Fall to the Ground (Special Lesson, N'rik)

[Zephyr]

They say the best things come to those who wait. Olivia never understood that term. Who actually said that? She couldn't remember anyone who ever said that before, and why would good things come to only those that wait? Why couldn't good things come to those who were impatient...then again, wasn't everyone waiting sometime? She realized her head was starting to hurt as she walked where she was supposed to meet N'rik. His name sounded strange in the little girl's mouth. She was used to calling him Nabrik...not N'rik. Though, she supposed she should get used to it since that was his name now that he had a dragon.

It was hard for Olivia to feel upset or bitter about anything. She was usually such a bright and chipper little girl. The first time she remembered herself feeling upset was when she didn't impress. The sand was so hot. That was what she remembered the most. Watching the dragons hatch was exhilarating, and though she was happy for her fellow candidates turned dragon riders, she could shake the mounting disappointment that was growing in her chest. She was uncomfortably numb at the end, her face having warped into a perpetual expression of joy, happiness for her fellow candidates. She honestly did like them all, so she was ecstatic that they actually impressed.

Afterwards, the girl had retreated to the candidate barracks as quickly as possible, so that no one would notice her absence. She then pulled the covers over her head and lay there unmoving for a long time. She didn't cry. Liv didn't know if it was possible for her to cry. She never remembered herself crying, but she just needed to be alone with her own thoughts. After about an hour, she was fine. She had let her disappointment out and she was ready to move on with her life. Olivia was not one who dwelled on the past. The present and future was what was most important for her.

Finally, she reached the meeting spot and looked around, she was so concentrated on looking for N'rik that she didn't notice a lurking shadow behind her. Pippin was growing. He was still a puppy, but he was nearing his adult size. And so, a fully grown dog + a puppy personality + a still small girl = not so great situation. With a yelp, the pup sprang towards the girl, knocking her to te ground with a thump. Olivia frowned and rolled over under the puppy, trying to shield her face as the dog covered her face with drool. " Pip! Get off you great oaf! You shouldn't be here!" Try as she might, she just couldn't manage to get the puppy off of her, not that she minded, she loved him and was laughing under the barrage of sloppy kisses, but she was just worried about how N'rik would react to the humorous scene.

Not like she could help it now.

[Rowana]

N'rik shoved his hands into his pants, trying his best to look grumpy. It was a hard act to keep up with Alph and Ophiuchusth around. The salamandyr had taken to his new friend and wasted no time in teaching him all the best ways to have fun. That, combined with the young dragon's willing nature, made for some rather silly antics. Like today, when Alph was informing the blue just how scary Flights and Runs were and how he should probably avoid them at all cost.

Truth be told, N'rik wasn't really in a bad mood, he just didn't see why he had to be the one helping Olivia with her lessons when she had almost a dozen other helpful people to ask. He felt a little sorry for her, being one of the few candidates who didn't Impress, but his opinion of girls was still mixed at the best of times. Still, Ophiuchusth loved any excuse to meet someone new and help them out, even if he was picking up some of N'rik's prankster views on the world.

Whatever they had been expecting to find waiting for them, it wasn't what they saw. N'rik's pretend grouchy exterior soon dissolved into snorts at the picture of Olivia being nearly eaten by her own canine. Alph cocked his head and shook it wearily. Not be rude, he scolded softly. Ophiuchusth, however, was fascinated by the sight. Why, that looked like fun! The canine clearly loved the girl very much and she must love being pounced. With a little laughing bark of his own, Ophiuchusth hopped over, smothering both girl and canine with wet licks. Fortunately, he was thoughtful enough to keep himself from actually falling on top of them. Unfortunately, he was no longer the small dragon he'd been a few short months ago. Escaping from beneath his shower of affection would not be easy.

N'rik knew he should be concerned for Olivia's safety, but he just couldn't help himself. Within seconds he was on the ground, rolling in roars of laughter.

[Zephyr]

It was difficult for Olivia to see past her overly excited dog. He was wiggling and licking her face in excitement. So, it stood to reason that she wouldn't be able to easily see the dragon and his rider come upon the pair of them, and what a sight they probably made. Understandably, she was startled when a massive shadow overtook them, and soon she and Pippin were victims of the young dragon's unruly affection. At first, the girl was overwhelmed with the fear that the dragon was going to eat her, until she realized, after a second, that she was still alive. After that, she giggled, but knew that if Ophi was here, that N'rik must be too. Alarm set in and she tried to push the dragon and dog off of her.

" Okay, okay. Thank you both, but..."

Somehow, she managed to wriggle her way out when Pippin was preoccupied with the dragon for a moment. Getting to her feet wasn't easy, but when she was able to right herself, she faced the boy overtaken with raucous laughter and realized how ridiculous she must look. Flushing brightly, she tried to wipe her face off with her sleeve and fix her messed up hair to her best ability before finally speaking.

" Having fun?" Though her words were laced with sarcasm, her face was bright and cheery. It probably was a very funny thing to see.

[Rowana]

Ophiuchusth purred happily, pleased that the girl liked his kisses. The canine seemed to enjoy it too, how wonderful! Stepping back carefully so they could both stand, the young dragon surveyed the scene. Something was missing. Glancing over at N'rik, still trying to end the giggles, Ophiuchusth suddenly realized what it was. It wasn't fair for Olivia to get all the lovely hugs and kisses! Alph, clever as he was, slipped away to the safety of a nearby tree.

"You should have seen..." N'rik started to say between laughs, when something large entered his vision too. With another joyful cry, Ophiuchusth pounced on his boy, giving him even more wet, sloppy licks that he had the girl. N'rik's laughs turned to howls of dismay as he tried to shove the large head away. "Ophi...! Get...Off!" he managed to get out. Why? Do you not like it? She liked it. Well I don't! I'm not a girl! N'rik retorted, as if that would explain everything. Wilting a little, Ophiuchusth let him up reluctantly.

N'rik got up, ignoring the dirt and mess on his clothes. He'd never cared much about his appearance, and that hadn't changed so far. Clearing his throat and trying to look like he'd meant for that to happen, he tried again. "Well, um, Olivia," he managed in a tone that said he was trying not start laughing again. Despite his own episode, she really did look silly. Though he was probably no different just now. "What were we doing again?"

[Zephyr]

Once Olivia was free of the mess and the dragon decided to descend on its rider, Pippin made his way to a tub of water. It seemed someone was washing their clothes and left the tub of water unattended for any curious and thirsty canines to find. Grinning, Pippin drank the water, stump of a tail wagging behind him. Olivia thought about going to fetch him, but knew she had more important things to do, like, possibly, her lesson with N'rik. So, she turned back to the boy, who was currently under the assault of his dragon. Putting her hand to her mouth, Olivia giggled wildly, maybe not as exuberantly as N'rik had been, but enough regardless.

" You should be used to that by now." Olivia said with amusement in her voice. Reaching out, she stroked Ophi's neck, looking towards the dragon's rider, giggling still. How could he not be used to such exuberant affection with Ophi as a partner? Liv didn't know a lot about dragons, but from what she did know, N'rik's was one of the best and most fun loving.

How could the boy not like those kisses?

She could tell that he was trying not to laugh, but her expression didn't change. After he spoke, she tilted her head to the side. He was the dragonrider here, wasn't he supposed to be in charge of remembering what they were doing? Regardless, Oliva smiles, never losing her composure. " You were gonna show me how to take care of a dragon. Baths and oiling, I think."

[Rowana]

N'rik crossed his arms, trying to look serious like a real dragonrider, and completely failing. It also didn't help that his hair was still sticking out in all directions from dragon affection. "Maybe," he admitted stubbornly. Truth be told, Ophiuchusth could be very loving and playful, but N'rik didn't mind most of the time. Only when it made them look ridiculous in public. Apparently though, he'd also forgotten what they were supposed to be doing. Yeah, he was the responsible one alright, no question.

"Right," he said slowly, frowning a little. He didn't really like other people touching his dragon that much. As big as he was, Ophiuchusth was still much smaller than he aught to be, and much skinnier. N'rik was sure he was feeding him more than enough and E'rro and Nephele assured him nothing was wrong. Still, it bothered him that Ophi wasn't filling out like his siblings. He had agreed to this, however, even if only to appease an over excited young dragon.

Ophiuchusth, for his part, was delighted with the idea. Oh, a bath would be nice! I itch. Without further comment, he promptly dove into the nearby bathing pool, drenching girl, boy, and canine with fresh water. N'rik spluttered, shaking water from his hair. With a shrug and a grin, he ran over to the edge of the pool. Being serious was just too much work, when he could be having fun. Olivia wasn't all bad, after all, even if she was a girl. "Come on then!" he called. "You'll be plenty more wet when Ophi's done!"

[Zephyr]

In actuality, Olivia didn't expect much out of N'rik. He was barely older than she, and she wasn't expecting him to stop acting like a kid...just because he had impressed. It wasn't this personality changing thing that everyone went through...at least, she didn't think it was. She hadn't impressed yet, that fact was painfully clear to the girl, yet, she didn't think that it changed your personality. Oh, her head was hurting. They didn't teach these kind of things in lessons.

Sighing lightly, she let her hand fall from the dragon. She didn't know about his fears for Ophi. To her, he looked huge. Dragon size was relative to the girl who had been raised to dislike the riders. She knew nothing about the beasts, so she knew she wouldn't be the best judge in dragon size. Still, she glanced to N'rik, trying to see what he was thinking. Failing, she decided to go with it, glancing quickly over to the blue when he darted away. It took her a second to realize what he was doing, but moments later she was covered in ice cold water. Somewhere to her rear she heard Pippin yelp and dart off. Stepping back, she was trying to dry herself when she heard N'rik yell at her.

Finally, her grin broadened and she ran towards him, nearly falling in. Smiling brightly, she giggled at the blue dragon's antics, glancing over to N'rik. " What now?"

[Rowana]

N'rik collected a bucket of the sweet smelling sand they used as soap. It was lucky they could still get their hands on it even in Burimyu. Though like most things, they had to be careful how much they used. This was one thing about being an exile that N'rik didn't have to adjust to. Lighttower was not a very wealthy hold and neither was his family. Going with little or without was the norm for most of his life, so he was used to it. It was nearly second nature by now.

Setting the bucket near the water's edge, N'rik gestured at Ophiuchusth grandly. "Just rub him all over with sand," he explained with a shrug. It wasn't really much harder than bathing a canine or yourself. "Wings are thin, so watch it. I'll do his face." The last thing Ophi needed was sand in his eyes to add to his already poor vision during the day. "The dead skin'll peel, just don't pull it or rub to hard. Make sense?" If she hurts you, bite her, N'rik suggested seriously. Ophi turned to regard Olivia calmly. Would that not be mean? he asked worriedly. Not if she's mean first, N'rik explained. Ophi considered the logic of this for a moment. Perhaps, but I am sure she does not taste good.

[Zephyr]

Olivia eyed the bucket of sand skeptically, her hands behind her back for a moment. She wasn't exactly sure what she was supposed to do with that. Had she even been paying attention in lessons? After he put it down, she took some out, lifting it to her nose and inhaling a little. Afterwards, she glanced back to N'rik, eyebrow lifted. Biting a lip, she listened intently, watching him go to rub the sand on Ophi's face. After a moment, she faced the dragon, stepping forward and smearing the sand on the blue's hide. She began rubbing it in, hesitantly. After a second, she stopped and tiled to the side, eyeing him to make sure she wasn't hurting him. Once she saw that he was okay, she started rubbing it in more, starting on his shoulder, and working her way towards his abdomen.

When he turned to face her, the little girl paused. At length, it seemed like he wasn't distressed by the job she was doing, so she started up again, grinning brightly at him. She noticed that he had a lot of loose skin, so she started rubbing a little slower, trying to work the sand into his hide enough to clean it, but not enough to hurt it.

" How am I doing?" She asked the dragon, amusement in her voice. Regardless of the dragon's response, she would giggle a little, then worked in silence alongside N'rik. After the pair of them worked in silence for a while, Olivia finally spoke again, her voice faltering for the first time. " N'rik..." she said, pausing for a second. She didn't even look at the boy when she spoke. "...what's it like? Being a dragonrider?" She wished that she had impressed, but you couldn't change what had already happened. " Was it everything you thought it would be?"

[Rowana]

Ophiuchusth settled into his bath with a happy croon of approval. He liked bathes and the clean, fresh feeling they gave him. Having two people clean him was new and interesting and Olivia was doing pretty well at it. The blue flicked his tail up to curl around her in a sign of approval. Even if N'rik was worried, Ophi thought it was going very well.

N'rik did have to grudgingly agree that Olivia was doing a good job. Maybe he was wrong to worry so much about having her help. After all, she was going to have to do this someday too. Having stood for several dragon hatchings before the last one, N'rik was very stubborn about the idea that anyone would get a dragon if they wanted one. Olivia was still here, therefore her dragon was just watching to hatch. Falling into the now familiar pattern of cleaning away Ophi's dead skin, he was started to hear the girl's question.

"Huh?" he blinked at her blankly for a moment. In the pause, his brain ran a mile a minute. Impressing Ophiuchusth was indescribable and he wasn't sure what else she could mean. Though he liked to think he was now far more than he used to be, the truth was that weyrlings still did a lot of the same things Candidates. He wasn't really all that different now than he had been a few months ago. Maybe graduation would change that.

Shrugging, N'rik tried his best to answer. "It's like having a best friend with you all the time. One you know will never let you down or leave you." He grinned just because he couldn't help himself. "It's nothing like what I thought," he admitted. "It's better!" While it was true that Ophiuchusth wasn't the huge, powerful dragon he'd always imagined himself riding, he was perfectly awesome in his own way and N'rik wouldn't have taken any other.

[Zephyr]

That grin spit Olivia's face as the dragon wrapped his tail around her. She must have been doing a pretty good job then! A sense of accomplishment washed over her as she continued rubbing the sand into Ophi's hide, now working on his flanks and hind legs. N'rik's silence said volumes and Liv sagged a little, wondering if he was going to tell her what it was like to have a dragon. If he had decided not to, then she wouldn't push him. Liv wasn't like that. If he wanted to tell her, then he would. If not, then it didn't really matter much, did it?

The girl was preoccupied with the task at hand when N'rik finally spoke. She stopped working long enough to stare in wonder at him. " Really?" She said slowly, the smile taking over her entire face and lighting it up with joy. She was positively beaming at his words. " Oh! I wish I would have impressed!" Then the light of joy seemed to drain from her face, and she sighed, turning to face Ophi. For once, the cheery little girl looked sad. " I guess I wasn't good enough for any of the hatchlings...and there probably won't be any more hatchings now." She had seen how awful poor Jingth had looked at the hatching. It was enough to depress even her.

And that wasn't easy to do.

[Rowana]

N'rik shrugged. "You will," he said with certainty. "Once we're back at Selenitas, I bet you're the first on the Sands to Impress!" Now that he had his own dragon, he had no trouble sharing his excitement with others. Everyone who was strong enough to stick with them now, deserved a dragon no matter who they were. Besides, Ophiuchusth seemed to like Olivia, and that was as good a sign as any.

Rubbing the last of Ophi's hide, N'rik stood back and nodded with approval. "Now it's time to..." Without waiting for the word, Ophiuchusth dove underwater as far as he would go. Water swamped the two youngsters. N'rik yelled shaking a fist at the dragon. "You're supposed to warn us first!" he scolded, though he was trying not to laugh. Oh, I am sorry, Ophiuchusth purred with amusement. Do you need to rinse too? With a wipe of his wings, the young blue sent another wave of water over the boy's head. "Ophi! We're supposed to clean you! Not me!" Ah, but it is good to be clean, is it not?

[Zephyr]

Liv had never actually been to Selenitas weyr. She had been searched right to Burimyu. The girl wasn't aware of the hardships that Buri was currently facing with the death of their only queen. She only realized that there wouldn't be anymore eggs. The fact that there couldn't be a weyr without a queen didn't cross her mind. Still, she wasn't a stupid child. She knew that everyone was hurting at the moment. She knew that something had to give, and it had to happen soon. In the meantime, though, she was quietly content with just being a child. She grinned at N'rik, who seemed to have quite literally grown up overnight. " You think we'll go back to Selenitas?" the prospect excited her. Not that Burimyu wasn't enough for her, she loved it and the people there. Through her months there she had grown to love everyone, but it was a little static around the weyr as of late. Ever since the hatching, no one new had entered the weyr. To a bubbly little butterfly like Olivia, not being able to get to know new people was torture.

Pulling her hands away from the blue dragon when they were finished, she was just in time to witness the blue dive deep underwater. Before she knew it, she was completely soaked. Falling back in shock, she sat there for a moment, bewildered, while Ophi and N'rik bantered back and forth for a while, Oliva had gathered her wits about her and was laughing hysterically!

" Well, I think he's clean now."

[Rowana]

N'rik shook more water from his hair, though it really was a lost cause. "Of course we will," he grinned back at Olivia. The problems of retaking the Weyr hadn't even entered his mind. He was sure they would go back and that was that. Besides, he had promised himself he would go back to make sure Path was alright. The poor little canine must really miss him by now.

Leaning back to give his dragon a once over, N'rik nodded with approval. "I think he is," he agreed. He settled on a rock while Ophi moved out to lie happily on the grass. "Now we just need to wait a few minutes while he dries a bit," he explained. "Or else the oil comes off." He made a face that said he'd tried that one already. It wouldn't take too long for the dragon to dry in this weather, though. "You're not bad. What else does M'kai have you doing?"

[Zephyr]

For the twelve year old, things were simple. They had to be simple. She just didn't have the ability to make things any more complicated than that. So, when N'rik told her that they would go back to Selenitas one day, she believed him without a shadow of a doubt. Because, if she couldn't believe things were that simple, then she wouldn't know what to think anymore. No matter what happened in her life, Olivia was above all still a child, and she had a child's mentality. At the same time, she was rapidly maturing, but that didn't mean that she couldn't still have fun easily.

As they sat back to watch Ophi dry off, Olivia remembered thinking that it would take him an especially long time to dry, since he was so big. She refrained from stating such though, as N'rik was already talking again. Blinking, the girl turned her head to look at him again, grin tugging at the corners of her mouth from his compliment, no matter how slight it might have been. After a little thinking, the girl spoke. " He's having us learn dragon anatomy hands on and learn first hand what flying feels like. He also..." She didn't really want to say this part because she didn't really want to think about it. "...has us learning about dragon flights." Snorting, she shook her head. " If I ever impress, my dragon is never rising...ever. That's gross." She said with some finality. Dragon mating was another thing she didn't want to comprehend.