the things that Ciceroth and I are teaching you now. And my dragon has no problem willingly tearing out another’s throat if it keeps me from harm – and he never thinks anything else of it. Maybe it’s because he’s a bronze. Browns are not typically the best of fighters; their personalities aren’t suited to it. I can’t tell you if it’s wrong to make him or not.” He shifted his weight, touching on Ciceroth’s presence in the back of his mind before shaking his head. “The one you should be asking that is him. He knows what he can handle and what he can’t. If he hates it so much that he can’t handle it... then yes, it’s wrong to make him. If he’s just uncomfortable, but believes he can adapt...” He shrugged. “I’m not good at advice. When it comes to judgment for my dragon, I let Ciceroth make the calls. He’s usually better at that than I am. He’s worried about Behruth, though.”
|
|
Requiem
Weyrleader S'rei WM M?ta Rider A'nd Harper/Handler Dmitri Weyrbrat Miguel
Posts: 2,861
|
Post by Requiem on May 28, 2010 16:10:28 GMT -5
M'ta began setting aside the materials and putting up the tools as Ka'rys spoke, partially to give his hands something to do that wouldn't mean starting over from the beginning. He knew Ka'rys probably didn't mean it the way it sounded, but it almost felt as if the wingleader was trying to get rid of them. Behruth wasn't a fighter. Claiming that he was went beyond lying and bordered on downright ludicrous. Maybe they didn't really belong on Legatus. M'ta felt ages behind everyone else as it was, struggling hard just to keep up - or catch up. He knew that Behruth was pulling his own weight, too, whether he enjoyed it or not. They simply weren't a northern dragonpair like everyone else, though, didn't have the same training or experiences, and it showed. It showed a lot. It probably wasn't too far off to call them the babies of the Legatus Wing.
"You're my wingleader," M'ta stated quietly...almost aggressively. "You might not remember all of that, but it doesn't change anything for me. I was on your wing when E'rro was your wingsecond. Ruth and I both were. You were teaching fighting then, too. Not as intensely, but..." Fastening the rolled hide containing his tools back to his belt, he finally met Ka'rys's eyes. "I would have told you if I wanted a transfer. If we're holding the rest of you back, if we're a liability, then transfer us, but please don't suggest that again otherwise." To some, he might have sounded angry, but it was more upset than anger. M'ta wouldn't have said anything if they weren't put on Legatus to begin with. They had been, though, and he had no intention of leaving Ka'rys and E'rro unless they decided he didn't belong with them. Or unless Behruth simply couldn't handle the wing.
It was probably silly, but he saw them as his now, turns later. Ka'rys more than E'rro, yes, but both as his.
M'ta bit his lip lightly. "I hate it, Behruth being like this. If I thought it would be any different on another wing, I might consider putting in for a transfer." He rubbed at the back of his neck. "He's trained to fight dragons before, though, and been no more than a little uncomfortable with it. This is new. I don't think it has anything to do with this wing. I think...it's just something we have to work through together, Behruth and I. He knows why I haven't changed us over. He's irritated at me, but he still hasn't argued with me, asked to transfer or said as much to anyone else. I think he agrees with me on some level, but yes, for now it doesn't change that he's bugged by it."
Might seem a little weird that M'ta and Behruth didn't converse a lot, at least on a level deeper than banter or teasing. Despite the distance they carefully maintained to keep from bleeding over into each other constantly, there was no need to ask about emotions. That part of their bond was all too clear to both parties. "He can handle this wing, but we don't want to hold anyone back. I don't. Is that why you came?" Direct question, but M'ta was a direct person - and so was Ka'rys, when he chose to speak.
|
|
|
Post by glamourie on May 31, 2010 15:27:40 GMT -5
Well that was an unexpected response. Ka’rys blinked twice and slid down the trunk of the tree into a sitting position, hands resting between his knees as he regarded M’ta curiously. He was polite, though. Despite the blatant curiosity on his face, the bronzerider remained silent, giving M’ta time to finish his little tangent uninterrupted. It was likely that he looked amused, too – probably not benefitting his situation any. His fingers drummed on his knees and only after he was sure that M’ta was done with his verbal tantrum (hmm), did he resign himself to speaking. He probably looked quite funny perched there against the tree, too – but oh well. He found it more comfortable to be sitting when he was having a tantrum thrown at him. Saved him time from getting knocked over from sheer force of words as it were. (That and he had more ammunition to throw at people – those branches were looking mighty tempting right about then.)
“You’re spending way too much time around R’wign. So defensive,” he observed, brushing his hair from his face. “If I deemed you a liability, you wouldn’t be on my wing anymore. Plain and simple. I’d just boot you. I don’t particularly care if I hurt your fragile ego; I care more about the security of Legatus.” Which was to say that he would not bother asking – he wouldn’t even attempt to warn M’ta – he’d just do it. There were some perks to being wingleader. The wing not being a democracy was one of them. He did try to respect his wingmates most of the time, but when it came down to it, safety trumped emotional responses. While stomping all over M’ta’s feelings would definitely get him yelled at (from two sources, how nice), he still didn’t care much. Wing safety over individuals. That was his philosophy. Whether he liked M’ta or not was irrelevant in the face of that simple, but important, fact.
Pushing one bare foot across the ground, Ka’rys eyed M’ta thoughtfully. “I offered because it seems to be upsetting your dragon. Not because I want you gone. And you would be surprised what I remember, knifey.” He didn’t elaborate; if M’ta couldn’t figure it out, that was his problem. Ka’rys rarely offered people answers on a platter. Talking around facts was more his style – as evidenced by that reply. “Ciceroth was concerned for Behruth. I can’t help you work through that – I’m not the sort to come to for emotional advice – but I can tell you that it was enough that Ciceroth noticed. Take of that what you will because he is more attentive to detail than I am. I thought you might be dancing around asking for a transfer out of fear of it appearing weak. It doesn’t. If you’re determined to stay, I’m not going to boot you. We picked you for a reason. That hasn’t changed.”
Rubbing his nose, Ka’rys cocked his head to the side and then shook it. “You’re so quick to attribute various motives. It’s endearing but I’m a lot more simple than that. I’m here because I was curious about what you were doing, and I was looking for something to distract me.” His fingers drummed one of the tree roots before he added, “Merce is gone.” It was the only explanation he was going to offer – and more than he thought M’ta deserved. But he’d lost a flitter, so perhaps he’d understand the need to roam. Maybe. “I only mentioned it because Ciceroth asked me to during drills. I was originally just going to sneakily ask your weyrmate to handle it but this was more convenient than dealing with ranting and whining and the periodic complaint about archery lessons.”
|
|
Requiem
Weyrleader S'rei WM M?ta Rider A'nd Harper/Handler Dmitri Weyrbrat Miguel
Posts: 2,861
|
Post by Requiem on May 31, 2010 18:22:23 GMT -5
Blinking for a moment at the sitting bronzerider not far away, the same one that looked like he found M'ta's small twitch fit funny or something, irritation flashed openly across the brownrider's face before fading just as quickly. He shrugged slightly. Hard to get too annoyed at...well, the truth. He was being defensive, that was a R'wignism, and he did spend a lot of time with his weyrmate. Naturally. Not really his concern if Ka'rys understood why he was getting defensive, either. M'ta wasn't a terribly difficult person to read, as it was, so he didn't feel the need to volunteer anything when most people would figure it out without any trouble without his help. Ego had...very little to do with it. He was possessive. Protective. Of all he considered his.
Still, if Ka'rys had intended to be reassuring...with M'ta, it was working. Because he didn't even have to consider it to know that what Ka'rys was saying was true, even if the insecurity that he hadn't fully realized was there until he found himself surrounded by people who were all leaps and bounds ahead of him kept on wanting to insist that Ka'rys had to have other reasons for keeping him and Behruth close. What he knew of Ka'rys said otherwise. And the words themselves rang true. Ka'rys was not the type to give a rip about egos, or hurt feelings, not when it interfered with more important things. Something M'ta didn't disagree with.
His eyes flashed into focus on Ka'rys's face, brow knotting for a moment as he looked to his wingleader searchingly. Surprised what Ka'rys remembered...knifey. Better not to jump to conclusions. It wasn't exactly a secret that M'ta went armed to the teeth most of the time, after all. Knife boy was a common nickname before - and shorty, obviously. He wasn't sure what the common ones were now, strangely enough. Fear of appearing weak? M'ta blinked. Well, he supposed that wasn't terribly out there, actually, though it hadn't crossed his mind until Ka'rys said it. That did sound like something he'd worry about. Heh.
"Merce." Sneak offered a small sound of protest, but quieted almost immediately. "I don't really know how endearing it is; don't see much of you outside of drills, after all. Don't think most people do." He carefully began pulling things off to the side into the makeshift shelter/shed he'd been using. "I need to get more resin. Nearly out. And probably some more of the...wood..." A vague gesture. He wasn't sure what the tree was called, though R'wign undoubtedly knew the name. And likely M'ta would forget it minutes after asking. He knew what it looked like, though, and that was the important part. "For the pegs. You're welcome to come with me if you want. Don't you dabble a little in woodwork? Someone mentioned something about doing some of the furniture for the dining hall, if I recall."
If Ka'rys was looking for a distraction...it wasn't terribly interesting, but it had to be better than wandering aimlessly. Maybe.
|
|
|
Post by glamourie on Jun 1, 2010 9:31:22 GMT -5
“I’m not very good.” It wasn’t false-modesty (which Ka’rys simply didn’t possess), it was honesty: he didn’t have the mastery of woodwork that a crafter had. He was decent enough at making most functional things, but that was it. He hated admitting weakness, yes, but an inability regarding something so mundane wasn’t too shameful to announce – especially if it helped him to overcome it. Though, there was a time when he’d have guarded that secret, too. Apathy changed the circumstances quite a bit. No need to keep all of his thoughts and abilities so intensely private anymore. Just the important ones. People questioned less when he admitted this or that to indulge their nosiness. He was getting better at manipulating people – slowly, but getting there. Or maybe he was just getting old. It was hard to say, really. In the end it didn’t matter, since his changing was so subtle that most people wouldn’t notice either way. People rarely questioned motives. It was their flaw. “I don’t know how to get things to shine the way that yours do.”
He was dodging talking about Merce. He’d only said that one line to make the roaming more clear – and perhaps explain some of his snappiness in relation to wings. Yes, he knew he was being a ridiculous hardass – for their benefit, but still probably more intolerant than usual. He wasn’t snappy, exactly – more like icy. He could see it happening and when he caught himself, he let Ciceroth help; the bronze was better with people than he was (kind of ironic since he was a dragon) and it kept him from having to think. Thinking hurt too much.
“Pine?” Ka’rys offered automatically as his gaze went to the wood. He didn’t know much about plants, but he could usually identify trees by their smell. Usually they had stronger scents than most things and he tended to pay a lot of attention to smell. Uncurling, Ka’rys nodded absently. “Anyway – yeah. I’m not that great. I’ve considered asking people to teach me – we’ve got a couple woodworkers – but I end up getting distracted. Not a lot of free time with three munchkins.” He crinkled his nose and then glanced at M’ta absently, “Even if one of them has decided she’s all grown up and doesn’t need me anymore. She’s got a crush on you, just so you know.” There was definite amusement in his voice at that. While it was a huge breach of parent-child confidence (haha), Ka’rys couldn’t help himself. Kalerary was fond of brownriders as a rule – she liked almost everyone at Selenitas and tended to moth after them – but M’ta and R’wign were her favorites. And Ka’rys was pretty sure that she was sporting a crush on them both.
In the back of his mind, he felt Ciceroth stirring, but he didn’t greet the bronze. Instead he dusted himself off, bare toes nudging the roots of the tree before climbing up. “What are you making Kalierre pay for that, anyway?”
|
|
Requiem
Weyrleader S'rei WM M?ta Rider A'nd Harper/Handler Dmitri Weyrbrat Miguel
Posts: 2,861
|
Post by Requiem on Jun 8, 2010 18:47:56 GMT -5
Glancing over at the rising bronzerider, M'ta took that as an invitation to proceed and finished tidying up his work area. "I only recently got into furniture. Initially it was just carving small objects or figures." The brownrider shrugged one shoulder. He himself didn't have much use for such things, but it was easiest to start with what you knew, and M'ta knew blades. "Sanding it smooth and using a mixture of resin and natural oils will bring out the shine. Also keeps it from catching on things." He offered Ka'rys a grateful smile. "Pine, yes. The one with all the needles. I'm bad with names."
Everything in order, he nodded toward the jungles and began walking, Sneak taking leave of him to go on ahead. Looking for the tree that would best suit his purposes and any chance predator on the way. If he didn't get distracted by a wandering salamandyr, that was. "E'iah taught me the basics and a few interesting tricks? I don't imagine he has much time now as a weyrling, but if you wanted to watch or help me out every once in awhile, I'd appreciate the company. Not the same thing, I know." Truthfully, the offer was made more because M'ta was a surprisingly social person (despite his first couple of turns at Selenitas) and Ka'rys was something like a family friend. Sort of.
M'ta wouldn't have his weyrmate if not for Ka'rys, at any rate, and that was good enough for him.
An amused chuckle sounded at Ka'rys's comment about Kale. "A crush? I always figured it was R'wign she'd taken a fancy to. Hardly knew her before the - well, he definitely knew her first." The siege wasn't much of a comfortable topic. "I remember R'wign entertaining her in a skirt, singing the alphabet song and bouncing around on chairs in the infirmary. Imagine I still have that eyesore squirreled away somewhere," he added, amused.
But when the topic abruptly shifted to Kalierre, M'ta found himself at something of a loss. "She's supplying the materials...we were going to have her wear a dress and be part of our Joining (R'wign's idea) but then we kind of skipped out on a big ceremony. I suppose I forgot. We'll have to think of something else." The brownrider had a fairly good idea what, actually, but it would mean discussing this odd desire to turn nocturnal with R'wign, which he didn't much look forward to; his weyrmate was quick to redirect the topic whenever it went that direction. But M'ta was struggling with a strange lonesomeness that almost bordered on depression. It seemed they only saw each other for their shared infirmary shift, these days.
|
|
|
Post by glamourie on Jun 13, 2010 10:31:35 GMT -5
Small objects. “Like Savitri’s hair combs,” he observed absently. He’d never really had, uh, once ‘style’ of making anything. He mostly just messed with things and then whatever the woodwork most resembled after he got done, he turned it into. That was unhelpful, yes, but he almost never went in knowing what he was making. It was just things to keep his hands busy. Evidently M’ta was more organized than he was when it came to such things – though that was unsurprising. Ka’rys was really only organized where his wing was concerned and his own defense. Everything else was more like floating through life. That probably would’ve surprised most people who knew him (he’d often been called rigid) but Ka’rys really did not sweat the details of small things. Hobbies were meant to be fun. Obsessing over them destroyed the fun aspect until all that was left was boredom. He’d rather let it be spontaneous and get the maximum amount of fun out of the few hobbies that he had. He didn’t have all that many, after all. “I don’t know who E’iah is, but I might take that offer up. I like to learn.”
No, Ka’rys did not make a habit of remembering the names of Weyrlings. Most of the time, he didn’t even remember the names of other dragonriders – Ciceroth had to, which was kind of comical since dragon memories were supposed to be bad. Ciceroth’s was bad depending on the situation but he had unique ways of remembering certain details. Something about rhymes. Ka’rys hadn’t ever bothered with the details.
“It’s both of you she has a crush on, but I think it’s worse with you for precisely the reasons you listed,” Ka’rys absently observed. “I introduced them. Kale was complaining that she didn’t have enough people to talk to when she first came here. Z’hin had wing drills with me. She found it boring to have no one to talk to, nothing to do, and she was adamant about having nothing to do with ‘That Goldrider’ – so I introduced her to R’wign, thinking he’d be able to entertain her. If I’d realized that she was going to latch to him so much, I might’ve changed my mind on that though. She’s becoming too sassy for her own good. Not the temperament I’d have for my child given a choice.” There were the barest traces of amusement in his voice. To his understanding, R’wign had taught Kale to read, and was teaching her basic healing remedies. He wasn’t really that bad, but the relationship the pair had was more like siblings – which meant Ka’rys rarely admitted fondness for R’wign except in an exasperated manner. It was hard to be friendly with R’wign without periodically wanting to bash his head off of walls, though.
“According to the Weyrhealer, you look better in that skirt than him. He said you wore it to lessons?” There was no accusation in his voice, merely curiosity – he didn’t really pay that much attention to M’ta until after the Siege, for a very good reason. Logically he could just take R’wign’s words as fact but he was so fond of exaggerating and jerking people’s chain that it’d be pretty stupid to do so. He was rarely stupid.
He didn’t respond about Kalierre intentionally. The answer seemed so thoughtful that it didn’t merit poking. He had a feeling there was a sensitive subject under there somewhere and Ka’rys’s quota for emotional discussions with people not related to him by blood topped out at one per conversation if he liked them and zero if he didn’t. M’ta’s one was filled with the questions about Behruth – beyond that, he’d rather have kept things neutral. It wasn’t that he didn’t care, it was more that he was just horrible at being someone’s sounding board and quite neatly avoided it when he could. He didn’t usually talk about his problems, either, so at least he wasn’t a hypocrite in that regard... sort of.
|
|
Requiem
Weyrleader S'rei WM M?ta Rider A'nd Harper/Handler Dmitri Weyrbrat Miguel
Posts: 2,861
|
Post by Requiem on Jun 14, 2010 1:38:05 GMT -5
"Yes. Like those." M'ta nodded slightly. "Well, I'm usually out at that stump every day, after drills and a run...until about noon. So you can just swing by when you feel like it." Ka'rys was a nice change of pace, after all. Normally, when R'wign didn't have a schedule opposite his, it could be nice to talk to someone who wasn't so...overpowering. Though really M'ta rarely ever grew tired of R'wign's presence, obnoxious or no. He was rather hopeless, really. In love with the man's faults just as much as his virtues. So many people were just plain boring. Like F'lix, the silent bluerider M'ta played that stone game with on occasion. Ka'rys wasn't boring. There was a certain allure to him, actually, almost as if he was a puzzle to be figured out. Not that M'ta actively did so. He did tend to pick up things, though, the more he was around people, and Ka'rys was really no exception.
Glancing at his wingleader, his amusement was clear behind his eyes, even if the expression itself was predominately neutral. Almost as if he was holding back laughter. "Not fond of your daughter giving you lip all the time? Shocking." He wrinkled his nose, then, stepping lightly through the trees. "If it's any consolation, Teri's going to be exposed to both of us for much longer, so he'll get his just desserts." And M'ta as well, no doubt. Though, truthfully, M'ta wasn't exactly perfectly behaved either by any stretch of the imagination. In comparison to R'wign he wasn't as obnoxious - but he could still be a brat. As his loving weyrmate so enjoyed reminding him of.
A slight twitch at the question, M'ta's eyes sliding toward Ka'rys and narrowing a touch. Traitorous weyrmate. "Once. Right after my blue irritant hatched...they were all bent on driving me batty, singing Ruth's flutterbye song. Extreme case of if you can't beat em join em. Or at least mock em out. Lost track of time, forgot I had it on until we got to the barracks, then just kind of...played it off like I'd meant to come to lessons in a skirt all along. Though I'm sure I don't know what he's talking about. Had pants on underneath, and he has yet to convince me to wear it again." He tsked softly. Try explaining to R'wign that female clothing was a turnoff.
"So then...how are all your girls? Kale's the only one I've seen recently." No surprise there. M'ta knew Savitri, and they talked. Were friends, even. But he didn't spend a ton of time with her beyond what they saw of each other in the infirmary. The same was true of Meira. R'wign didn't actively tell him not to or anything - encouraged his friendships, even - but M'ta knew they made his weyrmate twitchy. Particularly Savitri. So he kept a distance between them. (To be fair, though, M'ta didn't feel entirely comfortable with Savitri, anyway. He figured part of that was his earlier crush on her. Even if it no longer existed, there was something of a lingering awkwardness. Sometimes, though, he got the impression that her interest in him wasn't entirely as an old friend, though.)
|
|
|
Post by glamourie on Jun 17, 2010 15:40:50 GMT -5
Ka’rys gave a mute nod. He might take that offer up – when he had free time. Honestly, he didn’t have a lot; the girls, Kale and organizing wing drills did take a lot of time. This wasn’t because his wing was time consuming, but because he flat out refused to be one of those parents who left his kids in the creche the majority of the time, even if it was sensible. Technically he also had to spend time with Ciceroth (oiling him, if nothing else), which usually led to Ka’rys’s day being filled. Yes, it took half the day to oil the bronze beast. He was big and liked to roll around in the sand and make it difficult just because he was Ciceroth and doing anything the easy way was beneath him. It was cute when he was a weyrling – but being one of the biggest dragons on Pern, and definitely one of the biggest bronzes, meant that it was a disgusting amount of work to care for him. And Ka’rys knew very well that Ciceroth did it solely to get more of his attention. Negative attention was better than none and he was antagonistic when bored. It was pretty typical between them – but frustrating when he was on a tight schedule. Whether he did it to himself or not was irrelevant.
“Technically, it’s not me that Kale sasses the most. She wisely knows better than to push it with me.” And she did. When she’d first come to Selenitas, Kale pushed and pushed – and he’d let her get away with a lot, but even Ka’rys had a stopping point and he’d eventually gotten over her brattiness fast. And with his lack of tolerance went the behavior to him. “Savitri is another story entirely. To be blunt, Kale doesn’t like goldriders. Any of them. She detests Kaegan and she’s got the most minimal tolerance of Meira solely because of you and R’wign. She thinks goldriders are worthless. Part of that is how she was raised – her mother was a greenrider on a fighting wing, and Leradi was ‘one of the guys’; she didn’t do the feminine, fragile thing in public. ‘Vi... um... well, ‘vi is female and makes no bones about it. Kale’s a lot more like her mother and they... clash. And Savitri lets her get away with it, so she doesn’t respect her. And that she learned from R’wign.”
It probably didn’t help that R’wign also disliked Savitri. Considering Kalerary adored R’wign and M’ta, she did seem to adopt their opinions on things. See: Her willingness to put up with Meira despite her being a goldrider, when with Kaegan she just labeled her without even speaking to her once. Ka’rys didn’t point that out because it wasn’t worth it, and anyway if M’ta was smart he could figure it out on his own.
The glare was ignored outwardly – because Ka’rys was Ka’rys, and he didn’t care about glares. (More specifically, his mentality was Oh, I can do that so much better – and since his glares tended to be kind of worrisome, he was betting he could. Murderous looks were his specialty.) He didn’t really care enough to know the details about the skirt, either, though he did let a smile pass over his face – faint, but real nonetheless. Which was in and of itself quite a different response from Ka’rys, who didn’t usually smile for real. Smirk yes. Glare yes. Glower, oh yes. Blank look. Absent stare. Thoughtful expressions. These were normal. Real smiles were awkward for him, mainly because he wasn’t really happy enough to smile that often. Content was the emotion he most sought and that was most familiar to him. Hm.
“Keravi and Samera are both fine. They don’t like being called ‘the girls’ either – though Savitri calls them that often enough. They both start chanting their names at me when I do it.” He shrugged. “Keravi is just like her mother. She can’t hold still. She has to constantly be moving, and she’s not loud but she does talk a lot – and Samera barely makes a sound but she toddles after her sister. I think she’s determined to be with her sister all the time. Shadow follows Samera around and Keravi doesn’t like it because she doesn’t have a salamandyr or flitter to follow her around. She also hasn’t figured out that she’s sometimes too rough with them, but she is trying. Um – they’re talking. Coming up on two turns old. Sammy can’t walk properly, either. She tries, but she falls a lot. They both love Kale, who complains about them constantly.” There was definite amusement in those words. “They’re good though. You’re welcome to babysit if you’ve got the time – it might be nice for them to be around kids that aren’t Aliscia’s.”
|
|
Requiem
Weyrleader S'rei WM M?ta Rider A'nd Harper/Handler Dmitri Weyrbrat Miguel
Posts: 2,861
|
Post by Requiem on Jun 18, 2010 17:56:10 GMT -5
M'ta listened silently to Ka'rys. Kale didn't give him much sass, really...oh, she had a personality, and plenty of it. Enough to get her slapped around in other contexts. But as far as directly disrespecting him or his weyrmate? She didn't. It would have drastically changed their relationship, for one thing. M'ta didn't expect the girl to worship him or anything, but it would have been a lie to say that he didn't expect some respect for sticking his neck out for her. Namely, it would have been very difficult to deal with a child he'd risked his life for throwing it back in his face like it didn't mean anything. No, he didn't expect special treatment. Just what he got from most other people, anyway. "I try not to be too judgmental of anyone when she's in earshot, if that's helpful at all. I'm sure I still slip on occasion."
There was also no real comment on R'wign. His weyrmate was one of the most difficult people M'ta knew, and sometimes he wondered if that wasn't why he'd allowed his attachment to get as strong as it had. Safe, R'wign should have been. Blindingly heterosexual, self-absorbed, difficult and emotionally crippled. His love for his weyrmate was genuine, but it was curious that he hadn't shut it down a lot earlier. Curious enough to question. And the simplest answer was that it had seemed highly unlikely that R'wign would ever return it, and that...that solved M'ta's problems. But even in this R'wign had proven more difficult than anticipated, and returned the feelings. Eventually. Not that he was complaining. It definitely got you nowhere to let him have his way all the time, though, let him manipulate you. (Though R'wign managed it with M'ta often enough. He didn't always notice, for one, and sometimes even when he did...it just wasn't important enough to fight his weyrmate on. M'ta chose his battles. Teasing wars aside, sometimes he liked things to just be peaceful and relaxing without the mind wrestling that often went on between them.)
The smile was noticed with a small amount of inner surprise, though it didn't show on M'ta's face. He couldn't remember seeing such an expression from Ka'rys. Cold smiles, perhaps, though if those could actually be called smiles were up for debate.
A flicker of a smile played over the brownrider's face at the description of Ka'rys's twins. It was odd, probably, but M'ta had something of a soft spot for children. Something that was probably heavily influenced by Behruth's open adoration of all younger dragons and many of the other more childlike ones. As well as anything else that wasn't yet adult. "I'd love to. Teri has very little exposure to anyone female. Meira, my sister Jazz...and that's about it. It would be good for her to play with some girls close to her own age I think." And might help with some of the attention-seeking behavior.
Neither M'ta nor R'wign were feminine enough in behavior to be a real substitute. Which M'ta didn't consider to be a bad thing. "It'll also give me a good idea of what to expect over the next several months," he added dryly, even as he went about collecting wood near the base of the tree that Sneak had taken up his perch on. "R'wign's taken to acting a bit odd with Teri. I don't suppose he's mentioned anything to you?" Probably not, considering M'ta heard most things first (if you didn't include Checkoth), but it was worth asking about. M'ta had a very good imagination, and R'wign was very good at evasion. Not a good combination sometimes.
|
|
|
Post by glamourie on Jun 20, 2010 17:12:36 GMT -5
“I didn’t think you were teaching Kalerary any bad habits for real.” If he did, Kale wouldn’t have been allowed around M’ta – simple really. He knew very well where Kalerary picked up most of her worst habits, though, and sadly a lot were from him... especially her more judgmental behaviors. Yes, she definitely learned that from him. He was highly judgmental, more so than probably anyone else at Selenitas, he just didn’t voice it quite as much. She was probably learning to be so harsh with others because of him... but Kale wasn’t the only person in his life who disliked Savitri. He and Savitri had a very unusual relationship that, frankly, even he deemed rocky at times. They were getting along now because she thought he didn’t remember her... and he wasn’t ready to correct it. He wasn’t ready to go back to being a couple, when his memories were like staring through fogged glass, rather than being there. It was like watching someone else. What he knew and felt about Savitri only related to the recent months when he talked to her and it was all so awkward. He was fond of her, but love was strong – too strong. He didn’t know if he was in love with her anymore, and it was easier to pretend he didn’t remember than admit that to her. Yes, at times, he took the coward’s way out.
That thought, coupled with the talk of the twins, made him frown. He wondered briefly what they were doing. Being busy, he didn’t get to spend as much time with them as he would’ve liked – it was actually very upsetting because he adamantly opposed the girls not knowing much about him or Savitri. He didn’t know how much time his... weyrmate (?) ... spent with them, either, since he slept in his office rather than near her. It bothered him, but he pushed the thought from his mind. It was unlikely that M’ta meant to stir up those thoughts, and he would not let himself sulk. He was determined to distract himself from sulking of any kind, over anything. His goal in wandering was to distract from the absence of Merce, after all...
“I should apologize in advance. Kera is just like her mother, but she’s kind of prone to jealousy. Shadow favors Sammy a lot, and that means Kera gets ignored. Merce favored her.” And Merce was gone. He didn’t elaborate. “You might end up with her trying to grab your salamandyr or firelizard. Just tell her to be gentle and she should stop, but – you’re welcome to watch them if you’re interested and don’t mind that risk. They’re both pretty well behaved most of the time. Kera’s the one you have to watch closely.” There was affection enough in his voice to indicate that despite his complaints, Ka’rys really did love the girls – both of them – unfailingly. He wasn’t even ashamed of it, nor did he make any effort to disguise as he did with most of his feelings. Keravi was adored, in spite and because of her flaws.
His head cocked to the side slightly before he stood up. He took to pacing and frowned in response to M’ta’s question. “Acting odd how? No. He hasn’t said anything to me except to complain about scheduling drills at weird hours and to gripe about poisoning you or something. He mostly just complains at me.” His head tilted to the side and he rubbed his nose. “Ask Checkoth? He’ll probably tell you if you explain why you want to know.”
|
|
Requiem
Weyrleader S'rei WM M?ta Rider A'nd Harper/Handler Dmitri Weyrbrat Miguel
Posts: 2,861
|
Post by Requiem on Jun 25, 2010 5:53:41 GMT -5
"I'm sure they'll be fine. Teri is hardly an angel herself." In fact, spoiled was a better word, despite all attempts not to turn her completely rotten. PMS adored her, though, and generally seemed to be good with kids. The blue salamandyr was, in fact, the friendliest of his mindmates, though Behruth took a close second. In fact, M'ta wasn't even sure how he'd Impressed either of those two, with a personality like his. Must be something to that saying, 'opposites attract.' At any rate, he had little doubt that PMS would be all over both girls, and if Shadow was around Sammy, he'd naturally go to Keravi to investigate, probably thinking she was lonely. Symmetry and fairness and all that. Which might cause Teri to have a little fit, though for some reason PMS seemed perfectly capable of calming her down no matter where he was or what he was up to. It was odd, really, to know that your salamandyr was communicating with your baby better than you could communicate with either. Odd indeed.
M'ta shrugged one shoulder. "I don't know. You know how awkward he used to be with the really young kids? Kind of like that. Only he didn't used to be, probably because of Riaren. It's strange. Should really ask him myself, I suppose, but if he hasn't told me himself..." The words trailed off into an incomprehensible mutter. The brownrider was...holding himself together by threads lately. He knew it, too. It was getting bad enough that he was reluctant to trust his own perceptions, and he didn't want to create problems where there actually were none. And yet he always insisted that R'wign talk to him about his problems, so why was he...not doing what he always asked his weyrmate to? The answer was more simple than he would have liked. M'ta knew what his problem was, and he knew that R'wign couldn't fix it, could do nothing about it at all. Behruth. Without the stabilizer that M'ta had come to take for granted, he was reverting to a mass of doubts, paranoia and distrust. All that R'wign (or anyone else, for that matter) didn't deserve. He didn't want to hurt his weyrmate.
He didn't know how to stop it, either. Except possibly by asking questions to help push aside the doubts. Eventually, though, R'wign would pick up on it. He wasn't stupid. M'ta wasn't sure what to do, really.
None of this was anything Ka'rys needed to be privy to. He didn't know the answer. It was done.
"Get in contact if you need someone to watch Sammy and Keravi, will you? Can't guarantee we'd always be able to, but I can usually find time. Behruth really wants to see them and let them crawl all over him. Seems to like that entirely more than you'd expect." And anything that helped Ruth was something M'ta wanted. He was beginning to feel more than just a little bit inadequate. Who couldn't console their own dragon after this long? He wasn't going there now. Firmly redirecting his thoughts, the man gathered the wood he needed into his arms. "How far have you gotten with the archery practice, by the way? I'm beginning to think I just have no proclivi-" And here he got onto R'wign for using huge words around him. Was he hypoctritical about everything? "skill for it."
|
|