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Post by dragon on Aug 15, 2009 14:03:59 GMT -5
It was a peaceful, cool morning, the waves rolling in ceaselessly. But with a rhythm all their own, a timing all their own. It was nice, really, to get away from the Weyr occasionally. All the work, stress, people … and dragons. It was time to do something else. So thus it was that Emoyan had found himself all the way down by the coast. He used to spend more time out here, with Kindrith. Such a quick, short hop it had been, to get here … now … it was far more complicated. And long winded. Just to get here. But now that he was here, having started out before dawn, he was parked on a boulder, high above the sand. Just high enough that he could smell the spray, but it didn't actually reach him.
Perched up there, in the quiet morning, away from all the noise, he reflected on the water rolling in, and picked out a tune on his old, trusty gitar. Strumming lightly, he relaxed into the morning, allowing the knots to fall out of his muscles and his stance to soften. No lessons today. No paperwork. Today … he'd just simply disappeared from the Weyr and gotten away from it all. No noisy, obnoxious, arrogant students. Not today. Today … it was just peace. And music.
Time to just breathe. Everyone needed their moments. But he really liked the magic of the early morning hour. The appearance of the rising sun in the moisture. The cool air. It also carried the light tunes he picked out very well, making them a little more on the ethereal side. Which was a soothing balm to a ragged soul.
Sitting in the branches of a tree back away from the shore, Rascal and Voyager were both sitting still and silent, their wings hanging about them like shrouded curtains as they carefully watched theirs. Ever since the attack, the both of them were over protective and completely conscientious of Emoyan's moods and actions. Careful careful they were, to make sure he didn't so something drastic. Even though the threat of him doing that had by far gone wayyyy down.
Skink was not around … she had elected not to go, instead having run off to find her twin and scheme nastiness with the other identical 'mandyr. Emoyan knew he was going to hear all about what she'd done, just as soon as he got back to the Weyr … but at the moment he didn't care. Right now … there was nothing on his mind. It was nice, to be able to relax and let life happen for a few moments.
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Requiem
Weyrleader S'rei WM M?ta Rider A'nd Harper/Handler Dmitri Weyrbrat Miguel
Posts: 2,861
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Post by Requiem on Aug 15, 2009 17:49:58 GMT -5
It was an odd sight, for any who'd been at Selenitas long enough to know. S'rei was not the most lighthearted of people. He had a long string of sins tacked onto his conscience...a death count that numbered in the thousands, even if it was rather indirectly...and the losses he himself had suffered typically weighed heavy on him. That, or the pressures of raising two young children on his own and having two more he was technically responsible for.
Thus it was surpassingly odd to see the man more or less backpacking across the weyr in what was clearly high spirits. He was whistling to himself as he strode, long legs eating up the ground in great strides, his dark auburn hair periodically catching the sun and erupting into the flame hues (other than the gray gathered at his temples) that almost all of his children would come to be known for. A great axe was also thrown over his shoulder, in addition to the sack he'd packed, as he planned on spending the entire day outdoors. S'rei wanted to stake out places to hide watchdragons and whers...new places that neither of the northern weyrs would know about.
He was no leader at Selenitas any longer, but both K'roi and Ka'rys listened to him (and used him, though that was more Ka'rys than K'roi) on occasion. It was something to do, anyway. Something that didn't involve the daughter that he loved - and detested - with equal passion. Shei. His, in a way that none of the other children he cared for were. She'd been conceived out of love, but the love had gone sour, and every passing day she reminded him more and more of all the traits he hated most in the woman he'd ended up...loving and hating in equal parts. None had wounded him so greatly as Shmee. He couldn't hate Shei. It was impossible. But she was bringing out memories these days - and had taken to asking, no demanding, for her mother and accusing him of driving her mother off.
It was...tiresome.
He was away from all that now, though, and the day was new and crisp. S'rei was in arguably the best shape of his life, looking forward to a day of mindless labor, and the whistling turned into soft singing. The bronzerider was no harper; his voice was rough and untrained. But he was, at least, in key, and the cheerfulness in the song - not to mention the man's natural charisma - made the song itself endearing of its own accord.
On impulse, he angled for the boulder that provided such a nice view, there discovering that someone had already beat him to it. The song fell into silence. Emoyan? Formerly E'yan, a bluerider who had lost his dragon in the siege...formerly of Fort. That last should have bothered S'rei - and usually it would have - but his mood was too elevated to be broken easily. He did wonder how Emoyan could bear life without his dragon, though. S'rei knew that...if...the impossible happened...he would hang on for his children. If the shock didn't kill him. Which he rather thought it would. Few shared so close a bond.
"Nice morning, isn't it, Candidatemaster?" he queried, the cheer dimmed but still very much there. He almost looked like a demented lumberjack, wandering around like a massive bear with that ax thrown over his shoulder. "You here all on your lonesome?" Was it wise to leave one of the dragonless alone up here?
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Post by dragon on Aug 15, 2009 18:14:12 GMT -5
The voice bursting in on the magical morning startled Emoyan out of his thoughts and song. His fingers flubbed badly on the strings and the notes were horribly flat and sour. Slapping a palm on them to silence the sound almost as fast as it happened, Emoyan twisted at the waist to turn and look down off the boulder at who'd disturbed him. He grinned, slightly, upon seeing the bronzerider.
"Goodmorning to you, too, Wingleader." He replied, in kind. "Indeed, it is a nice morning." He agreed, with a pleasant nod. "Yeah ... I'm kinda out here alone. If you don't count the sentries." He grinned and nodded at the tree where his flitters were sitting like sentinels. "Just thought I'd take a day off." He shrugged slightly, resting his arm across the top of the body of his instrument. "Where are you off to, today? You look like you're setting out to do war on the forest." he joked.
It was kind of odd, to have someone wander up on him like that ... much less a dragon rider without his dragon. Especially a bronzerider. But he really didn't care at the moment. He was feeling good ... feeling better than he'd felt in a very long time. And being greeted by a cheerful looking body didn't do anything to dim that feeling.
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Requiem
Weyrleader S'rei WM M?ta Rider A'nd Harper/Handler Dmitri Weyrbrat Miguel
Posts: 2,861
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Post by Requiem on Aug 15, 2009 18:27:50 GMT -5
S'rei's grin quirked funky, at the title. "S'rei will do. Or bronzerider. Haven't led a wing in turns." Which was true enough. The last time had been...before Shmee's death. Although it was rather odd, come to think, considering he and Salenth had at least seconded since...well, since his third turn at Fort until just recently. That was what? Almost twenty turns? He'd never really considered it, but he had been in a leadership role for quite a lot of his life. Well. He was more than fine just...being him and worrying about his family...for once. (Nevermind that he was working on the defenses of Selenitas even now.)
Stepping up onto the rock, he took Emoyan's lack of hissing and threatening gestures to be invitation enough. (After Ch'ero, he'd been careful to feel out Fort riders before getting too close to them. S'rei wasn't much for physical confrontations of that sort.)
"Didn't really have a specific destination in mind. I'm just looking for some good places to set up new sentry positions, since all of our current ones have been compromised." He hefted the axe before lashing it to his pack to leave his hands free. And so as not to be standing over a man with an axe. Even if Emoyan didn't mind, he wouldn't put it past someone else to get the wrong idea. Insane axe murderer for the win. "Salenth insists I'll just succeed in cutting off my foot, though. He's ever so supportive. I haven't used an axe before, but they can't be that hard to handle, right?"
The huge man settled into a crouch beside Emoyan and looked out over the sights the former bluerider had been taking in. "Although...I could probably be convinced to pittle away the day here. That's quite a nice view you've got." He glanced at Emoyan curiousy. "What song was it that you were playing. I didn't recognize it." And, much as it was a little known fact about S'rei, the man loved music. In truth, he might have even become a harper...or at least apprenticed...had he not Impressed at age twelve...now over a quarter of a century ago. He even fiddled with a harp of his own. Sage's gift to him - her last gift, though she hardly knew it at the time. S'rei didn't have much luck when it came to love, it seemed.
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Post by dragon on Aug 15, 2009 19:26:05 GMT -5
Emoyan laughed a bit, and then nodded. "S'rei it is, then." He agreed. Even when he had been a rider himself, it had always bothered him to go around calling people bronzerider... or anything else like that. For some reason it just bothered him, to call someone by thier dragon's color. "My bad ... I make quite the example for my students, don't I? Don't even know who's wingleading and who's not." Emoyan shook his head, somberly. He really needed to brush up on things, if he was that bad ... it wouldn't do to be feeding wrong info to his kids. They'd start questioning everything else he tried to teach them, too. Which would make the whole point in lessons completely moot.
He gathered his stray leg up to himself, tucking the foot under his other knee into a true crosslegged position, getting his appendage out of the way of S'rei's ascension. He gestured at the stone around him, in open invitation to sit, if S'rei saw fit to do so. "Don't slip ... some spots are kinda slick." He warned, just in case the big man didn't spot those spots ahead of time. Dragging someone that big all the way back to the Weyr with a bonked head was not on his list of things to do that day.
"Sounds like a plan." Emoyan mentioned. "Seen any likely spots yet?" He asked, glancing back at the forest behind him for a bit, before squinting up at S'rei. Faranth ... the man had looked big down below him. But to see him standing over him made him look even bigger. S'rei certainly looked the part of a lumber jack, no doubt. Emoyan was no small man himself, but he was by no means that big. "Ah ... well ... you do kinda need to know what you're doing, or that's a very real risk, yes." Emoyan agreed. "I don't know about you, but I'd not want to lose a foot. I can't help you much, though ... I haven't done much axework, myself. Some, but not much." Emoyan shrugged, and patted his gitar affectionately. "I prefer other tools." He grinned.
His gaze followed S'rei as he crouched, glad to not have to look quite so high up any more. His gaze shifted over to the horizons before him again at the bronzerider's comment, and nodded. "It is lovely. Part of why I came here. Kindrith and I used to come out here fairly often. Pitch a tent, things of that nature. I never realized how long a trek it was, though." He mentioned.
Oops ... the song. Ah ... well ... Emoyan chuckled a little bit. "You didn't recognize it because no one has ever heard it before." he admitted. "I tend to ... putter... with my music. I love to let my fingers lead the way, more often when by myself than when others are around. I make up a whole lot of ... shall we say ... completely fictional songs? I don't share them, because I don't want to confuse the actual histories, and teaching songs." he reached up and scratched an ear, before shrugging nonchalantly. Taking up his gitar again he pressed upon the strings, and strummed a few chords before allowing it to fall silent again, the sound drifting off into the ocean induced mists before being drowned out completely by the sound of the waves below.
"I was sort of trying to use the rhythem and sound of the waves as an integral part of the song." He admitted, with a shrug. "Sometimes it worked ... spectacularly well, I might add. Sometimes it didn't. There is a tempo there, but ... it's a complex one. Driven by the wind." He gestured out at the sea with an arm, before glancing over at his new companion, before grinning crookedly. "Thus far ... it's been fun."
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Requiem
Weyrleader S'rei WM M?ta Rider A'nd Harper/Handler Dmitri Weyrbrat Miguel
Posts: 2,861
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Post by Requiem on Aug 16, 2009 12:52:28 GMT -5
Settling into a crosslegged position, S'rei leaned back on his hands and took to studying the sights from here. Part of his mind was still looking for good places to set up watch points, but mostly he was simply listening to Emoyan. The candidatemaster was surprisingly good company. The sad truth was the bronzerider had little in the way of interaction with anyone that might be considered healthy. The children he loved (although Shei was a brat through and through) but children weren't exactly good to socialize with exclusively. Then there was Ka'rys. That relationship was just plain odd. Awkward. Almost surreal at times. Aside from Ka'rys, he spoke - or, rather, argued - with Aliscia on occasion, but that was always over matters of the twins. She could never make up her mind what she wanted from him in that regard. If he'd had to choose a mother for his youngest children, she certainly wouldn't have topped the list, but what can you do? Other than that, he had Salenth.
Not exactly a long list, was it? Was the bronzerider a bit lonely? You could say that. He was a contained sort, he was, but that didn't mean he wasn't social. But between the Benden riders who regarded him warily, the Fort riders who probably wanted his head on a pike, and all those who just found him as a source of amusement or pity, it became taxing to go out of his way to start new relationships. The kids took a lot of his time, as well.
Emoyan seemed an unlikely source to fill that void. S'rei had never been good with dragonless, but...the Candidatemaster didn't seem that broken. Surely the conversation they were having was cheerful enough, not even the slightest bit awkward. Not to mention the fact that Emoyan was Fort, which meant, by the laws of nature, he should be contemplating how to cause S'rei to accidentally impale himself on his axe right now...S'rei regarded the man out of the corner of his eye curiously. Never one to question a good thing, however, he allowed the smile Emoyan was drawing from him to manifest unhindered. "Mmm. Ka'rys would be happy, though. Apparently the whole world would be better off if I was cut off at the ankles and forced to stand at a normal height." He chuckled ruefully. Truly, he'd sometimes wished to be a bit more...regularly sized...himself over the turns. It had it's advantages, though. Besides giving him some extra power, he could be pretty intimidating when he wanted to be. Sometimes. If people weren't picturing him mooning the weyr at that salamandyr clutch...
"I should like to hear the song," S'rei added honestly. "What little I caught was intriguing." It wasn't as if Emoyan had to worry about it working or not; the bronzerider could appreciate good music and talent - and in doing so knew he couldn't produce either. He wasn't judgmental enough to be critical of something he himself was incapable of. "I'd hope you wouldn't confuse me on the histories after thirty-five turns," he added jokingly. Sensing Salenth gathering for another jab at him, he preempted the snark with, I was generalizing. You just don't want him to know how oooold you are. S'rei wrinkled his nose good naturedly.
"Found a couple of likely spots on higher ground, including some near the beach. That would be a good congregating spot, I think. I'll have to investigate further, though, to see if they'll work. As for the wingleaders...I believe it's Ka'rys, K'roi and T'rid right now. Oh, and Millieth." That last was stated a little more frostily. S'rei didn't really have anything against Kaegan in particularly, but he was quite old-fashioned in that he believed golds should not be flying in wings. They weren't made for it, and it endangered the future of the weyr to expose them to danger like that. Not that any of them were likely to listen to his opinion. He'd likely just be accuse of bearing some sort of grudge because of Shmee.
(Nevermind that this wouldn't be entirely untrue.)
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Post by dragon on Aug 16, 2009 18:38:10 GMT -5
"Ka'rys..." Emoyan mused, for a moment, tapping his fingers lightly off the side of the body of his instrument idly. "Ka'rys is short, himself. Everyone towers over him. Don't worry about what he thinks too much." He grinned slightly. "Besides ... it seems people have an easier time leading if they're tall. So ... consider it a blessing." Shrugging, Emoyan didn't really have much to say about height. He was slightly taller than average, himself ... but he never really noticed since he wasn't that much taller. Given his habit of often being parked on something either working or singing ... it was never really noticed anyway. His fingers stilled, then. "But do be careful with that axe. I hear tell axe cuts are a doozy to try and sew back up. And I'm no seamster."
He wanted to hear the song ... that was easily enough catered to. Emoyan strummed once, before laughing lightly, interupting his music again. "I should hope so! But it's not you I'm worried about corrupting. It's all the young, impressionable minds out there ... like those of my students. Catchy tunes are catchy tunes, and if they get repeated too far, what was once intended as jest or fantasy suddenly becomes common knowledge and assumed to be fact." Emoyan trailed off for a moment, before speaking again, in lower tones. "It's a shame that effect can't be used to make things better." he said, wistfully, before coming back to himself and realizing he was supposed to be playing his gitar. "Now then." he said, a little louder, centering his attention again.
His fingers danced over the strings, on both the neck and the base, as he took to playing with gusto ... with a bit more energy and volume than he had been when S'rei had walked up on him. After all ... he had to be heard over the sea, for another to hear. As close as he was to the box, and knowing what he was playing, Emoyan often didn't have to actually hear his music to know what it sounded like and to enjoy it. But now that he was playing for someone else, more effort was applied. Again, he twisted the song, to work it with and around the rhythem of the sea, to make the two sounds compliment rather than clash, taking one's fancy on a light and airy journey to places where thoughts didn't hurt quite so much.
Music was more than a passion for Emoyan ... it was an escape. It was a way to either let his emotions out, or a way to soothe them. And today he was in a mood that dictated soothing, uplifting sounds, rather then melencholy sounds that expressed the pain within. The notes twirled lightly, sometimes slowly, sometimes a little faster, dancing upon the air like fireflies in the night. Or zipping around like the energetic Vtols that hurried around, adding a heavier tone to support the lighter ones.
A journeyman Harper Emoyan might only have been, but his specialty was music, being his passion. Which meant he was quite good with his instruments. Just one man, with just one gitar ... it sounded like more than that, with all of his fingers busily dancing on the strings. However, Emoyan did not elect to sing along with it ... this was a song that had no words, yet still carried the potent language that needed no words to communicate.
Finally, after several minutes (as he tended to play until he felt he should end), the last few notes died away in one final crash of a wave, the gitar falling silent. Without a word, Emoyan looked over at S'rei again.
After a moment, he asked: "Are the sentry positions going to be manned by men, or by dragons?" he asked. That distinction could be a defining factor in what made a good spot, and what didn't. So before he deigned to even try to suggest a few places on the beach area, he asked.
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Requiem
Weyrleader S'rei WM M?ta Rider A'nd Harper/Handler Dmitri Weyrbrat Miguel
Posts: 2,861
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Post by Requiem on Aug 16, 2009 19:36:42 GMT -5
S'rei found himself altogether amused by Emoyan, if only because the candidatemaster seemed to take everything at face value when the bronzerider was merely joking on most counts. Then again, S'rei had always had a rather dry sense of humor, when it came right down to it. (He actually wasn't sure if he really intended to use the axe, or would need it, but the implement had struck his fancy. A man S'rei's age had to be impulsive every once in awhile, right? As far as midlife crisises went, playing at being a forester for a day was pretty mild.) He couldn't imagine being average height, much less short. The only real change he could say his body had gone through over the last twenty turns was a slower metabolism and filling out the long frame that had once classified him as a 'beanpole' when he was still a teenager. He might have grown a couple of inches in all that time...early puberty for S'rei had mostly been shooting up in height until his bones threatened to fall apart under the strain.
Not much of a beanpole anymore though, was he?
The harper was more than just a little good with that gitar. S'rei watched the fingers dance, following the chords, hearing the complex rhythms and counter rythms. Very good indeed. Oh, it was still a touch rough in places, but that was only to be expected when picking out a new song, and the majority of it was...well, you could definitely tell where Emoyan's heart laid. The bronzerider relaxed into the music, scanning the lands around them in a state of peace he rarely enjoyed. A countermelody sprung to mind, but he didn't do anything to break the magic of the moment. He could hardly do it credit, anyway, though part of him certainly wanted to write it all down somewhere before it vanished.
Even Salenth was intrigued, the bronze's presence in S'rei's mind more attentive than normal. That's much better than anything I've heard you play. I should hope so. He's a professional...still, it's exquisite, isn't it? Takes a certain type of person to create like that. The man questioned the statement, but Salenth didn't qualify it. Apparently it was something that dragons knew and could not be explained.
Both dragon (even if he was some distance away, sprawled on his weryledge) and rider were jerked out of their mood when Emoyan stopped, the regret shared between them. "Ummm." S'rei forced his mind back down that track, as it had wandered long ago. "I was actually thinking of both. Main defenses, pretty much where they've always been, a few extra dragon/wher outposts and some blinds for humans." Actually, the plan hatching in his mind was rather intricate, gravitating around the concept of handpicked sentries that the majority of the Weyr knew nothing about. Of course, some of the new ones would become common knowledge, because it was only natural for the enemy to expect them to make adjustments. If they found people born and raised at Selenitas, with family here, to man the secret positions, though, the likelihood that a spy would discover them was significantly lessened.
It was worth a try.
Salenth was not so much interested in these outposts, however. Please, harperhuman. The song was very pretty, and it makes me sad that the music has stopped, the bronze told Emoyan directly. He'd been around far too long to have many residual reservations about contacting humans other than His - when he wanted something or otherwise needed to. S'rei directed a sheepish smile at Emoyan. "He's...kind of constantly in my head, hearing everything I hear. Sorry about that. We'd...both like it very much if you'd continue playing, though. As long as it's not too much trouble."
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Post by dragon on Aug 19, 2009 13:43:48 GMT -5
Emoyan nodded a bit. "Sounds like a good plan." He mentioned, glancing around. He stretched out an arm to point at something down the coast and opened his mouth to say something, but was startled out of it by hearing a dragon talk to him. For a split moment that shock showed, and then it vanished completely off his face. He glanced at S'rei for a moment, before nodding with a somewhat pleased expression. "I'm glad you enjoyed that. And ... nothing to be sorry for. Though I must say he surprised me." He chuckled for a moment, before concentrating his thoughts in a way he'd not done in many long months, to reply to the dragon over the connection the Bronze had established.
Thank you, Salenth. I would be happy to play again for you and yours.[/b] He answered, before trying to remember what it was he had been about to say or point out. He'd completely forgotten. Shards, he was too young for that to happen to him... oh well ... couldn't have been too terribly important, then. Shrugging his shoulders, he looked down at his instrument again. He plucked a string or two, but that was all the far it went, before he devolved back into silent thinking again. He didn't want to play the same song all over again ... not that he was sure he could exactly replicate it again anyway. Something different ... yet still something interesting. Emoyan looked at the waking world around them for a moment, and breathed deep of the salty mists.
It really was beautiful, if one could forget the politicing and the wars and the hurt and the pain. The real world ... the one that he could sit and watch right now ... was a lovely one. It was the man made perception of the world that was so awful, it seemed. Unfortunately, so many were convinced that was the real world. Taking in another grasp of the beauty, Emoyan allowed his fingers to dance over the strings once again, spilling music over the air.
This time, the song was not matched to the waves. Instead, it was a song all its own. Breathing its own life, it took on a soul of its own. Occassionally the incoming wind tried to rip the sound away. But the box on the instrument continually echoed the notes played into it back out to the world, amplifying them over the wind and the waves.
From the tree back from the shore, Rascal took wing and flew toward the boulder where the two men were seated. Fluttering his wings quickly, he landed neatly on the rock, too, and sat down, watching from that point. The brown flitter looked up at S'rei for a moment, curiously, and then out at the sea, too.
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Requiem
Weyrleader S'rei WM M?ta Rider A'nd Harper/Handler Dmitri Weyrbrat Miguel
Posts: 2,861
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Post by Requiem on Aug 19, 2009 23:44:32 GMT -5
Again, S'rei found himself impressed by Emoyan's poise; the man handled another dragon's voice in his head quite well, all things considered. The bronzerider settled in to study the candidatemaster obliquely as the harper set about picking out a song that was subtly different than the first. Listening to it in silence, S'rei began scratching out something in the rock in front of him, occasionally glancing up at the area Selenitas spread out before his gaze. Here, and here...he'd need to get up close to verify that the places were workable from the ground, but strategically speaking...
Glancing down, he noted Rascal and pulled a face before ferreting through his belongings. S'rei didn't like firelizards at all. They tended to get all too familiar with him (though, admittedly, that had happened much more when he was younger as opposed to now.) Still, the distaste lingered. Ah, yes, parchment. Bound in a small book. He had several hand-drawn maps littered around his weyr - at all times. But this was something else.
Flipping through the sheets, he found the melancholy returning, resting lightly upon him this day. Laurie, when she was a teenager...a scene drawn from memory, the girl stretched out across the branch of a tree, one leg dangling as she stretched for a redfruit. The expression of concentration on her face was so rare it was downright adorable in its own right. That had been...what? Three days before he was to leave for Benden and the whole of his life shifted direction inevitably.
He continued to flip through the pages of random scenes, some gentle, some terrors...all drawn because Kalierre was convinced that his drawing was the key to his memories. Most of these had been drawn without any context, and only now could he put the stories behind them. Growing weary of the sorrows kept in those pages, he flipped quickly through the last few, finding a blank page and extracting a bit of charcoal.
His strokes were quick, capturing a freedom, and he never once glanced at Emoyan. S'rei drew mostly from memory and by feel, and the harper began to appear on the page. Shadows fell in ways that they didn't out here, in the real world, creating a subtle sense of loss even in the peaceful lines of Emoyan's face. S'rei slid back onto one arm, resting the sketch on his knees as he put in some finishing touches...and left the drawing as more of a suggestion than a defined piece.
There, he'd captured the moment in his own way, for later. S'rei flipped the book shut definitively and turned his gaze back to Selenitas. "I hope the candidates aren't giving you so much trouble that you feel the need to flee here," he commented jokingly, quirking a brow in Emoyan's direction.
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Post by dragon on Aug 22, 2009 0:58:57 GMT -5
Emoyan noticed when S'rei started sketching, and it distracted him minutely, causing a few odd notes that didn't quite work right. They weren't sour, per se ... they just didn't match with the rest. He continued to play, however, letting his fingers and mind do the walking on the instrument, and his ears the listening as he watched S'rei sketch busily. So intently. Emoyan had to wonder what it was the bronzerider was drawing in that little book of his. Whatever it was, Emoyan was at the wrong place to be able to see it at all. Must be important, though, the amount of effort that the man was putting into it.
A glance of the eye, at the scratches on the rock, and Emoyan assumed it was a more detailed plan of defence placements, and left it at that. S'rei sure seemed dedicated ... that made him wonder how anyone could doubt him or his intentions. Someone that dedicated was a little harder to come by amongst the rankes of people who rode dragons more simply for the glory and danger it presented. The more Emoyan thought about it, the more it seemed that S'rei truely cared about the Weyr ... and those places it protected. That ... that was something honorable. Admirable.
He allowed the music to fade away again, when S'rei first started talking. Partly to not interrupt, and partly so he could better hear what he had to say. Between the ocean and the gitar ... it could be hard to hear someone casually talking. A grin appeared on Emoyan's face, though, when he heard what S'rei had said. "Worst kids I ever laid eyes upon." He joked, shaking his head. "Drive a man insane!"
"But seriously, though ... it is so nice out here ... couldn't resist coming." He shrugged. "A bit of this now and again helps a body stay sane through it all." Rascal chirped encouragingly, and Emoyan spared a hand to scratch on the brown's head a bit, making him go squinty-eyed with pleasure.
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Requiem
Weyrleader S'rei WM M?ta Rider A'nd Harper/Handler Dmitri Weyrbrat Miguel
Posts: 2,861
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Post by Requiem on Aug 22, 2009 11:01:56 GMT -5
S'rei drew up a leg and draped his arm around it, toeing at the scratchings in the rock rather absently. "Well, even if you are going a little crazy," he commented lightly, flicking a smile that said he knew Emoyan was merely joking at the candidatemaster, "there are a good number here who really appreciate what you're doing. Can't be easy. I couldn't do it," he added. There was almost a bashfulness in the bronzerider's eyes, because he knew how touchy the subject was. But he did want Emoyan to know that people noticed and appreciated him, for when it got hard. Which it had to. No dragonrider - no dragonless - could go to a hatching without remembering the day when their lives changed forever. It was over twenty-five turns ago now for S'rei, and the details were still sharp in his mind.
No, he didn't have the strength to do what Emoyan was, in his position. And S'rei wasn't ashamed to admit it.
"It is pretty nice, isn't it?" The beach held a lot of memories for S'rei. Though he'd lived...over ten turns of his life in the north...the man was still very much southern. Some of his happiest moments had occurred on these beaches, with the ocean sounding a backdrop. "Laurie and I used to hide here from our brothers when we they were after us for our latest pranks. Spent a couple cold nights in the sand, curled up together." He smiled slightly. "I think Lauranna just like the adventure of it all, to be honest. Funny, but she was always the one who took the lead."
Running a hand through his hair, he turned his head to regard Emoyan soberly. "I'm not up to date on the latest gossip. Are you still living alone?" Perhaps something of an odd question, but S'rei found it easier to interact with single men; the weyrmated tended to talk about their weyrmates, which could get rather awkward swiftly. He tried not to be, but S'rei was still sensitive to the subject at times.
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Post by dragon on Aug 22, 2009 23:37:52 GMT -5
Emoyan shrugged, nonchalantly. "Someone's gotta do it. And I might as well. Not like I had anything better to do..." He trailed off for a moment. "It was rather genius, actually, of Ka'rys. To ask me to do it ... it gave me a purpose, if you know what I mean. Something to do." He rattled his fingertips on the side of his instrument again, making a rapid staccato on the hollow thing before he stopped it. "That, and I was sort of trained for it. Teaching is something that Harpers do ... and there's little I am, anymore, than just a Harper." He shrugged, with a small, sad sigh. He tried to not let it affect him anymore ... but some days it was hard. Not after so many long turns of never being alone. And then suddenly ... seeming to always be alone, even in a crowd. It was a heavy and sobering burden on the heart. Lightened only somewhat by his mandyr and flitters.
And hatchings were particularly difficult, yes. As much as he might want to watch, and see the new life, and his students impress and start the next stage of their lives ... he actually preferred to avoid those events. They just hurt too much. At first he had somewhat feared getting his own self reprimanded, for skipping out on such an important and prestigious event ... but so far no one had said a word to him about it. So far.
"Sounds like fun times." Emoyan remarked. "Those are memories to hang onto." He shifted in his seat, and dusted off the stone under one cheek, trying to dislodge some bits of gravel that he'd been sitting on too long. "I rather think the good times like that are the ones that carry us, see us through the rough times." He remarked, settling back into his former comfortable posture. Now that he nolonger had bits of rock digging into his backside. "And ... well ... some women are like that. Certainly makes life interesting enough."
Emoyan blinked at the question that followed, but nodded. "Yeah. I'm still living alone. More alone than usual, but still ... well .... since when have I been part of the gossip wheel, anyway?" he asked, suddenly changing topic from aloneness to gossip. People were talking about him? That was ... decidedly odd. Unless those people happened to be his students ... they always seemed to be cooking up something else strange to do during lessons...
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Requiem
Weyrleader S'rei WM M?ta Rider A'nd Harper/Handler Dmitri Weyrbrat Miguel
Posts: 2,861
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Post by Requiem on Aug 23, 2009 12:34:51 GMT -5
"Always nice to have a purpose in life," S'rei agreed quietly. Which was partly the reason he was out here, if he was to be completely honest with himself. Taking care of Miguel and Shei couldn't be his only reason for existing, apart from flying in drills with Salenth and...that was about it. For someone who was always busy, always organizing, plotting, strategizing and managing - leading, essentially - until the last couple of turns, he felt rather...purposeless. He was thirty-seven now. He'd been seconding and leading wings directly since the age of - nineteen, roughly - on a continual basis until just recently.
Could anyone say midlife crisis? S'rei really didn't know what to do with himself anymore. Moreover, it was important for him to be there for Miguel, but he didn't feel as if he was even the best one to look after Shei. There had to be someone around who could better handle her, because he was at his wit's end. And...every passing turn her face was taking on more and more of her mother's characteristics. A pretty child. The mother had been pretty. He didn't know how he felt about that...but he didn't want Shei to have to deal with any residual bitterness on his part. That wasn't fair to her.
S'rei smirked slightly at Emoyan. Some women were like that? What, adventurous, or apt toward taking the lead? Because if it was the latter, he was well aware. He'd been Sage's pet. A Benden wingleader, Sage's pet for crying out loud, and that relationship was one he still agonized over occasionally. It had been perfect. Or very nearly so. Then there was Shmee. He was quite familiar with overbearing women. (He should really consider abstinence from this point forward, or at least finding someone who didn't take advantage of his laidback nature.)
Laughing outright at Emoyan, he resisted the urge to tousle the man's hair as if he was nothing more than a weyrbrat. Not familiar with being in a leadership role, was he? "Come now, Candidatemaster. If you have a title in front of your name, you're in the gossip wheel. That's just the way it works." He winked. "Or if you once had a title. People love dirt, and are naturally curious." S'rei saw this as a fact of life and was anything but bitter about it. Then again, he'd been raised in the spotlight, really. D'loro was quite the force at Selenitas in his time, and being weyrmated to a brownrider, the only female brownrider at the time, was an item of interest. Naturally all four children were watched, and Laurie and S'rei...then Silas...had given them plenty to wag their tongues about.
"Well, if you ever get too lonely, I'm sure Salenth would love the opportunity to hear your music in person," S'rei commented graciously. It was the sort of invitation that you didn't have to even acknowledge it as an invitation, making it socially perfect. Turning it down would produce absolutely no awkwardness.
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Post by dragon on Aug 23, 2009 19:41:43 GMT -5
Emoyan gave S'rei a worried look for a moment at the sudden outburst of laughter, and then grinned somewhat himself. Though he wasn't quite sure at first just what was so funny. But, thankfully, all he had to do was wait a moment, and S'rei explained it all by himself. Which made Emoyan just look at him in a rather strange fashion. "Well, shards. If someone had told me that before I accepted the job ... I might have thought twice about it!" He said, in what seemed to be a rather serious exclamation. But then he grinned again, himself, shrugging, allowing the facade to drop. "I can't imagine what they'd be saying. As far as I know I haven't got any dirt to speak of." He commented. "I just ... I guess I'm a rather boring fellow of late. Teach lessons, try to keep the chillins in order ... and that's about it. I'm afraid I haven't been much of a social butterfly of late..." he trailed off for a moment, before shrugging again. "Ah well. So what are they saying, anyway? Since I evidently come up from time to time."
It would certainly be interesting, to know what other people's take was, no doubt. Sometimes it was aggravating, sometimes sobering. Sometimes useful. But Emoyan had been so wrapped up in his duties (albeit intentionally) that he really hadn't paid that much attention to what everyone else was doing.
Maybe that was a mistake.
Emoyan again just looked at S'rei for a moment, before looking out to sea for a time in silence. "I might do that sometime." He replied, eventually. Maybe not any time soon ... but it was nice to have the option open. Eventually, he needed to stop being quite so sensitive to dragons ... and hatchings. But, for Faranth's sake, he lived and worked in a Weyr! Maybe in time, he could sit next to a dragon ... even Salenth ... and be comfortable again.
He rattled his fingers on the box again, looking around, suddenly restless. The morning magic had by now burned off and it was starting to get a tad warm up there on the top of that boulder as Rukbat slowly and inexorably climbed higher into the sky. Maybe he ought to climb down and help S'rei with his hunt for good spots to hide lookouts... or something. Emoyan looked around for a bit, and shifted in his seat, before finally climbing to his feet. It was just getting too warm. "Well ... you need any help chopping your legs off?" he joked, lightly.
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