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Post by Administrator on Apr 25, 2008 16:41:35 GMT -5
((Post an introductory post to be Searched by Robika))
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Kisha-Ra
Rider Mo?rya Rider Darya Rider K?fuzzi Rider J?on Handler Vivano Handler Yoalla
Happier'n a pig in mud ABOUT WHERBABIES!
Posts: 1,109
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Post by Kisha-Ra on May 29, 2008 16:06:16 GMT -5
A pair of runnerbeasts pulling an odorous but empty wagon ambled along the road between Selenitas Hold and an outlying farming cothold. The mismatched pair of bulky, shaggy coated mares were being guided by the sure, callused hands of beastcraft apprentice Roshya.
The short, lean girl handled the reins with the careless ease of long experience, transmitting calm assurance to her beasts without thought or effort. She wasn’t thinking about much, other than how driving a wagonload of rotting manure wasn’t her favoured way to spend a morning. It was better to get it out the way before the sun started scorching and the dung really started stinking she supposed, and she hadn’t been drafted to unload the wagon, or give small children rides in the load bed as she was sometimes pestered into when the load in question was more wholesome.
Roshya wrinkled her nose as the shifting breeze reminded her of exactly how unwholesome said load had been. Her firelizard gave her a reproachful look from his perch on the front of the wagon; in fact even the mares seemed slightly offended by something in the air. ‘Well don’t look at me.’ Roshya told the animals with slight exasperation, I’m not responsible for the smell or the weather.’ Roshya firmly decided that this wagon was going to be scoured with the strongest vinegar she could lay hands on just as soon as she got home.
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Post by Administrator on Jun 8, 2008 20:33:47 GMT -5
A routine Search. Since there was soon to be a clutch on the Selenitas sands, Robika had been sent on urgent Search. They needed as many candidates as they could find... She sighed, and urged Kmarath to fly downward. Looking around at the people, she wrinkled her nose. She predicted the reaction of excited children running out from their lessons with the harper, eager to see if it was them who would be chosen to stand at the clutch. There was lots of excited shouts from below, and Robika saw that her prediction had come true. Hoards of holder children flooded out into the square, with some of them pointing up at Kmarath with wide eyes and bright smiles. Some of the boys were trying to nudge others out of the way in hopes that they would be noticed and Searched. Robika couldn't suppress a smile. Seeing these kids hope to achieve their dreams, standing there to do anything to get her attention... It was cute. Holder children were different from Weyr children. They had a certain innocence about them.
Kmarath circled and descended over the square, and the adults who rushed forward hastily called the children to come back as the green landed. Kmarath crooned as she landed gracefully in the square, looking around curiously. There is definitely a presence here,[/color] she told Robika. It is a good one. There is definitely someone here.[/color] Robika listened with a positive feeling. Kmarath was never wrong. Dusting herself off absently, she looked around. Spying the harper, she walked over toward him. "Hello," she said brightly. "My name's Robika. Can we Search here? Aslath is going to clutch soon..." she told him, glancing back over to Kmarath quickly. Already, the green was looking hungrily at the children, as if she expected a candidate to be shining through the crowd for her. The harper nodded, smiling. He, too, would like being a part of making some of these children's dreams succeed.
Straightening out her shirt, Robika stepped toward the crowd. "My name is Robika, rider of green Kmarath. Selenitas means to Search here today. We are looking for candidates for Aslath's clutch. Could all people between the ages of twelve and twenty-two please step forward so Kmarath can examine you?" And, by examining, it meant sniffing. That was how it worked, at least for Kmarath- she was able to sniff out dragonrider material. And, judging by her good feelings about this bunch, it would be successful today. Kmarath paused, then let out a rumble of amusement. The strong candidate I am looking for smells like manure,[/color] the green commented. Robika resisted the urge to laugh.
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Kisha-Ra
Rider Mo?rya Rider Darya Rider K?fuzzi Rider J?on Handler Vivano Handler Yoalla
Happier'n a pig in mud ABOUT WHERBABIES!
Posts: 1,109
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Post by Kisha-Ra on Jun 9, 2008 6:12:52 GMT -5
Roshya was glad of the stench her cart produced now, people fell back before it, which was a good thing because there seemed to be a great deal of excitement at the hold. Parents stood in groups muttering conspiratorially and young children wild with excitement ran squealing under everyone’s feet. Roshya ignored the parents, watched out for the children, and wondered where all the older children and young adults were. One thing was certain; she wasn’t going to find out while she was still driving this wagon.
The wagon was left at the very edge of the property to await its scrubbing, anyone who tried to steal it would have to lack any sense of smell, and Roshya led her mares back to the stable, only to have lead ropes tugged from her hands by the apprentices Kintas had recently taken on.. ‘I’m supposed to care for those mares.’ Roshya objected as the other apprentices led the runners into stalls.
‘Bain’t you heard? Be a dragon in the square.’ The younger of the two informed Roshya with a stubborn lack of grammar. ‘Rider said she wants t’ see allus youngsters.’
Roshya raised an eyebrow at the speaker. ‘Why aren’t you there then?’ she asked, it wasn’t like anyone of the right age to miss a Search.
‘Already sniffed us, guess we ain’t nothing special. Now git on with y’ else we’ll charge fer doin’ y’ work.’ The boy said with a cheerful grin, he was at the lower end of the age bar and loved anything with four hooves so apparently was too disappointed to be passed over. His silent fellow nodded, older and taking things harder.
Roshya smiled, she admired the young apprentice’s resilience, and waved a hand as she walked back towards the door. ‘See you again soon lads. I’m about as ordinary as muck, especially today.’ She called cheerfully and raced toward the square, as eager as any other hold youngster to see the searchdragon.
Roysha joined the back of the obvious crowd, obvious because it was composed almost exclusively of excited youngsters and was pretty much right in front of a green dragon who seemed to be sniffing everyone. Roshya laughed breathlessly, that poor dragon wasn’t going to find anything good on Roshya.
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Post by Administrator on Jun 12, 2008 23:51:22 GMT -5
Kmarath stalked down the line of eager children, trying to figure out who it was she wanted. There weren't many that had caught her attention, even though she did pause to look at one here, or sniff at one there. But where was manure-candidate? She wanted the one who smelled like manure. She grunted, dismissing another few, and looked dismally at the remaining ones. They didn't look promising, either, but her candidates was around here somewhere! She grunted, pulling up to the next person. I know they're around here somewhere,[/color] she complained to her rider. So many useless minds, but the specific one she was looking for hadn't been found yet. Kmarath was losing her patience quite quickly. She grumbled as she went to the next boy, not even bothering to pause as she brushed by him. He had nothing to stop for, so all she needed to do now was find that certain presence... Robika frowned as she watched Kmarath muddle through the candidates. No luck so far, apparently.
Not noticing how someone else joined the lineup (lots of people came in and went as they thought about if they truly wanted to volunteer themselves in this), Robika stretched her arms sleepily. She was in need of a nap, she concluded. She like naps. Looking around boredly, she wondered for a moment where Emanor and Valentine were. Nudging them mentally, she received a grumpy visual from Emanor. They were sunning on the beach back in the Weyr. Smiling a little, she didn't notice that Kmarath had stopped dead in her tracks. The seafoam green dragon leaned in, sniffing deeply at the people in one particular part of the line. Rumbling with pleasure, she leaned closer. Her large head pushed some of the kids out of the way in her attempt to figure out which one was the one she was looking for. Crooning as the scent of manure grew stronger in her nostrils, she stopped completely as she looked Roshya directly, less than a foot away, with her multi-faceted eyes.
This is her,[/color] Kmarath said smugly. Robika nearly jumped in surprise, looking over to see who it was that Kmarath had cornered. Brightly, she strode over to the girl, ignoring the smell. She knew, from what Kmarath had told her, that underneath the stench of manure was the smell of the perfect candidate.
"Hello," Robika announced brightly to her. "Kmarath seems to like you. What's your name?" She paused, then continued. "Would you be interested in coming to the Weyr? You could stand at Aslath's clutch, and maybe Impress. Kmarath likes you a lot, so you might stand a chance." She winked at Roshya, pretending that she didn't notice the smell even though it was quite strong in her nose. "If you want to come," she told her in a mild sing-song voice, go get your things and say your good-byes. You have any dreams of dragon?" She smiled kindly at the girl. Kmarath would undoubtedly be disappointed if the girl chose to not come...
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Kisha-Ra
Rider Mo?rya Rider Darya Rider K?fuzzi Rider J?on Handler Vivano Handler Yoalla
Happier'n a pig in mud ABOUT WHERBABIES!
Posts: 1,109
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Post by Kisha-Ra on Jun 13, 2008 12:01:07 GMT -5
Roshya watched the searchdragon move along the line; it was hard not to actually, with the green being so big compared to the children lining up hopefully before her. It seemed the dragon was looking for someone, or someones, specific and getting irritated with everyone else for not being the right person. Well, that was reasonable Roshya supposed, if she had to find one person she’d never met before in a crowd this big she’d be getting quite annoyed.
Abruptly the dragon stopped and sniffed around Roshya’s part of the crowd, she must have found someone she liked. Yes, it looked and sounded like it as the green rumbled in a happy seeming way and stuck her head into the crowd. Roshya looked around her, trying to see who the dragon was looking for, another sound from the dragon made her turn the other way, which left her looking stupidly at an extremely large pair of nostrils. Looking up also seemed to be a mistake, why had no one told her dragons eyes were so hypnotising?
Suddenly someone spoke to her, dragging her attention away from the dragon’s eyes. Roshya made herself pay attention and focus on the rider rather than the dragon. ‘Roshya.’ She managed to answer the first question before her head started spinning. After that all she could do was nod mutely, who wouldn’t want to go to the Weyr? Then she frowned, what about Kintas, the runnerbeasts, the new lads, would they be alright without her? ‘Do I have time to wash?’ Was what she finally managed to ask, having decided the answers to most things for herself. ‘I was carting manure around this morning, I’m sure you’ve noticed but you’re just too polite to say so.’ Once again Roshya frowned. ‘Is there anyone who doesn’t dream of dragons?’ She added
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Post by Administrator on Jun 16, 2008 12:58:53 GMT -5
Robika nodded as the girl stated her name, tucking it away as useful information. Looking back briefly at Kmarath, she watched with mild interest as she speedily browsed the rest of the children, and was found to have no interest in them at all. Roshya must have been the very good one Kmarath wanted. Well, she certainly did smell like manure! Chuckling at the girl's words, she nodded. "Of course, of course," she replied cheerily. Grinning, she added, "No, I'm not too nice. If it really bothered me, I would've asked you to take a bath!" No you wouldn't have,[/color] Kmarath snorted. Robika chuckled a little, but didn't explain to Roshya that she was laughing at what her dragon was talking about. Roshya would need to get used to abrupt laughter or irrelevant words if she was going to live in the Weyr, though-- dragonriders were always sharing jokes with their riders.
Blinking at her last question, she smiled drolly. "Some people want to Impress dragons, but they regret getting into the whole working aspect of dragonriding. It's a lot of work," she explained. "But if you cart around manure, I think you'll be fine." She winked, liking that the girl already seemed used to this kind of labor. "Does this mean you're used to animals?" she asked curiously. It was always a plus when candidates came with animal knowledge prior to being Searched. Then they wouldn't have trouble with carving the meat to feed their dragons, or shoveling out the feces of their hatchling... Lots of spoiled candidates would whine about chores. But people who had been with animals, Robika found, were less so. She smiled. Roshya would fit in perfectly with Selenitas. Perhaps, she thought in amusement, Roshya could whip other of the girls into shape. There had been a bit of drama already, so she had heard.
Waving her hand at Roshya in dismissal, she sighed, looking back over to Kmarath. The green had finished her rounds, and grunted. The green was finished. Looking down at the other disappointed kids, she smiled sadly. "Kmarath is done for the day. But we might come back soon!" Robika told them, remaining up-beat. Some of the younger ones were crying that their dreams would remain dreams. instead of becoming reality. "Maybe then, the rest of you can be Searched, too!" She smiled kindly at the upset little ones. There was always hope for them. Kmarath knew that she was looking for people who could handle it, as well as had the right stuff. They had hope yet.
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