Toil and Trouble (Raylin and Ebolath)

[kysseh]

"If you weren't so sharding big, I wouldn't have to spend this long cleaning you."

Anyone within a dragonlength of the goldpair could have heard Savitri's snappish response to Hepaticath's silent complaint. The gold was outwardly patient as she laid in the shallows, Savitri sitting astride the massive creature's neck and scrubbing at the ridges. Hepaticath had never been an easy one to bathe, simply by size. Even as a weyrling, she had been quite large. Now, she was positively huge. Patient enough to stand still, for the most part, but huge nonetheless, the queen was. Hepaticath did not like it when her baths took forever, and Savitri was thankful that the dragon did not require multiple oilings a day any longer. The dragon's growth had slowed dramatically, though that did not make the goldrider's job any easier.

Hence, why the young woman--old now, she grumbled mentally--was dressed in the sleeveless shirt that a 'mandyr-hunting feline had sunk his little teeth into. It had a few holes in it, and it was just generally worn. Thus, it was perfect for dragon-scrubbing. Her pants were old and faded as well and were rolled up to just below the knee to stay out of her way. Savitri had given up on staying largely dry when bathing the great beast. It was futile. Hepaticath delighted in soaking Hers.

At just that moment, the gold dragon twitched her head to look at something, moving her neck just enough that Savitri had to cling to the shining hide to stay on. "Would you- .... you are not helping. Stay still." The admonishment had little effect on the gold, who simply snorted and went back to glancing at anything remotely interesting nearby. The list was short. Trees, rocks... water.... all boring. Hers' bag and sandals were high up on the shore, atop a rock. The sickly little green flit was curled atop it, her little body quivering as she snoozed quietly in the warm afternoon sun. The poor dear--aptly named Dear, which Hepaticath found amusing and Savitri just fumed about--could do very little of anything and was no help whatsoever. The spying white 'mandyr was off making mischief, and Ras...

Well, Ras was just circling above the goldpair and shrieking at the top of her lungs. The attention was not on her, and she felt it prudent to remind the pair whom they needed to be paying attention to. The green flitter was nothing short of obnoxious, though she kept disappearing to chase things. Having run into a rock twice in the last half-candlemark, she should have been content to stay put. Savitri grimaced as the green spied the light glinting off the water and made a beeline for it. Three. Two. One.

Shriek!

Ahh, how predictable her naggy flit was. The goldrider recommenced scrubbing the gold's neck, snorting softly as Ras landed on a rock and proceeded to (loudly) lecture the water about its horrible behavior in nearly drowning her. Yes. Shame on the rock.

[Rei]

I think I see them up ahead! Ebolath hopped quicker towards the glint of gold visible through the, now insanely thick, vegetation. With all the rain the jungle had seemed to have grown in size by leaps and bounds. At least the felines had seemed to abandoned the weyr for better food sources.

The small green and her rider had decided to take Ka’rys advice and offer the gold rider some food and perhaps also a bit of conversation. What was the worst that could happen? Besides once the idea of meeting the gold had been brought up Ebolath was so keen on going their was really no dissuading her.

With T’rid and Corinth gone, and Saeo’s new singing mandyr making home life miserable, Raylin was up for any escape. The green weyrling balanced the basket of fruit and meatrolls carefully. There was also a bowl of meat scraps for any pets Savitri might have. (It seemed almost everyone in the weyr had one or two pets).

As they gained access to the river bank, Ebolath let lose a whistle of greeting. Hello. You must be Hepaticath. I am Ebolath. Is yours washing you? Today is a good day for that. The sun is shining. I am glad it is shining. The sun hides to much lately and mine very much dislikes the rain. The green’s intensely friendly and unabashed greeting had Raylin shaking her head in disbelief. “I am sorry if we are disturbing you at all. A friend said you wouldn’t mind if I brought you something to eat. In fact he almost insisted that I should. We went to the infirmary first but they said you weren’t around. So on a hunch we thought we’d check the river.” The green weyrling dismounted Ebolath and set the basket of food and flask of juice down on the boulder near the sickly flit.

Vega winged out of the jungle then and chirped in terror as he beheld Hepaticath. He dove into his bonded’s hair tangling himself in his haste. “Ow Vega. She’s not going to eat you. I swear your impossible you know that!” The pale flitter crooned in apology although his meek voice broke halfway through the noise.

After Raylin succeeded in untangling him she placed the cowering flit next to Savitri’s Dear. Vega sidled farther from the oh so large gold and dipped his muzzle to nudge at the green. Was she quite alright? Did she need some food? The blue hated to see anything upset or sick and the green immediately tugged at his heartstrings. Vega eyed Hepaticath with yellow orange eyes. Perhaps the gold did not see him. Oh he hoped so.

[kysseh]

The whistle of greeting had Hepaticath lifting and turning her head to examine the source of the noise. The motion alone would not have been enough to dislodge her bonded, but Savitri had unluckily chosen that moment to lean slightly to one side of the gold’s neck to scrub at a spot further from reach. The added disruption made the goldrider overbalance and tumble gracelessly into the shallow water. She surfaced fairly quickly, spluttering indignantly.

“Hepaticath!”

Ignoring her rider, Hepaticath crooned a greeting to the little green weyrling. She did not move from her spot, though, too comfortable in the shallows with Hers looking to be climbing up and resuming scrubbing soon. Itchy spots were miserable. You missed a spot on the left side. she commented unhelpfully to the soaked young woman that glared up at her. She was largely immune to Savitri’s looks, mostly from constant exposure. Hello, Ebolath. Mine tries to bathe me, but as you can see, she decided to put on a show for you instead. Purely by accident, of course. Mine does not enjoy being silly in front of people. the gold commented politely and pleasantly to the little green. Such an energetic little thing, Ebolath was.

While Hepaticath exchanged pleasantries with Ebolath, Savitri was wading her way out of the water. The young woman did not bother wringing herself or her clothes out. Why bother? She would be back in the water in a moment or two. She tossed her wet hair from her face and eyed the girl that stood before her, listening patiently to the explanation of the… visit. She snorted softly as the little flit emerged, watching as his bonded placed him next to Dear. “She won’t eat him. She adores flitters,” she said quietly, planting her hands on her soaking wet hips and raising one eyebrow in bewilderment. A… friend had suggested? No. Insisted.

Ka’rys. She knew it. No one else had the audacity.

“I’m sure Wingleader Ka’rys thought it quite funny to suggest it, right? He’s making you do his job. Very lazy of him,” the young woman commented, eyeing the food the other woman had brought. Was Ka’rys ignoring her again, or did he just find it funny to keep her supplied with food? “If he keeps forcing me to eat this much, I’m going to double in size in the next Turn.” Savitri knelt down beside her bag to check over Dear, smiling as the flit stirred a bit. “So-“ Her gaze turned up toward the weyrling again. “Ebolath’s, hmm? What’s your name?”

Twitching beneath Savitri’s gentle strokes, the frail green flit stretched and retracted her eyelids one at a time, staring in bewilderment up at the creature that nudged her. Oh. A blue of her species was staring at her humanpet’s shiny dragon-thing. She peeped quietly and nosed at the blue in a mild hello. He looked scared. Why was he scared?

[Rei]

As the gold bespoke her Ebolath’s eyes whirled faster. Oh mine always gets wet when she bathes me. I like to throw her in. She pretends to be mad about it, she really doesn’t mind. Unless she has all her extra layers on. Then she gets all silly about her layers sticking to her. Mine does not like to be silly in front of others either. I don’t think many humans do. The green gave a backwards glance at her rider before turning back to Hepaticath. Our Vega gets very nervous around big shiny dragons. Do not take it personally. He has always been that way. You are so big. The green tilted her head up to better examine the large gold and her reaction. Do you like being so very big? Ebolath queried curiously flopping down on the bank to make herself comfortable. Hers had said they would stay for a bit.

At Savitri’s soft comment caused Raylin to look up from her little blue. “Oh I know she won’t but since hatching he has been terrified of big dragons. I have tried to break him of it, but he still is jumpy around even those he knows well. I hope your Hepaticath won’t take offense. Vega is just paranoid is all. It’s nothing she did. She can’t help that she is shiny and large.” The girl sent soothing thoughts Vega’s way as she examined the dripping gold rider.

Savitri didn’t seem overly upset or annoyed. That was good. The gold rider's next comments soothed any worry the girl might have been holding. “Well to be truthful I mentioned to him about wanting to see Hepaticath. He insisted I should go see you and bring you some food. I think he might have mentioned something about you overworking yourself.” Raylin trailed off after that not wanting to get Ka’rys in to much trouble.

“That’s a lot of dragon to bathe.” The green weyrling remarked as she took a glance at Hepaticath. “She has grown a bit since the last time I saw her. Ebolath was just a little thing the night she came to the barracks.” Raylin trailed off and pushed the sober thought of Aslath and Shmee’s passing out of her head.

The girl blushed when Savitri reminded her that she had yet to say her name. Here she was blabbering on and on like some silly child. “Oh sorry. My name is Raylin and you obviously already know Ebolath.” She dropped her gaze to the green fire lizard next to her little blue. “Is she sick or something? I apologize if Vega is bothering her.”

Vega relaxed a bit at his pets soothing thoughts, but he stayed relatively tense. The big shiny however was not paying attention. The peep and nuzzle thoroughly distracted him from Hepaticath and he looked down at the little green. Oh, wasn’t she also scared of the big shiny? Big shiny’s were loud and they could get very angry. What if the big shiny thought he was good to eat? The pale blue shifted closer to the green and nuzzled along her back. Was she tired? If she wanted some food his pet had brought some along. He could fetch her some if she liked.

[kysseh]

A croon of amusement was Hepaticath's response to the little green's announcement of how Hers responded to being wet. Humans try to not be silly. When they try to be dignified, though, they end up looking sillier. the gold commented, lowering her head to watch Ebolath. Her head inclined to focus one whirling blue-green eye on the flitter that the green indicated, wondering why the little flitter was so terrified of large things. Strange. Most flitters seemed relatively fearless, though the green flying circles high above her head was perhaps strange in that respect. Ras feared little and screamed at all. Maybe she was just stupid? Hepaticath thought that was quite possible.

I do enjoy being big. It makes it easy to see things, being high off the ground. It takes Mine quite awhile to bathe me, though. Hepaticath replied sensibly, moving into the shallows and laying down very carefully to avoid splashing poor Ebolath. The little green did not need swamping. Do you like growing up and being bigger now? Besides itching, of course. she inquired, stretching out her head to nudge the little green. Hepaticath was never shy about affection with those she liked. If the green thing annoys you, feel free to bite her. She has stopped screaming, but she is rather obnoxious. The gold was speaking about the little green flit that had perched on Hepaticath's back and was eyeing Ebolath with great misgivings. Ras disliked strangers that did not seem to be forthcoming with food, attention, or shinies.

Savitri snorted softly and settled into a sitting position for a break. Her arms were slightly tired from scrubbing, and a short break wouldn't hurt, would it? Of course not. Besides, Raylin--now that Savitri had the girl's name and could identify her--seemed good company, and it would have been rude to ignore her. There was the fact that the girl was downright amusing, and Savitri stifled a bit of a laugh. "Nice to meet you, Raylin." It wasn't an idle pleasantry either, she found. The girl had pluck, which Savitri had to give her credit for. "Wanted to see Hepaticath, hmm? I'm not entirely sure why, but feel free to stare at her and encourage her ego." The gold needed no encouraging, really, but that was beyond the point.

The goldrider suddenly rolled her eyes as her mindmate turned to eye the pair of humans and then arched her shining golden neck. Of course Hepaticath was showing off. Just a little, Savitri was informed. More would be unmannerly. "As you can see, she doesn't mind being admired." The goldrider's smirk changed, and her gaze flicked from Hepaticath to the little green flit that was nesting on her bag. "Oh... you mean Dear? She's frail. Premature hatching, I think. Her lungs are a mess, and she's missing half a foreleg. He's not bothering her.... or bothering Hepaticath, for that matter." In fact, the gold seemed to be mildly amused that something found her frightening, though that thought was not given voice. One of Savitri's hands stroked along Dear's back, the little flitter crooning quietly in response. Dear liked attention.

The little green flit peeped again as she was nuzzled, turning her pale little head to focus on the blue again. He was nice. Dear liked nice creatures, and she cooed at him, flicking her little wings a bit. Why so nervous? Her head turned to follow where he had been gazing. Ohhh, he didn't like the shiny? She gave a very delicate snort and nudged her head against his. Silly blue-thing! The shiny was nice and warm, not scary.

[Rei]

Ebolath looked up at Hepaticath and tilted her head to the side. Yes I do like growing bigger, but itching makes it almost unbearable sometimes. Mine is very good about oiling me though. She does not like it when I itch either. Vega helps to oil and bathe me sometimes. Do your green things help bathe you as well? The little dragon made her way to the bank to get closer to the big gold. If Hepaticath swamped her she wouldn’t mind. Ebolath liked being wet. Truly swimming was one of her favorite things to do.

The mention of the screaming green thing caused Ebolath to look around wildly until Ras came into view. The little green sister is annoying? My little blue brother is very quiet and timid. Your little sister would probably scare him as well. He is a very silly blue but mine says he gets a bit braver when he gets used to dragons. He isn’t very much afraid of Corinth anymore. Ebolath extended her neck to get a better view of Ras. Hello pretty sister. I am Ebolath.

Raylin smiled at Savitri’s words and turned towards the two dragons. “She is very lovely. I am constantly amazed by how immensely large the golds are. Why she makes Ebolath seem tiny, and Ebolath is almost half grown now.” Hepaticath’s neck arch caused Raylin to smile. “Well she has reason to have such a large ego. She is incredibly beautiful.” Turning from the gold she again stroked her little flitter. Vega chirped in response and wiggled closer to the tiny green.

“Poor darling.” Raylin fell silent then wondering if the little thing would live very long. She did not wish to bring up such a horrible topic, so instead the weyrling gestured towards the food. “Help yourself to the food. You deserve a break. Besides I could help you bathe Hepaticath. I really wouldn’t mind and Ebolath wouldn’t mind taking a swim either.”

Vega hummed a little at Dear and cocked his head to glance at Hepaticath. Nice and warm? She was oh so big though. The pale blue took a few glances around before assuring himself that no one else looked nervous. He settled a little, although a faint trace of yellow remained present in his gaze.

In a sudden decisive manner the blue hopped over to the basket and clambered up the side. Carefully he selected a small strip of meat. Winging back to Dear’s side Vega presented it to her in a shy fashion. Would she like some food? He got if for her.

[kysseh]

Lying down did not help the fact that Ebolath still had to look up at her, and Hepaticath got up just enough to scoot herself onto the bank, closer to the little green weyrling. Out of the water, it was easier for the young gold to arch her neck and delicately rest her chin on one shining foreleg. There. Now their heads were closer to equal in level. Hepaticath preferred it that way. She liked being a queen, but it was rather rude to constantly look down on everyone. It was not the way to make friends, after all.

The queen crooned softly, turning her head just enough to eye the huffy green perched on her back. Ras was quite the fussy beast, and the explosion was inevitable. The little green hated the attention being diverted when she wanted it. The little green cousins are not much help. The screaming one is not smart enough, I don’t think, and the little one is too frail. Mine does a good job, though. She is simply slow. the gold stated quite matter-of-factly, eyeing first Ebolath and then the little blue cousin near the humans. He does seem quite timid. I hope he gets used to me. … Oh, I would not speak to the little screamer. She gets rather fussy.

Hepaticath’s warning came just too late, for Ras was already puffing up and fussing at the green weyrling. The little flitter did not deign to move from her shiny perch but instead huffed and shrieked at Ebolath for the space of about three breaths. Then, as she was wont to do, the green was distracted by a twitch of Hepaticath’s wing and busied herself with pouncing the shiny, entirely ignoring all present in favor of trying to close her forepaws around the shiny thing. So easily distracted was Ras.

People never ceased to talk about Hepaticath’s beauty, a fact that always amazed Savitri. Did they not realize that the gold had adequate admiration as it was? Apparently, they thought flattery was a requirement. Interesting. “She’s… large for a gold, but she’s not fully grown yet. Her sire is fairly large too.” The queenrider snorted softly and rolled her eyes at the thought of the bronze and gold idiots. Quite a pair, those two were. “Wait until you see Hepaticath and Ciceroth together. You’ll never meet a more vain pair of good-looking dragons. It’s shameful.”

Ignoring Hepaticath’s snort of amusement at that, Savitri kindly chose to ignore Raylin’s comment on the subject of Dear. People often said things of that nature. Poor thing. Poor dear. Poor firelizard. She had just acknowledged the little creatures frailties and didn’t dwell on it. One finger tickled the underside of the green’s chin, eliciting a little coo from the delicate creature. Adorable was her little pet. Raylin’s offer startled her, though, and the young woman glanced at her conversation partner. Did she really know what she was getting herself into…?

“I’d welcome the help with her. It’s quite the chore,” Savitri said bluntly, flicking a smile at Raylin. That would make her job easier, certainly. Poor Raylin had no real concept of how much work a massive dragon was. She would soon, though. It pleased the goldrider to have help. She needed to snag an apprentice at some point to help her on a regular basis. “If you don’t mind, I’d rather wait on the food until she’s all done. Hard work doesn’t mesh well with a full stomach.”

Dear happily pressed into Savitri’s affection, though her gaze remained curiously fixed on the blue. Her posture improved as he brought her a little strip of meat, and the green offered up a coo of delight. Food for her?! She very carefully extended her neck to take the offering, pinning it down on her perch with her single forefoot and nibbling carefully at it. It was delicious.