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Post by hseru on Dec 27, 2008 23:06:16 GMT -5
The day was only half over, but it seemed like forever since that initial blink Between, essentially severing Lanthos from his past life until he either impressed and successfully raised a dragon, or failed, to then return home.
The scrambling from here to there, gathering clothes, dodging important people and generally trying to not upset the place left him feeling rather disheveled and uncertain of the whole affair. Thankfully, he'd been released with instructions to take a walk about the Weyr and begin familiarizing himself with the layout of his new home for the next several years at least. After dropping his new attire, lute, and other small trinkets into an empty chest further along the line of beds in the candidate barracks, he'd fled the vast buildings of the Weyr, asking several people along the way if there were runners housed nearby and where he could go to find them.
It was sheer luck that he actually found the stables on his first attempt rather than getting hopelessly lost. He accounted part of it to the smell, which he followed like a feline on the hunt. A deep sigh of relief echoed from him when he finally reached the relative quiet and solitude that an area like this presented. A wry smile lit his features at the thought that the stables were probably the last place anyone else actually wanted to go. Well, at the moment, that suited him quite well.
Entering the stable, he peered into the various stalls, his expert eye noting that these few animals were some of the finest he'd seen. Well, it did make sense that the Weyr would have its pick, as it did of everything else. He was privately glad that his own runner had not been chosen, though in retrospect, he would have been able to visit when he had free time.
Either way, the point was moot now, and Lanthos had the time to simply admire the beasts, leaning on the stall door while he watched them lazily munching grain.
Wandering on, he paused at a stall with a rather pretty, dark sand colored mare who whickered at his approach, raising her head as if happy to see him. Watching from the door, he peered surreptitiously about. Seeing not a soul in sight, he unlatched the door and slipped within, smiling as the mare approached him, nuzzling the hand he held out, then smelling about his pockets. It was with an indulgent smile that he realized the mare searched for treats, of which he had none. She soon realized this, and giving an annoyed huff, she turned her back on him, tail flicking to berate him.
Lanthos chuckled lightly, returning to the stall door, but not yet leaving.
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Post by dragon on Dec 27, 2008 23:28:11 GMT -5
Humming a merry tune, with Rascal screeching along with in a horrible counter beat, E'yan wandered around the weyr, feeling rather bored at the moment. The bluerider eventually found himself down near the runner stalls. His brown flitter took off from his shoulder at that point, and flew into the stalls themselves, leaving the Harper wondering why the young flitter had done that. Rascal didn't leave his shoulder very often ... not after Kindrith had threatened to eat him that one afternoon.
After making nice with Leweleth, E'yan had hoped that the Blue had gotten over his hatred of browns. But apparently not ... only of Leweleth. At least, that's how it seemed at the moment. Which meant that Rascal was not on Kindrith's be-nice-to list.
Which meant Rascal flying off was a really odd thing, that bore investigating. No longer humming, E'yan trotted after his little pet, pushing a door open to go inside. He saw Rascal fly down the aisle, and into a stall, before vanishing from sight. "Ras?" E'yan asked, strolling down the aisle to the stall.
Rascal perched on a bar, and looked down at Lanthos, before uttering a peep in greeting. This was a new one, that he hadn't seen before. It wasn't long, before E'yan caught up, and looked into the stall. "Oh, hi." He greeted, before looking up at where Rascal was perched. "Just tracking down my flitter." he explained to the lad. "C'mere, Rascal."
Rascal jumped off, and glided down to where E'yan was. Once he had his flitter back, E'yan looked at Lanthos again, realizing that he hadn't seen this one around before. "New here?" He asked, with some curiosity.
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Post by hseru on Dec 28, 2008 12:12:47 GMT -5
Alerted by the small peep overhead, Lanthos directed his attention upwards. Seeing the small fliit, he grinned, and thus missed the Rider's entrance until he was spoken to.
"Oh!" He quickly straightened, automatically slipping back out of the stall, looking a bit sheepish as he latched it closed. "Hi." He raised his hand half way to a greeting before dropping it to his side, uncertain. He watched as the flitt made it's way back to his owner's shoulder and couldn't suppress a small smile. There was no end to the new critters he'd be able to interact with here.
"Yes sir, I'm new. I.. actually just got here today on dragon back. I'm ..candidate Lanthos." It felt odd introducing himself thusly, but he shrugged it off. He then gestured vaguely to their surroundings. "I was... just here to gather my thoughts. My family raises runners and I find them soothing to be around. I'm sorry if I'm not supposed to be here. I was told to familiarize myself with the Weyr, but.." He gave a slight wry shrug, hoping he wasn't about to be punished so soon into his tenure as a candidate.
"It's so much more than I'd imagined, sir. There's the dragons, all these people, and the flitts." He gestured towards the little brown flitt in emphasis, with a barely suppressed grin.
"..You called him .. Rascal? Is that a statement of description?"
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Post by dragon on Dec 29, 2008 1:47:05 GMT -5
E'yan grinned. "You're not in trouble, Lanthos. In fact ... you're liable to see these very stalls quite often before you Impress. It's alright if you come here. Just be sure to let someone know before you do anything specific with the beasts themselves ... some of them are privately owned. And you're not really supposed to wander away from the weyr. We're having a rash of feline attacks of late." He informed him.
"Rascal ... it's his name, too. Actually." E'yan said, with a crooked smile. "He is something of one, and thus came his name. He doesn't know the difference." he shrugged, and the brown flitter peeped again, ruffling his wings as he tried to ride through the shrug. "He's not very old, yet. Just a few weeks." The Bluerider lifted the flit down, and petted him a little bit, before offering him to Lanthos to touch.
"It can be a lot to take in at first. But once you get use to it ... it's got a rythem all its own. And you'll settle right in. You'll see. Find yourself a candidate that's been around a bit, and they can guide you through the finer details ... but also be wary of some pranking." He added the last with a grin again.
Some of the candidates were starting to get names made of themselves. Though now some of them were weyrlings... a whole other bundle of enthusiastic trouble.
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Post by hseru on Dec 29, 2008 8:54:32 GMT -5
"Feline attacks? I would have thought that the presence of the dragons kept them mostly away." Lanthos couldn't help the wary glance he shot around the area.
"I've seen them a few times. They sometimes come for our runners.." He sniffed, wrinkling his nose as if the very idea of hurt runners was something unpleasant.
A grin crossed his lips when the little brown peeped, and a sense of wonder entered his eyes when E'yan offered him for petting. Reaching his hand forward, Lanthos eagerly, but slowly, reached out a few long fingers to touch the creature's side once, then twice before attempting to run a finger down the brown neck in a petting caress. "He's beautiful." Lanthos leaned a bit closer to admire the flitt's coloring.
The mention of pranks sent a small, brief flash of annoyance through him, but he supposed he'd have to take it all in stride with, if not good, then decent cheer. He nodded a bit at the rider's suggestion of finding an older candidate to show him the ropes. "I haven't really met anyone yet, but I'm sure if I hang around the candidate barracks long enough looking lost, someone will be willing to take pity on me." He gave a wry grin.
His attention was irrevocably turned back to the flitt. "Is it true that they clutch and hatch just like dragons, color wise and all? We don't get many around where I live, but I've never seen a clutch. I'd love to gain my own little rascal." He grinned
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Post by dragon on Dec 29, 2008 23:05:36 GMT -5
"The felines are only somewhat put off by dragons ... they run in packs around here, and any one dragon isn't enough to scare them off. More than one dragon will make them think twice, though. But that doesn't stop them from stalking caniddates or weyrfolk who wander away from the weyr itself, either." E'yan warned. "If you have to go out, take someone else with you, and always let someone - preferably a rider - know that you're going."
Rascal's wings vibrated in pleasure as the little brown hummed happily, leaning into the touches and stroke. He squinted his eyes shut, obscuring the whirling of greens and blues in his faceted eyes. Warbling, he almost hopped over to Lanthos from E'yan. But a remembering of big teeth made him not ... leaving E'yan was a scary thing to do.
"Well ... don't look too pitiful. Some of them are pretty weird, and might stab you instead." E'yan said, soberly. The word going around about some of the young people in the weyr was rather disturbing to the easy going Harper. "Be careful of those openly wearing knives."
Sheesh. Any more warnings to this poor kid, and the poor lad was going to think the weyr was a horrible place to be!
"They do clutch ... thier breeding habits are identical to that of Dragons. So yes ... anyway. If you want one, just hang around. Pet flitters and 'mandyrs both are regularly hatching, so ... just be there when they're ready, and you might get lucky!" E'yan grinned, as Rascal gripped his hand tighter as he leaned perilously out toward Lanthos.
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Post by hseru on Dec 30, 2008 8:33:42 GMT -5
Despite their already aggressive reputation, Lanthos has to admit that anything brave enough to attack while a dragon was around surely was not an animal he ever wanted to tangle with on any terms. He gave a pert nod to the Rider, silently agreeing with the precautions they were taking.
He continued petting Rascal, his fingers easily reaching about the small body to find ever more pleasurable spots to tickle or caress in an attempt the make the flitt even happier.
"..I'm not sure if you're being serious or not." Lanthos admitted, after being warned of imminent death via stabbing. "Are the other candidates really like that?" He had to wonder to himself why they would accept candidates so eager to hurt people. It seemed a bit backwards, when their purpose was to protect everyone.
He couldn't help the silly grin as he watched Rascal lean ever closer to him. "'Mandyrs? What's a Mandyr?" While waiting for an answer, he ran his hand down the flitt's back like he would a small domestic feline. He hoped he got lucky enough to catch a hatching. Imagine, walking around with a tiny dragon on your shoulder. He grinned at the thought.
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Post by dragon on Dec 30, 2008 20:12:11 GMT -5
"I am being quite serious, I'm afraid." E'yan replied. "There are a few people here that came from some rather rough backgrounds, and react to things before they think about it. It's kneejerk, I guess. Just ... don't bother anyone that weirs bandoleirs of knives, and you'll be okay. Most of them are fairly sane. There are only a few that are ... tweaked. But I thought you might like to be warned." The man shrugged loosely, trying not to wince as the flitter hung on tighter to his hand ... though a baby, Rascal still had some wickedly sharp talons on him ... and they were small, to boot.
E'yan grinned, too, at the sight of Lanthos'. "I'd offer to let you hold him, but he's a little spooky." He admitted. "My dragon tried to eat him once." He paused, as the new question came out. What was a Salamandyr? Oh, boy.
"Um ... I am not entirely sure what a Salamandyr is, to be quite honest, or where they came from. I hear rumors that they are a mutation off of flitters. But they're quite small ... very small. Adults are small enough to pretend to be jewelry... and they do do that. They're not very much like flitters, though. They can't go between, they can't fly ... though they do have psuedo wings. They've got frills around thier heads that they like to show off ... um ..." E'yan thought for a moment. "They talk. But only in one or two word sentances. And most of them are vicious, rude, smart alecks, or theives. Real nuicances, the whole lot of them. They're not useful at all, like flitters can be, but they're a hoot to watch, sometimes. So long as they don't notice you."
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Post by hseru on Dec 30, 2008 21:01:48 GMT -5
Nodding a bit, Lanthos made a face. "So, this place is dangerous on the inside and outside, hm?" He joked lightly, smiling. "I'll be extra certain to watch out for the glint of metal. I wouldn't want a knife in me for one, and how will I ever meet anyone if I'm stuck in the infirmary? I appreciate the warning though."
With a slow nod to himself, Lanthos raised his brows at the mention of the attempted eating. "Why would he do that? I thought dragons were fairly even tempered." He leaned forward a bit to chuck the flitt under his chin. "Who'd want to ever hurt you, hm? And such a pretty boy at that." Catching himself just in time before the googoo baby talk came out, Lanthos straightened, listening to the salamandyr description with interest.
"They talk? Sounds like the big colorful birds some people like to try and catch from the jungle. Are they as intelligent as flitts, and why would them noticing you make any difference?" He pondered in silence for a moment, pausing in his continued petting. "They sound rather interesting, even if they really have no serviceable use that's been found. You can get one from a clutch like the flitts too.. that's interesting to know. I'll be keeping my eyes and ears peeled for news of a clutch for either species."
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Post by dragon on Dec 30, 2008 22:19:42 GMT -5
"Any place is dangerous in and out, lad. This is the least of them, at that. Selenitas is far kinder than either Fort or Benden. Don't you forget that, either. Granted, Fort is better than Benden... " Of course he'd think that ... Fort was his old home, and he'd been fighting Benden ever since becoming a rider. "but neither of them are near as peaceful as Selenitas. You're right lucky to have been brought here." He nodded, with a slight smile. But even as that was ... weyr life in any weyr these days was not easy. Not in the least. Dangers lurked everywhere.
"Well ... it's kind of a long story. But my dragon has a serious thing against browns. And this poor little chap had the unlucky streak to both hatch brown and become my pet. So ... Kindrith tried to eat him once or twice. He really dislikes browns. Thankfully, I can say dislikes ... it used to be hates with a passion. I'm getting a little help from a young brown dragon on that front, and I think we might be making progress." E'yan admitted. He really was happy for it, too ... progress was always good.
"They talk ... like a dragon does. Not like a bird or a person. And I would reckon they're actually not as intelligent as Flitters. Flitters can at least process entire thought trains. Mandyrs seem to be incapable of that, really. At least ... as far as I've seen. They've all got some sort of quirk that would get a human thrown in the looney bin, too. Extremes, every last one of them. And once they notice you ... you become the brunt of thier attention. They're not shy in the least. Many will steal your jewelry while you're wearing it, or bite you for the heck of it ... or start insulting you, for all to hear. Something bizzare like that. If they were people, they'd get hung. Or stabbed." E'yan shrugged. "Personally, I don't want one, and stay pretty far away when they are hatching. Lots of people have them ... they're evenly split. Either the owner is tickled pink by the antics, or the owner wants to kill the runt and can't. There aren't any in betweens, that I've seen."
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Post by hseru on Jan 1, 2009 9:08:32 GMT -5
Lanthos hung his head a bit, properly chastised by the rider's sudden vehemence. He could agree that he'd gotten lucky to live in Selenitas. Who knows how things would have turned out if he'd been born in any other Weyr. "I agree sir. I'll be certain to keep the proper attitude from now on." He nodded smartly.
Relaxing a bit as the rider recounted the unfortunate story concerning his dragon and flitt, he repressed a small laugh. "I'm glad you've been able to make progress. I would hate to see this little fellow eaten, or your dragon upset." He squirmed a bit, suddenly anticipating the day when he would have a partner dragon of his own to comfort and care for.
He did laugh when the rider described the antics of the salamandyrs. One of the most annoying creatures that could be thought up, from the sound of it. If even some owners despised their behavior, what did that say for the creatures themselves? "I can't wait to see one." He grinned, privately thinking of all the things one could teach an insult inclined creature. "I bet some use could be made for them, if they were trained really well. I.. can't think of anything right now, but every animal we interact with has something it can bring to the relationship."
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Post by dragon on Jan 1, 2009 16:20:38 GMT -5
E'yan only nodded slightly. He hadn't meant to come off as scolding in any fashion, and the lad's reaction surprised him some. But at least the boy was listening. His having respect for what he did have would help him a lot in the years to come, reagardless where he ended up. "Things aren't all that bad, really. If they were, we'd all be dead already. It is possible to still have a comfortable life." Even for him ... even after all he'd seen and done, E'yan was making the best of it. Even if he had to keep reminding himself the end goal in mind.
"I would, too." E'yan agreed. In fact, it stressed him greatly when his blue insisted on being a rather unforgiving blood thirsty beast. Thankfully, Kindrith was only like that to browns. He could get along nicely with any other color or beast. But if the hatred extended to flitters ... the problem was worse than E'yan had thought initially. There was no way a flitter could steal a green dragon from Kindrith, after all. "Would you like to see my blue?" E'yan offered, to change the rather glum topic. "I might be able to convince him to come down here."
"Well ... 'mandyrs are all over the place ... you'll see one soon enough. And then wish you hadn't, if you like anyone else. I don't know if they are trainable or not ... I'd wager not. But if you really want to try ... go ahead. You'd be the first to succeed if you do. And I'd love to know how you do it, too. It'd be worthy of putting in the records." He grinned at the lad. "I hope you're lucky and meet a nicer one."
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Post by hseru on Jan 1, 2009 20:39:08 GMT -5
Lanthos' eye grew wide at mention of actually meeting the rider's dragon. He could only nod mutely for a moment before finding his voice. It was filled with barely suppressed excitement. "Yes, sir, I would love to meet your blue!" He grinned madly, then seemed to catch hold of himself again, sobering a bit so as to remember his manners. "If he would be so kind as to let me, that is. I wouldn't want to be a bother to either of you." It was silly, this childish feeling of excitement, but he couldn't help it.
Something suddenly occurred to him. "I'm sorry sir, but I don't know your name. You've told me Rascals' and Kindrith's, in a round about way, but if you don't mind, I'd like to remember you as more than 'the rider with the brown hating blue and the unfortunately brown flitt'." He gave a small, impish grin.
As for the salamandyrs, Lanthos was now certain he wanted to try and train one. If nothing more than for the challenge of it. If he didn't manage to find something useful for them to do, well, he was certain he'd be on the side of the line for owners tickled pick by their salamandyrs' antics.
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Post by dragon on Jan 1, 2009 21:31:22 GMT -5
E'yan grinned, and clapped the lad on the shoulder, allowing him to simply take Rascal to pet on. The brown flitter protested for a moment, and then shut up again, leaning into Lanthos' hands, cooing at the attention he was getting. Oh! Oh! Oh! Warbling happily, the flitter latched a hold onto Lanthos' wrist to keep from tumbling clean off.
"Of course ... I'm sorry. My name is E'yan." he said, grinning at the lad. He knew young people - especially candidates - were always thrilled to meet dragons. It seemed almost universal, no matter who it was. To be suitable to be a candidate, they more or less had to have a soft spot for them, anyway. "I'll call him down ..." he assured the lad, before reaching out to Kindrith's mind to contact the blue.
Kindrith bestirred himself from from his light nap in the sun, and lazily shoved off into the air, to slowly coast all the way to the stables. The stables?! What was his doing down there? Somewhat more awake, now, Kindrith landed gently outside the stables as the two appeared out of it. Who was this? The big, old, Fort battle dragon gave his rider a curious look, but said nothing.
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Post by hseru on Jan 2, 2009 14:41:38 GMT -5
Delighted that the little brown flitt seemed content to stay with him despite the potential dangers of such, Lanthos launched into a vigorous petting, scratching and cooing session to reward his bravery. He ignored the fact that he probably looked like a simpering fool while doing so. Ah well, he'd take his victories where he found them.
"I am very pleased to meet you, rider E'yan." Lanthos finished the formalities with a smile and a slight bow, excitement still lighting his face. Absently stroking Rascal, he followed E'yan as he left the shelter of the stables to meet his blue.
As the big blue made a gentle landing, the short lived wind whipped up by his arrival blew Lanthos' hair into his face. Swiping it from his vision, he stared at the large creature, momentarily forgetting to pet the much smaller Rascal in the glory of E'yan's dragon. The pale colors suited such a large blue, Lanthos mentally noted.
He made a formal bow to Kindrith with a small, shy smile, once again carefully aware of Rascal. Using his other arm to fold at the waist, he left the little brown's perch out, resuming an upright posture after a moment or so. He hand came back to petting the flitt, reassuring now in case Rascal balked at Kindrith's brown-hating presence.
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