thank faranth for masks. [tag; kaegan]

[glamourie]

It was a ridiculous costume, and he was pretty sure that anyone who saw him would recognize him. Just the same, he liked it; it fit well, and well, if he got stared at, there were worse things. Besides which, there was a definite pun to the outfit.

The outfit: Loose pants starting at his hips grew gradually more baggy until coming tight around his ankles. The base of the fabric was true white, but it was accented masterfully with shades of a pale blue like the sky behind clouds. Strips of that fabric moved up the outsides of the pants. Similarly, very pale shades of yellow actually striped down the front, interspacing with the white horizontally, adding more color to the outfit. The back of the pants had zig-zags of pale green stretching over the legs. His shirt was long-sleeved, and also based in white, with neat ruffles playing down the front. The ruffles themselves were a pale, almost transparent blue, while one sleeve of his shirt was entirely a pastel green, and the other a faded shade of red close enough to be deemed pink. Finishing that part of his outfit off was white slippers that went up into the pants. The ends of each shoe were painted pastel purple. R’wign’s hair, curly and down to his shoulders, hung free and over a white mask that covered the entire left side of his face; the mask itself had pastel abstract shapes painted onto it and secured underneath the hair. There were no eye holes, but none were needed. His right eye was surrounded by pink and pale green face paint, swirling out toward his chin. Similar paint dotted the very tip of his nose, leaving nothing to question.

R’wign was dressed as a clown. That in itself was probably nothing to most people, but considering the banter with Kalierre, he couldn’t resist. That it covered his scars and his missing eye perfectly was a definite perk. He felt less repulsive, for once, even if he did look silly. Though, his good mood had a lot to do with how good the smell around him was -- he spent the day sitting on one of the stools in front of the stall that he and Meira were co-running (the proceeds of which would go to help with the baby). Spicy scents wafted up around him from the shells and stands that made up the herbal scent area. It was currently Meira’s shift though and he’d escaped to go shopping for himself. He wanted to buy a few things - including gifts for Meira and Jingth - without her spotting him. Not that he was easy to overlook but if she was tending to the stall maybe, just maybe, she wouldn’t catch him shopping… or be able to stop him from bombarding her with baby supplies…

Except, after the event at the masquerade stall, he was really not sure that he wanted to go into the toy stall. It looked interesting enough, with dolls hanging from the sides, puppets and stuffed things, but… His hands came down and he brushed his hands over the sides of his pants before crinkling his nose slightly. His fire lizards were all away from him. No doubt Ellie was watching over Kalerary, Stumpy and Roxie were at their usual Meira-watching post, and the rest… who knew. Accident and Grouch were probably with Checkoth, as neither liked to venture too far from him. He felt naked without all of his fluttery jewelry. Totally and completely naked. Not necessarily in a bad way, though. He was just impressed with himself for not managing to amble off to the woodcrafter stall or weaver’s -- he always wanted to spend all of his marks on blankets.

“Hrnn,” he said to himself, spinning on his toe. Maybe he’d buy some toys for the baby and surprise Meira. It sounded like a good plan. R’wign turned around to look toward where his stall was, and then started backing up toward the toy stall. So far, so good. She wasn’t coming, as far as he could see, which meant she had no suspicions about what he was doing. He kept backing up, repeatedly, until -- he collided with someone else and came to an abrupt stop, blurting out before he could help himself, “Can’t you see that I’m walking here?!”

[Tashe]

They were a bit snug, but they fit her slim shoulders as well as any child's toy could fit an adult. Fortunately, the straps that encircled her shoulders matched her attire, being of the same golden color as the wings themselves. They had been three marks, but it wasn't like she couldn't afford the full price. Twirling as she tried to catch a glimpse of the fabric wings, Kaegan blushed slightly as the stall owner complimented on her appearance. "Thank you very much." Tugging on her mask to make sure it was tied on tight enough, the Goldrider took a moment to inspect the rest of her outfit for imperfections.

The body of her dress was Gold, a soft fabric that shimmered slightly in the sunlight, while the edges and hems sported thick white bands that ran all the way around the dress. The dress itself fell to her knees, showing her white sandals that she had used a long time ago when she had still been a candidate, fortunately her shoe size hadn't changed much in that span of time. The "waist" of the dress had been raised, making it so that it was tighter around the bust but looser underneath, allowing the fabric to float away from her body. As for accessories, she had tied a white ribbon around her neck and two golden bronze ones around her wrists, matching the outfit more to the masks she wore. White pins held strands of her hair in place, but for the most part her mane of curls had been let free to frame her head. Which brings one's attention to the mask which she had procured only a few days ago. Elegantly-shaped, the mask had a soft white background with, gold swirls and bronze-shaded accents. It was a half-face mask, and it had two ribbons in the same bronzey color as the accents, letting her tie it behind her head instead of forcing her to hold it. While small, golden fabric wings completed her Sun Fairy look.

Turning once more as she tried to catch a glimpse of her completed costume in a reflective surface, Kaegan stumbled as someone knocked into her. She caught her balance a second later, almost having been deposited on the floor. Turning to look at the person as he spoke, the Goldrider planted a hand on her hip with a small frown. "Well you could have made a better choice than to walk backward through the Gather area. Normally the term, 'eyes on the back of my head', doesn't actually apply to humans."

[glamourie]

That voice. He recognized that voice fairly well, and the sound paralyzed R’wign, leading to him actually freezing up in discomfort. He turned around entirely to get a glimpse of the speaker and froze, his breath catching in his chest. Kaegan. And she looked -- she looked beyond incredible; there were no words for how amazing she appeared, and he didn’t bother trying to formulate any. It took a conscious effort not to gawk and his first instinct was to reach out and touch her - just brush his fingers over the fabric of her dress, or down her jaw line; the golden hues matched her hair very, very well. He didn’t act on any of those impulses, because he half-expected to be slapped even for thinking he’d be allowed to, let alone actually doing. But -- she looked incredible. His mind half-stalled, mid thought, and for several seconds he simply stared. Then he kicked back into thought and took a step back, away from Kaegan, putting more of a distance between the two of them, and bit back a frown; he didn’t want to give any indication of who he was. Maybe she wouldn’t recognize him…? R’wign had only one eye, it was noticeable, except for his mask: the mask covered the entire left side of his face so that the missing eye wasn’t noticeable. Of course, it could’ve been viewed as hiding something and thus obvious but -- why did it matter? He didn’t know; he just didn’t want Kaegan to realize he’d half-snapped at her. It was important that she never realize.

“Many apologies, Weyrwoman,” he said after a moment’s pause, letting just a small note of interest fill his voice; in the back of his mind, he wondered if she’d recognize it. He was being careful to sound a touch more polite than normal, even in the way that he addressed her, just as he had when he first came to Selenitas… before he was comfortable around the dragons and their riders. He could remember his first meeting with Kaegan clearly. Millieth had literally leapt over him, nearly giving him a heart attack, and he remembered thinking how lovely her rider was… she was easily one of the most attractive women he’d ever met. But he met Kaegan when he was beginning to enter a relationship with Marra, and she was a gold rider. It was a harmless crush while he was slowly falling head-over-heels for the harper, and he really did love Marra. He didn’t regret any of it. But Marra was gone, and his attraction to Kaegan hadn’t faded at all. It was… awkward, to say the least. Logic said nothing would ever come of it, but feelings rarely listened to logic.

R’wign gestured vaguely to Kaegan’s outfit with a wry smile. “I would make excuses, but there really are none. I hope you’ll accept my apologies.” He paused, glancing up and down at her as an odd idea passed through his mind. If she didn’t recognize him, didn’t know who he was… if for some reason she was unable to identify him… maybe he could pretend, at least for one day? Pretend that he might have been worth her notice? Oh, he wasn’t stupid; he knew that Kaegan considered him a friend, but… the ‘friend’ label was also one that was exceedingly difficult to shake, and in comparison to some of the other men in her life, he really had nothing to offer. He didn’t really pose a threat to anyone. In her position, R’wign wouldn’t have even paid mind to himself. Still - the chance to flirt with Kaegan without anyone knowing it was him was almost too good to pass up. Just playfully. And it wouldn’t damage their friendship, right…? That was an optimistic thought. “You’re a vision in gold and white…”

The healer gave his head a slight cock to the side, ignoring the swell of amusement from his mindmate; apparently, Checkoth found his nervousness funny. Probably because according to the brown, he was the best there was. Silly beast. R’wign tuned those feelings out before offering a sweeping bow that no doubt looked comical given his costume, before inquiring softly, “I’d like to make up for bumping into you; would you be willing to give me a chance to do so?” The idea popped into his head as sure as he spoke, and he arched an eyebrow slightly. Maybe… hrn… if she’d indulge him, he had a great deal of ideas, things that he’d never have done unmasked. Perhaps costumes wasn’t such a silly idea after all.

[Tashe]

The man's voice sounded familiar, but again, voices were prone to do that when you lived in a busy Weyr. He rather sounded like R'wign, but was it? She, although brilliant with faces, was absolutely horrible in recognizing people in masks. For her it was as if everyone she knew had grown a new face, and therefore became a complete unknown to her. As if she had just arrived at the Weyr for the first time all over again. For the most part at least. Now, half faced masks that covered the top of a person's face were hard enough, but whoever this proved to be was twice as bad. One side was covered by a mask, but the other was decorated by face paint, it was one step down from a full faced mask in her opinion. So even if it was R'wign, the costume being in full acceptability range for what he would choose to wear, she wouldn't be absolutely certain until the man actually proclaimed himself so. Sometimes a person could just dislike masks.

Letting her hand drop from her hip as he apologized, Kaegan clasped both of them in front of her with a small sigh. The way he talked was certainly politer than the silly Brownrider, although she almost preferred the relaxed speech that her friend had around her. "Its fine, really. It was only a small bump. The important thing is that you apologized, which was very nice of you to do." Bobbing her head slightly, which in turn made one of her messy curls fall into her face, the Goldrider offered the man a smile in replace of the frown. He was entirely forgiven for bumping into her, it was an accident anyways. He had probably been looking for someone, unaware of her standing there. Well, what happened happened. Such as life was to throw a little excitement into the mix. Although when he complemented her dress, she was once again glad for her mask. It covered most of the blood that rose to her cheeks, like it had with the stall owner. "Oh. Um, thank you very much." She paused, oh how easily she flustered when it came to compliments. "You look very, um, nice as well."

"Make it up to me?" In her mind having apologized already made up for bumping into her. "You really don't have to, I mean, there isn't much to make up for." She replaced the curl that had escaped into her face earlier, tucking it behind her ear with a small movement before returning her hands to where they had been. "I suppose you can, if you would really like to..." It dawned on her that she had yet to ask him his name, it was something about the familiarity she felt with him that made her trust the masked man.

[glamourie]

“Oh, you’re kind, especially considering that I look positively ridiculous,” R’wign replied with a slight smile that was visible even despite his half-mask. He knew that he looked silly; he didn’t need Kaegan to compliment him to believe anything less. His motivation for his costume was more for cheer than trying to look good. He didn’t really believe in dressing up to look nice… although the prospect of impressing Kaegan was actually an appealing one. Being who he was, though, he strongly suspected that she wouldn’t even notice – it wasn’t as if he was anyone important, aside from her friend, and R’wign didn’t believe in wasting his time. The costume he selected was a nice, funny one that suited him perfectly. He just had to hunt down Kalierre so that she could see it in action, since the whole ensemble was dedicated to her. He was half-tempted to ask if Kaegan liked it; if he wasn’t pretending to be someone else, or at least, to not be him, he probably would have asked. But as it was, he didn’t want her to know how much her opinion of him meant; maybe she’d just assume he was one of the local Holders or something. Wishful thinking, perhaps…

Gesturing to Kaegan’s outfit vaguely, R’wign continued, “My silliness is only further emphasized by how wonderful you look. Yet, I don’t find myself unhappy by that. Mother once told me that a man who outshines the lady on his arm isn’t much of a man anyway.” That was actually a true anecdote; he remembered being five and his mother being the talk of his small fishing hold in Southern Nerat. Ligna the beauty, how everyone talked about her! He remembered asking her why she stayed with someone like his father, who seemed for all the world to have nothing to offer to someone with such potential, and her response was that – simple, but easy enough for a child of his age to understand. “I insist that you let me make my transgression up to you. After all – it’s not polite to be running into ladies, now is it? I think I know just the thing, yes, if you’ll be so kind as to accompany me back into this tent – this is the Toy stall, correct?”

Without waiting for a response, R’wign grasped Kaegan’s hand with more daring than he ever would have before, his own fingers lacing between hers before he tugged her (gently, of course) into the Toy Stall. His mind was racing, and he could practically feel his own heartbeat thudding in his chest. He half-expected her to be annoyed at him. Why, he couldn’t say. Maybe because he was being a lot bolder than he normally was. Typically, R’wign was flamboyantly playful, not… commanding; though he didn’t presume that he could tell Kaegan what to do on anything. It was ridiculous. Silly. But… he was having fun, almost. The risk of her figuring out who he was, in contrast with his behavior, almost made it all more exciting.

“After Gold, which dragon color is your favorite?” he asked, turning to look at Kaegan. He indicated with one hand the canine and feline dolls before stepping to the display, while the little girl who was helping her father run the stall scurried over to him to whisper in hushed tones and point at the pair. R’wign ignored her entirely and moved to look over the toys. He intended to buy her one of the fire lizard ones – but best to keep her gaze on the feline and canines and make as if making conversation lightly beforehand. After all, what good was a surprise if it was too terribly obvious? “And what’s your favorite food, while I’m on the subject?”

[Tashe]

Well, it was true he did look a bit silly, but it was a nice looking kind of silly. It was, if looked upon closely, a nicely put together and coordinated outfit. Smiling a little sheepishly, Kaegan let her hands hang at her side, while her fingers fiddled with parts of her skirt. She flushed slightly again as he continued to compare his outfit against hers. He really needed to stop that, her outfit wasn't that nice. At least, she herself didn't think it was. To her, it only really held sentimental value. The dress was her mother's, and it used to be one of the only dresses she used to take from the wardrobe and wear in make believe games. Particularly winged Lady's and fairies. A sort of tribute to her mother and father, who she had not seen in years. "Well I don -oh!" There was a pause. "Well, yes. This is the Toy Stall..." She stepped forward quickly as the man grabbed her hand and directed her into the stall, guiding her gently in.

"Um... Blue or Brown? To tell the truth, I really don't have a favorite." Moving closer to the stuffed toys, Kaegan looked around the tent quietly, pausing on the young girl who was whispering to her father... and pointing at them. She lifted an eyebrow as she tried to figure out why, although the gesture was hidden behind the mask she wore. It was when her eyes drifted downward did the Goldrider realize what the girl was pointing at. They were still holding hands. Still staring at their hands, Kaegan answered the Clown's other question. "Um, sliced potatoes cooked with other vegetables and herbs. I also adore bubbly pies... um..." She cleared her throat slightly. "We um... are still holding hands."

[glamourie]

Blue or brown. Not bronze? R’wign resisted the urge to glance curiously at Kaegan; it was really hard not to turn and fix her with a stare. He’d expected bronze, because she was a goldrider of course – and Millieth was always caught by bronzes. (Though theoretically browns could catch queens – see Zesa and Jabari, and Hazard and Brat – he didn’t put much stock in those rules applying to queens.) He wasn’t naïve enough to fleetingly hope that there was something more to her words, though. He settled for a curt nod in response, and then clicked his tongue at her explanation of food – immediately reminded of Marra. She didn’t eat meat at all. He personally ate no fish (due to his upbringing; fish reminded him of home and he couldn’t stand it). Red meat was another story though. What was it with him and being attracted to women who didn’t eat meat? Although, Kaegan’s words didn’t prove anything. Maybe she just preferred vegetables and fruits, which was a distinct possibility… It wouldn’t have surprised him if she ate no meat, though. Hmm. He crinkled his nose. Bubbly pie was acceptable, but he hadn’t seen anyone selling pies at the Gather. Which was odd. What kind of Gather didn’t have bubbly pies?

Her words drew his eyes down to her hand, still clasped in his, and he let a distinct smile spread over his face. “So we are,” he said with a raised eyebrow, before bringing her hand up to his lips to brush them against the back of her hand. “Is that unacceptable?” There was a distinct edge to his voice, difficult to describe. He didn’t want her to say ‘Yes’ but… If she did, he’d let her go, just the same. “’Brown or blue’ – are you always so noncommittal? I’m nosy. You make yourself a very hard woman to get to know, Senior Weyrwoman! How am I to repay you without a concrete answer? I guess I will just have to come up with something myself… Luckily for me, I’m rather creative.” As if his costume didn’t offer enough evidence to that, heh.

Spinning on his heel, R’wign released Kaegan’s hand and moved to the table with the canine toys before picking up two different ones. One was solid black, while the other was brown with a white nose, white paws, and white stomach. He stepped back away from the table, holding the two of them up to Kaegan, balancing them between his hands. His visible eyebrow raised and he weighed the two curiously – measuring, comparing, and then contrasting them together. He clicked his tongue, and then put the black one back down with a light pat to the head, before holding out the brown-and-white one to Kaegan to take. “I think this one suits you, don’t you? He’s a very cheerful looking canine.” Turning the toy, he crinkled his nose before making a low ‘woof’ noise. “Personally, I’m shaping up to be more of a feline person…” Empress would be so proud. He’d had to lock her in his weyr, due to her being in heat (and yowling constantly – sleep was elusive!), but he was sure the feline would be all over him when he went back home. “Do you think Azaran or Dash would mind if you brought home another friend? I wouldn’t want to offend the men in your life by presuming~”

Outside, Checkoth was curled up on one of the large rocks near the waterfall – highly amused by his rider’s antics, but also antsy. He gave a slight twitch of both of his tails, as he eavesdropped on the conversation, before finally speaking to Millieth, Hello, Millieth-queen. He called Elegance ‘The Elliegold’ so it made sense that Millieth had her title tacked on. Jingth was ‘Little Jingth-queen’ as well. I hope that you and Yours do not mind Mine being so daring. His mask makes him braver…

[Tashe]

"I... well I..." She paused as he continued speaking after a moment, not knowing if she actually wanted him to let go. His hand was warm and he held her own hand gently, it was nice, but then again she had little knowledge about who it was. Plus, she was a little flustered from the kiss he had placed on the back of her hand. It was very confusing, but fortunately for her, he released her hand when he moved to look at the stuffed canines. Saving her the trouble of actually answering his question. Kaegan crossed her arms loosely over her belly as she watched the man inspect the toys, tilting her head to the side slightly as he picked up two from their display. Despite the mask and the face paint, it looked as if he was really concerned about picking the right one of the two.

Reaching out for the stuffed canine as he offered it to her, the Goldrider laughed as he made a woofing nose. "It is very cute, and fluffy too." It reminded her of her old canine, the one she had had before getting searched. Except her old friend had been grey and white with black spots, Faile had been of the Shepard family. "I think they'll be okay with it. If not, too bad for them right?" Smiling, Kaegan held the little toy close, happily cradling it against her. "I like felines, though, I seem to be a Canine person. I have a friend with a young pup, I always get excited when she brings him over for a visit."

Shifting her head with a rumble as she was addressed, Millieth yawned before directing her attentions from Her's to the Brown. Ahh. Checkoth, so it is in fact Your's that is with Kaeganmine. How amusing. Mine has no idea that Your's is the one behind the mask. Stretching with the growling cough that was the Dragon's equivalent of laughter, the Gold pulled her lips back from her teeth in amusement. To tell her Mine, or not to tell... it was amusing already, without Kaegan knowing the identity of her masked human. But would it add up in her entertainment favor if her Rider knew who it was? That was the Question. /Well, now that I know who it is, I am fine with it. It may do the boy some good./

/Ooooh~ Miiine./ What? She responded hesitantly, it wasn't everyday that her Gold used a sickly sweet tone in her mindvoice. And it usually meant that she wanted something. /I know who your little masked friend is./ Glancing up from the toy that the man had handed her, Kaegan adjusted her mask as she watched him. Oh really? /I think you'll find it oh, so very amusing./ Me? Or you? Because I have a feeling th- /Its that Brownrider you're so fond of. Checkoth's... R'wiiiign~./ She blinked and looked down, pretending to be fascinated with the Canine. Oh she was confused indeed. The man hadn't been acting like R'wign... oh dear, oh dear, now there was a dilemma. She didn't know whether to let on that she knew who he was, or let the Brownrider enjoy himself. He did seem to be having a lot of fun, and now that she felt secure, she realized she too was having some fun as well. Sometimes, she disliked her Dragon very much.

[glamourie]

Oh that’s good. I guess. He doesn’t want her to know. He worries she’ll be mad if she knows. Braver with that mask, like I said, Checkoth continued, flicking his right tail in the water to admire the way the droplets flared around the end. His left tail came down to make loops in the water, rings flaring outward, and he snorted loudly. Both of his wings flared and he watched the river as it flowed into the waterfall, as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. To him, it was. He doesn’t want her to know that it is him, he repeated, then lifted his head to look in the general direction of Millieth’s weyr – in case that was where she was. He really didn’t know. I keep telling him that he should just tell her that he likes her very much. He says she won’t want to know. He keeps saying that she’ll be happier with someone like Gareth’s, or maybe Salenth’s. I don’t know why. He’s better than either of them. But of course he thought that: R’wign was His and no matter what, he’d always believe His was the best. Simple logic there. You’re not mad that R’wignmine likes KaeYours, are you, Millieth? I can steer him away if it will offend you. We don’t want to make any trouble.

It was, perhaps, fortunate that R’wign did not know what his dragon was up to, or he probably would’ve died of shame on the spot. As it was, he tilted his head – the toy really did look good for her. After everything that happened over the past turn, he strongly suspected that everyone at Selenitas could use something snuggly to cuddle up to at night, that wouldn’t judge or form opinions, think badly of them or just plain think at all. Stuffed toys were safe that way. She seemed to like it well enough, too. The comment about Dash and Azaran was a joke; the puppy… not so much. R’wign spun on his heel and pranced right over to the stall owners before exchanging words, and marks, quietly. Then he walked back over to Kaegan’s side, all within a matter of moments (he was quick, he was) and indicated the toy with the index finger of his right hand.

“Well,” he began with a nod to the toy, “now you’ve got a pup of your own and you won’t need to play with someone else’s. You have to think of a name for him though. All loyal pets deserve a name, and just because his fillings are fabric and stuffing doesn’t mean he’s not just as loyal. You just don’t have to clean up after him. Best kind of pet, in my opinion.” He’d know – he had nine pets, and though his firelizards were usually clean, that didn’t mean oiling them wasn’t a chore. Then he had to clean up after Empress, brush her periodically, and lately she was… oh, was she a pain. Yowling constantly. He could almost sympathize with her, almost. Still, it didn’t give him much he could do about her problem. Let her run free and he’d be saddled with cubs. He did not want more felines. He just didn’t. One was bad enough.

That thought made him click his tongue and he glanced toward the door before gesturing to it. “You never did tell me which color is preferred. So troublesome. You and your noncommittal answers.” That thought made him bite his tongue and he took Kaegan’s hand before leading her toward the door again. He’d be coming back later to buy toys for his as-of-yet unborn child, too, but not with Kae there. That would give him away. “You mentioned your favorite foods – are you a vegetarian…?” It wasn’t really intended to be an invasive question, though he knew it could be. R’wign just was curious. There were so many things he wanted to ask Kaegan that he couldn’t without the mask. He was always worried about being a burden. With the mask, he didn’t have to worry about her holding it against him later. Their friendship was secure. Right?

[Tashe]

Tapping the end of her tail on the pile of rocks Dash had been collecting, Millieth watched them as they fell and scattered across the ledge, making the Brown Salamandyr screech in anger before frantically collecting his rocks again. She enjoyed messing with the simple minded Brown. Shifting her weight, the Senior Queen stretched out her wings to catch the fading afternoon rays, ignoring Checkoth's repeated statement entirely. /If he has low confidence, then his loss./ She wasn't sympathetic to the Human's discouragement, it was Her Rider that was the object of his affection after all. Although Millieth wasn't choosy over who Her's courted, the Gold wasn't about to help anyone get 'close' to Kaegan. Unless she liked the Human, really liked him. She might like R'wign, but thats about as far as it went when it came to liking humans. With the exception of her Rider, who she loved even if she didn't act like it at times. /It does not trouble me. I am interested to see if he will tell Kaeganmine. It so far has been an amusing tale to watch./

"Thank you. I promise to take good care of him." Looking down at the stuffed Canine with a smile, Kaegan tucked him into the crook of her arm. "A name? Well, lets see..." Her naming skills weren't famous for their ingenuity, but for her pets' sake, they weren't as bad as R'wigns. "Lets call you Raumy." Giving the pup a scratch on the head, the Weyrwoman nodded with finality. Yes, Raumy was a cute name. A cute name for a cute toy. Returning her attention back onto the masked Rider as he took her hand again, Kaegan tried to remember what he had said just a moment ago. Her mind had not been double tasking as well as she had wanted it to. "Oh. Well... I like Browns because all of the ones I have known well have seemed kind and rather gentle. Level headed as well. Like Airteth..." She paused before adding more names, now wasn't the time to think of that particular Dragon. "... Styth or Checkoth. I guess I like Browns better than Blues now that I think about it." Shrugging very slightly, Kaegan moved so that she was walking next to R'wign. "And no, I'm not a vegetarian. I don't much like Red meat, but I eat white meat, like fowl. Or fish. I really like fish."

Fixing her wings because they had gone askew, the Weyrwoman felt a weight drop onto her head. Squeaking slightly, she did her best to try and look at what had settled into her hair. But as soon as she tilted her head back she was met with a familiar trill, one that meant the owner was going to fall if she moved her head any farther. "Get off my head lovey!" Moving her head from side to side, Kaegan continued to do that until the Firelizard leapt of chittering unhappily. Fortunately, neither Azaran landing on her head nor her shaking had dislodged any of the crucial pins that held some of her hair back. Speaking of which, the Goldrider flipped her red curls over one of her shoulders so that Azaran could land somewhere, knowing that he'd only try and land on her head again. The invitation was immediately accepted. Turning to R'wign (who she decided not to tell that she knew), Kaegan smiled apologetically. "I hope you don't mind his intrusion. This is Azaran, although I think you know that, seeing as how you named him before."

(Raumy = Rom-mee)

[glamourie]

I don’t understand why he would. If Checkoth was put off by Millieth’s response, it didn’t show. He really didn’t understand why His wouldn’t be the most confident person on Pern. He was brilliant, talented, and Checkoth thought he was quite handsome for a humanthing – not that he was much of an expert in what made a humanthing attractive, but His had to be the best, didn’t he? Because he was His. Checkoth was sure that if Millieth’s paid any attention at all, she’d come to realize that R’wignHis was more than deserving of her – as long as Millieth was okay with it, anyway. R’wignHis really did care a great deal about the goldrider. He was always fussing about what she’d think of him. Ever since the graduation, His was so afraid that Millieth’s hated him. He hadn’t even spoken to her since. Checkoth couldn’t remember why it was so important, either. I don’t know if he’ll tell Yours. He can be very strange when it comes to her… I think he believes that, because of you, she won’t want anything to do with him. Because I am not a bronze. It wasn’t self-depreciation; Checkoth was quite happy just as he was, and he didn’t think he needed to change a thing. If R’wignHis didn’t think he was good enough for a goldrider… then in his opinion, goldriders didn’t deserve him. Pretty simple really. But Checkoth really did believe R’wignHis was the best person to ever grace Pern.

The feeling was the same mutually – R’wign thought Checkoth was the best thing ever too. He just didn’t have much faith in other living entities to ever see that. While he liked Kaegan and Millieth too, he didn’t have much faith in Millieth to recognize that Checkoth was better than any bronze shelled (and R’wign wasn’t overly fond of most bronzes to begin with). If Millieth was predisposed to prefer bronzes, then surely Kaegan herself was predisposed to prefer bronzeriders – that was the logic jump. And that was why R’wign didn’t intend to tell Kaegan who he was. If she knew, he’d probably get relegated instantly back to the “friend” category and while he did want to stay her friend (her friendship meant a lot to him), he didn’t want to ruin the one chance he had at being seen just for him. Maybe it wasn’t fair that he had so little faith in her, but after the Siege, R’wign’s self-confidence took quite a tank. He felt hideous.

“Raumy it is,” he said with a bemused smile; for all of his closeness to Checkoth, he was totally unaware of what the brown was plotting. Perhaps fortunately, too, else he would’ve bolted in terror. “Who’s Airteth?” It seemed like a fair enough, if a touch invasive, question. He didn’t know anyone named Airteth… but he could hardly know everyone at Selenitas. His mind brushed Checkoth’s as the brown took on a surge of delight and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes; apparently, he was quite proud at being listed with such a prestigious title. Silly beast. Though, R’wign couldn’t fault him – he’d have been flattered, too. “I don’t eat much fish, personally. I’m not very – Azaran.”

Whatever else he was going to say was cut off as the bronze appeared first on Kaegan’s head, then shuffled down to her shoulder. Roxie would have fits if she knew that he was in Azaran’s presence without her. She always liked to flirt with the bronze – silly creature. “Yes, I know him. Hello, Azaran. What do you think of Raumy?” he inquired with a nod toward the puppy toy, before leading Kaegan down the streets. He was plotting, he was. “Oh, I was saying – I don’t eat fish. I grew up at a fishing hold, and I have to admit, I burnt myself on the taste early. I prefer red meats, myself, though I like bubbly pies beyond everything. It’s a bit odd that there’s no one selling any here, isn’t it?” Truly evil, in his opinion. A Gather without pie was hardly a Gather at all. “So… where is your date, anyway? Surely a lovely vision in gold such as yourself has one?”

[Tashe]

"Airteth? Oh... he was bonded to the only man I wasn't afraid of at Benden. The Rider's name was J'em, but he died many years ago. C'leon sent them on a suicide mission..." She of course, omitted the part that she and J'em had been pretty much a couple in her Senior Weyrling years. It was still a touchy subject for her. "But, the past is the past." She really needed to take her own advice, let the poor Brownrider rest in peace finally. Feeling Azaran crawl across her shoulders to perch on the one closest to R'wign, Kaegan turned her head slightly to watch the Bronze out of the corner of her eye.

Chirping at the man, Azaran leaned closer to him, clearly confused. He smelled like the Brownman, but he didn't look like him. Hispet seemed happy, like she always was around the Brownman, but he didn't look like him! Why did these humans insist on changing their colors and skins all the time? It confused him. He wanted to trust his nose, but the humanman looked so odd his brain wasn't entirely up to trusting it completely. Eventually he huffed, and then trilled in greeting before wrapping himself around His's neck, yawning because it felt like he needed to rest his brain.

"Well it looks like he approves." She laughed. Her Firelizard was like a mother hen, always fussing about her and what she was doing. It was one of his most endearing, and annoying qualities. "You grew up in a fishing Hold? I have a rather good friend who grew up in Nerat. Though, its not uncommon to find people who come from fishing Holds. Fish being a staple of our diet here in the south." Nodding slightly, Kaegan let the Brownrider guide her where ever he wanted to go. Being able to trust him was an upside of knowing it was R'wign leading her by the hand. "It is rather saddening that they aren't selling bubbly pies. They're one of the few things I actually look forward to when I go to Gathers." She nodded again, it truly was a pity. Bubbly Pies were so tasty and small... and tasty. Mmm... "Huh?" She had missed most of what he had said. /He asked if you have a date and where is he./ Are you eavesdropping? /Yes./ So much for blunt answers. "Oh, I'm not here with anyone. I usually meet up with friends for the Dance."

She snorted lightly and tipped over Dash's pile of rocks again, just to mess with the Salamandyr. /Your's should be old enough to know that a Dragon and a Human are two different beings. Except when it comes to Flights... but that is not the point./ She paused and collected her thoughts. /Just because I prefer Bronzes, doesn't mean Kaegan does. And before you go thinking that I don't like Browns, I do like Browns. They are better to talk to./ Yawning the Queen curled up, tucking the tip of her tail under her chin, much like a feline.

[glamourie]

… Oh. Erm. R’wign blinked twice, then rubbed his nose to disguise the slight discomfort he felt. He knew what it felt like to lose someone close to him – he did, at last, though he wasn’t glad for that knowledge. How had it felt to see Marra lying dead in a pool of her own blood? The thought was nightmarish; he didn’t need to think past a second to summon the image back to the forefront of his mind and wasn’t happy in the least. He forced himself to think of something – anything – else that would be less heart-wrenching. The attention from Azaran was as good as any, and R’wign reached one bare hand over to the firelizard tentatively; he trusted Azaran not to bite him, provided he recognized him at all. Would the costume distract him? It probably would have most of his own flits (Ellie exempted), so it fell to reason it could, though… perhaps not. He didn’t say anything else to the firelizard, instead looking back at Kaegan.

“My apologies. I did not mean to bring up a sore subject; really, I didn’t.” His head cocked to the side, and then he smiled to Azaran before nodding at Kaegan. “Yes, a fishing hold – nothing too extraordinary about it; there were all sorts of rumors when I was a child, that I wasn’t really my father’s son and that sort of thing. Typical small hold scandal, you know. Most memories of that place are not entirely pleasant. Personally, I think the fish here in the south are better… but I think most things here in the south are better. Certainly the women seem to be more attractive here, if you’re anything to judge by.” He cast a sideways glance at Kaegan, and then offered her a bemused smile. “Then again, you count as northern, don’t you? But then, there’s always the ever present question of whether or not you’d shine as brilliantly under the blood-stained sun there as you do here. I doubt it, so I think I’m glad you’re here…”

Think? No, he knew. R’wign stopped, turning around to face Kaegan in the middle of the walkway; it never dawned on him how odd it might have looked to stop where people were traversing back and forth.

“Actually, no, I’m sure of it – because if you hadn’t come here, we probably would never have met… and, well.” He leaned over and pressed his lips against the side of her cheek, very gently, feather-light; it wasn’t meant to be an invasive touch of any kind. His hand came up to the mask and lingered for a moment, before he dropped his hand away. Not enough courage. His head bowed, and he stepped back, as though ready to bolt away at a second’s notice; a wild animal, perhaps, would be an accurate comparison to how he felt. But when he spoke, it was definitely in a voice that anyone who knew him could identify as terribly R’wign… if a touch more serious than he usually was. “Not meeting you would have been quite the loss on my part, because – well, I’ve loved you from the moment I met you, Kaegan.”

Oh he does know, Checkoth replied, twitching his tails anxiously. Surely Millieth knew His was smart? Well, he wasn’t acting very – although that confession… He’s scared. Humanthings do funny things when they’re scared. I’m not so easily frightened as him. I like you, and I never thought you didn’t like me. I just worry about annoying you. You must always be busy. Snorting, he lifted his head and crooned. Thank Yours for me, please; I’m very flattered that she likes me, as I like her very much as well. And… R’wignmine is very, very likely to run away now… he doesn’t want her to know that it’s him saying – I’m surprised he said it…

[Requiem]

Jingling.

It was putting it a bit mildly, to say that M'ta was annoyed. Not to mention he looked ridiculous (which he didn't actually mind because thus far people had been too busy laughing or staring in shock to approach him; it was like having your own personal lane of traffic) and his feet hurt. It had been a long, long time since he'd worn anything with heels. A loooong time. Not only were they hurting his feet, but he looked positively drunken trying to walk in them, and they only increased his height to about 5'6"...meaning he was still shorter than the vast majority of the people around him. Yes. He was hating on the shoes something awful.

But it wasn't the shoes that leant his admittedly meandering feet a sense of purpose. No. It was the two leeches that for some unknown reason had sought him out. He'd been browsing Kalina's stall obediently to keep Behruth from coming down to the Gather again - dragon mask and all - and terrorizing away the greenrider's customers, when they'd suddenly shown up and decided he'd make a good perch.

Or, in the case of Grouch, a good chewtoy.

Growling curses at the slate-colored firelizard making a meal out of his ear, M'ta shook his head for the third time, even though all it managed to do was cause both firelizards to cling more stubbornly. P.M.S. wasn't helping any either. Oh no. He bounced up and down at a slight remove from Accident, crooning at her and trying to coax her to spread the pretty eye wings for him. He just wanted to see them again. Pretty please? Of course, when he spoke he was cursing at her...as he was mimicking his. It made for an odd sight, to be sure, the small brownrider stumbling along in ridiculously bright, obnoxious colors, bedecked in ribbons with pink bells tinkling at every step, while his blue salamandyr apparently sung out loving curses to the firelizard on his head and another dangled from his ear.

No wonder everyone was moving aside for him. He'd be putting as much distance between himself and such a fiasco as possible, in their position.

Thus it was that he was relieved to see R'wign in his clown costume (he knew it was him, as he'd been there when the healer bought it, after all) just ahead. The only explanation for what happened next was R'wign must have been too absorbed with Kaegan to notice the bells, and M'ta was too preoccupied with his leeches to notice the kiss... He sped up, tripped over his own feet and fell into the two just as R'wign's confession left his lips, M'ta just managing to keep himself upright by wrapping his arms around both R'wign and Kaegan and pressing them tightly together as his feet scrabbled for purchase.

"R'wign, your sharding fire- what did you just say?"

[Tashe]

/... I am surprised as well./ She had not expected the Brownrider to speak up, nor had she expected the swirls of emotions that had been brought forth from her Mine. Now, she was really interested.

She was only half-way listening to what he was saying, not that he was boring it was just that her mind had chosen that moment to wonder freely. Well, freely was a loose term. Her thoughts mainly were centered around R'wign himself, and about his strange actions that he had taken so far behind the mask. Of course being disguised was prone to make one act differently, as if they were another person, but there was something off. No, off wasn't the right word. Different was a better description. Not in the fact R'wign was often changing his voice and other appearances to put up a comic effect, but with something she could not place. She ended up nodding at random intervals, her brain simply refusing to concentrate on his words for more than a few seconds at a time. That was until he stopped walking, the sudden pause in movement proving to be the thing to refocus her attention. He was sure of... what?...Oh, right. Of her being here. It was certainly a nice thing to say. She herself was glad to be at Selenitas, among new friends and considerate people.

Her stream of thought was once again shaken as R'wign leaned forward and kissed her cheek, making her flush again, it was becoming an almost automatic response. Touching her cheek where his lips had been, Kaegan watched the Brownrider in surprise. Which turned into shock as he confessed his feelings for her, which only made her flush increasingly deeper. He... loved her? How.... what.... from the first time they met? Hadn't Millieth leapt over him and nearly given him a heart attack when they had really met for the first time? She was confused, not only as to why she had been so oblivious, but also as to what her own feelings were trying to say. Although she received little chance to say anything verbally because someone fell into them, making her accidentally press up against R'wign in the attempt to keep both herself and the other person from falling. During all of this, her mind had stalled as it tumbled trying to answer two questions.

Did she 'like' R'wign?

... Yes. She did.

But the first question was more readily answered than the second. Her feelings and fears battling each other over the ultimate response to what he had confessed:


Did she love him?