Taking a Break (open)

[dragon]

Rascal cooed and warbled and thrummed along with Lanthos, entirely enraptured with the attention. Rolling over in the boy's grasp and flopping upside down, the little young brown allowed his wings to dangle limply, kicking his legs up in the air as he got his tummy scratched. Head dangling downward, Rascal burbled happily, wrapping his tail firmly around the lad's wrist.

E'yan just watched that with a slight smirk on his face. "He's a nut." He mentioned, finally, shaking his head. The little brown was a lazy blob of attention sponge. Then he reached over and releived Lanthos of the little nuisance. "Here. Let me have him, and you can go pat on Kindrith if you want." He offered.

Do what now? Kindrith demanded, of E'yan. I am not a member of the local petting zoo! he protested, eyeing the boy warily. But other than watching Lanthos, he didn't make any aggressive motions. What was it with his and attracting all these young snotty rogues? Why couldn't his meet and make friends with normal people? Like ... ones that were already grown up?

The formal bow, however, softened Kindrith's appraisal of Lanthos. At least he had some decent respect in him ... Kindrith puffed up slightly, lifting his head a little. He was one of the best dragons in the weyr, was he not?

Stop it, Kin. You're making a fool of yourself, and you know it. And this young man is soon going to be a rider, too ... might even possible fly along side us, one day. Be nice to him.[/b] E'yan said, to the pale blue, privately.

Kindrith snorted reprovingly at his rider, and then flopped onto the ground, tucking his front feet into his chest and dropping his wings to either side of his body, tail curling around slightly. Well ... if he had to let the kid touch him, he might as well scratch some places that needed scratching...

E'yan grinned and nodded. "Go ahead." He told Lanthos.

[hseru]

Relinquishing the flitt with a final pat and a grin at his obvious enjoyment, Lanthos turned his full attention to Kindrith, awe in his eyes. At E'yan's encouragement, he approached slowly, respectfully, as he would any other large animal with whom he was unfamiliar.

"I am more than pleased to meet you.. Kindrith." Lanthos said slowly, trying to emphasize his pleasure at the dragon's presence. Uncertain if he was allowed to address the blue by name, he almost stumbled over it in his hesitation.

Stopping to within touching distance, he tried to nonchalantly and subtly decide on where to touch first, and which area Kindrith might enjoy a scratch the most.
He finally laid his hands upon the wing joint closest to him, folded close to where the wing joined the dragon's body. Leaving one hand there, he also addressed the muscled area where Kindrith's pinion joined the shoulder, noting that Rascal had seemed to like a scratch there.
"I'd be happy to scratch you anywhere you like." Lanthos started, conversational-like, addressing Kindrith. "Just being around such a magnificent figure of a dragon is a pleasure for me, so any requests are welcome."

[dragon]

Kindrith rumbled in amusement at Lanthos. Maybe he wasn't so bad, after all. Respectful, at least. And quite enthralled! The big blue dropped his head and pushed on Lanthos a little bit with his snout, hoping to get his eye ridges scratched. Or his ear knobs. Or maybe even those first few ridges. Always itchy! Though, the wing shoulder was good, too … a rather complicated joint, it had lots of places that would need attention. Kindrith thrummed happily, at having extra attention than normal.

Though he appeared big, bad, and tough, Kindrith was a dragon that suffered from not enough attention, in his opinion … everyone over looked the pale blue. So getting some genuine attention from anyone other than his really did tickle him in places that rarely got tickled. He rather thought he was worth something … problem was he couldn't convince anyone else of that idea.

E'yan grinned, walking over while Rascal clambered up onto his shoulder. Rascal had no fear of Kindrith so long as he was with E'yan … Kindrith wouldn't snap at the brown if there was any chance of possibly wounding his rider in the process. Which made sitting on E'yan's shoulder an ideal place to be, when around the big blue. "Anywhere that is just finger-big is a good place to scratch him … those places are places that he can't scratch himself at all." He told Lanthos, before demonstrating on Kindrith's face.

Kindrith hummed a little, happily. You have a nice pet, mine. he remarked. He's not my pet. He's a candidate.[/b] E'yan contradicted, though he was grinning at what he knew was a joke, rather than a serious accusation.

[hseru]

Obeying the not so subtle hints about where to scratch, Lanthos chuckled lightly as he re-focused his attention to the area of the blue's big head. He was sharply reminded of a giant domestic feline, with Kindrith's thrumming. It rumbled and vibrated up through his hands as he found small spots to scratch around the dragon's eye ridges. He couldn't keep in the small laugh, pleased that he'd discovered a way to make friends, as it were, with the big creatures.

Nodding at E'yan, he diligently began to search out the smaller, more difficult to reach places. "This is a full time job all on its own." He joked lightly, smiling. "I can't imagine how much attention he'd require on a day to day basis, or any dragon, I'd think." He worked his way down Kindrith's long head, trying to covere as much ground as possible.
"I bet the babies are even more work." Despite the comment, he was grinning in anticipation, his voice excited. He would bet just about anything that raising a dragon would be nothing like raising a runner.

[dragon]

"Well ... technically? Weyrlings aren't quite as much work as a fully grown dragon." E'yan said, shrugging slightly. "They're not so big to wash or oil. Even with having to feed them, they're not as much as washing and oiling something as big as him." He poked Kindrith in the snout, making the blue snort at him.

"But it seems like more work, because it's a load that suddenly dropped on the new rider ... no transition time, just ... wham you have something that requires all this attention." He grinned slightly. "While when they get older, they start being able to feed themselves, they do get bigger, meaning there's more to wash and oil ... and yes ... scratch." He gestured with his free arm at the huge size of the dragon. Even being a small dragon, just being a dragon meant Kindrith was a huge creature.

This pet needs a treat. Kindrith informed E'yan, making the man frown at the dragon for a moment before laughing softly. "Alright." He said. Kindrith's outer lids slid shut as he thoroughly enjoyed having all those little spots scratched. He also almost .... almost ... appeared to be smiling ever so slightly under the minstrations. E'yan patted his dragon lightly, in affection, before walking around the side and clambering up onto Kindrith's back. There, he started scratching him, too, along the sides of the ridges.

[hseru]

Lanthos nodded to himself. "That makes sense. They grow so big that it's easier to care for them in some ways, and more difficult in others because of their sheer size." He grinned as Kindrith snorted, his hands at work on the long knobs at the back of his big blue head. He had to slow down a bit, as his fingertips were getting a bit chaffed from all the rubbing and scratching, but nothing serious enough to make him stop.

He watched E'yan climb up in silent envy, smiling as the rider started scratching up there. "So does he itch everywhere? Seems like a lot of dragon to get at all in one round of care. And the oil, does it soothe the itching, or keep his skin supple, or do something else entirely different? I didn't know they needed oiling. Heck, I didn't even know they enjoy getting a good scratch so much. What do they get fed when they're younger, as they can't catch their own food, and how often-..." He suddenly stopped talking, and grinned sheepishly up at E'yan.

"...Sorry about all the questions... I guess you're just the first rider I've really met face to face long enough to talk to, and I can't seem to stop wanting to know stuff about these big guys." He gave Kindrith a pat in emphasis.

[dragon]

E'yan laughed softly, and nodded. "Lots of questions indeed." He sat down where he was, and waved him up. "Well, to start with ... let's see. They tend to itch continuously... no amount of scratching will solve that. It's chronic, in places they can't reach themselves. You can stand there and scratch until your fingers are bloody, and they'll be happy to let you keep scratching the same spot. It just feels good to them. The oil, on the other hand, keeps thier skin nice and moist. Keeps it from getting dried out, split, cracked, and leaking ichor. If you take an unoiled dragon between thier skin will rupture in the sheer cold of the place, and they'll start bleeding. So you have to stay on top of that, and be sure not to miss a spot. But don't drown them in it, either. Otherwise you'll have a really sticky dragon to sit on." He laughed again, and shook his head. "When they're young, they're fed cuttings from a herdbeast, and when they're older, they eat straight off the pens that stock are kept in. And they eat the whole thing. Guts, head, bones, everything." He said. "I hope you don't gross out easily. Weyrlings will eat every few hours. But adult dragons will only eat once or twice a week."

"And it's perfectly alright. A lot of that will be covered in lessons, either as a candidate or as a weyrling, but I can understand the curiousity. It shows you really do have a spot for a dragon in you, you know. That interest is good, keep it alive." the Harper said.

Kindrith rumbled at the pat, and blew out a snort, sending dirt in all directions. He liked the kid ... he just kept scratching!

[hseru]

Lanthos' eyes grew a bit wide at the idea of actually climbing on the blue, but E'yan's wave said it was ok, so Lanthos, nervous for the first time since meeting the both of them, scrambled for a hold on the smooth blue hide. Amid his confusion about where to step and where not to step, he finally elected to follow the path E'yan had traversed in order to gain the top of the pale blue mountain, and more or less succeeded without serious mishap or misstep.

"Wow.. he looks tall, but being up here... it's totally different."He commented, looking around from his new vantage point. He waited for direction as where to sit, perched on the blue's shoulder.

Listening attentively, he nodded occasionally. He frowned at the thought of cracking dragon skin in the cold of Between, absently stroking the smooth hide beneath him, and a little upset at the idea that it could get so injured with just a little carelessness on the part of the rider. He vowed to never skip out on a oiling, if he were lucky enough to impress one of his own. He then smiled at the rider's words about him having a place for a dragon. "I just hope there will be a dragon with a spot for me." He said. "I don't think I'll ever hear enough about them either." He resumed scratching in earnest, finding a whole slew of new places in an attempt to tickle Kindrith's fancy.

[dragon]

E'yan grinned, as he watched Lanthos scramble up. The pure glee glowing in the boy's face was truely something to see. It wasn't very often that one could make someone else that purely happy. And all in just letting him interact with Kindrith! But, E'yan could understand that. He, himself, had been a starry eyed candidate once. Granted, it was in a much darker setting, but, that was all the past. He had his dragon, and he could share.

"I think there'll be a dragon with a spot for you, eventually." E'yan assured him, patting a spot between ridges on Kindrith's spine. "Sit. Or you're liable to tumble straight off the other side." He warned. Even as he did so, Kindrith lifted his wings just a little, to act as a breaking slide should the lad actually slip and fall off. But ... that still didn't acount for the possibility of smacking teeth off of one of those ridges on the way down, and having a gap-tooth grin for the rest of one's life.

"If you think this is something, you should go for a serious flight. Not a short hop from hold to weyr, mind you, but one where you're higher than the clouds, and seriously have some speed on." E'yan remarked. Indeed ... just sitting on a dragon that was laying down was nothing, so far as heights went. "It can be really spectacular. On a really clear day, when there isn't a lot of water in the air, you can see forever."

Kindrith dropped his head onto the ground, eyes squinting shut again as he enjoyed thoroughly the attention he was getting scratching-wise. His normally didn't give him that much itch-banishing attention. And the more Lanthos scratched him, the more Kindrith liked him. And wished him well in Impressing ... may he Impress well, to a strong, strapping blue! Or maybe even a Bronze? But he would never wish a dung-headed Brown on this one. No, this one was too good for a wherry brained Brown!

[hseru]

Following E'yan's directions, Lanthos settled himself facing forward on a spot in front of the rider, finding that he fit easily between the stiff ridges protruding from Kindrith's spine. His legs stuck out more so than when he rode a runner, and he realized that he would need to work on his flexibility if he were going to ride for long periods of time and do so comfortably. He'd been so preoccupied during his initial and quite short flight to the Weyr, that he'd not even noticed the obvious differences.

Wriggling a little to settle in a bit more comfortably, he scratched the itchy areas within arms reach, turning back to look at the rider with a grin. "I don't know when I'd get a chance to go up and see what you mean, but I'm sure it is spectacular. Maybe after I've been here a bit longer, or maybe I'll get to go up in lessons?" He nodded a bit, as if that made sense to him.

"Either way, I really appreciate all the time you two are giving me to help fill my silly and endless curiosity." He gave an especially deep rubbing scratch to the blue hide beneath him. "I especially want to thank you, Kindrith. You can come by any time for a good scratching, if you want, or if E'yan's busy." He suddenly turned, a bit sheepish and smiled apologetically at the rider behind him. "Not.. " He shook his head emphatically. "..to say that you don't have enough time for him.. I just.. you know.. wanna make him happy."

[dragon]

E'yan laughed. "It's alright. I know what you meant." He assured the lad. "And ... unless someone offers to take you up, you're not going to get to fly until your weyrling is old enough to do so." He warned the lad. Flying wasn't a part of Candidate lessons, as far as he was aware.

Kindrith picked his head up and turned it around to look at the two Humans sitting in the middle of his back. It felt a little strange to him, not at all used to having his rider so far back, between his wings. He was used to E'yan sitting on the base of his neck, near his shoulders, not nearly on his hips. But ah well ... they weren't going anywhere. So they were secure enough, there.

Tell him I shall visit him often. Kindrith remarked, to E'yan, who almost pulled a face at the blue. Instead, it looked more like a breif facial twitch. Tell him yourself, you lout.[/color] E'yan remarked. Kindrith spoke to other humans, he knew. Granted, few and far between, but it happened. And if Kindrith was going to be visiting the lad, he was definitely going to be talking to the lad himself. Kindrith only rumbled in amusement, and dropped his head onto his own shoulder, to stare at them with one big faceted eye that was slowly swirling in shades of blue, slightly darker than his pale hide.

[hseru]

Lanthos grinned, a little relieved that he hadn't insulted E'yan with so flippant a remark. He relaxed a bit into his seat and his task, scratching a bit slower again to rest his hands, his feet absently moving a bit as he got into a rhythm in time to some unheard song he'd been working on just before he was picked up for candidacy. He was suddenly glad that he'd made certain to pack his lute, because it was unlikely that he would have gained another one any time in the near future.

Having returned to his forward facing position, he missed the twitch, but smiled when Kindrith turned his big head towards them, rumbled about something, and then rested it easily on his own shoulder. It was amazing how agile that neck could be.
Lanthos reached forward as far as he could, leaning hard into a back spine for a moment so he could give a cursory scratch to the big blue's eye ridge before settling back into his place, rubbing his sore stomach with a wry grin.

"Well, flying or no, I can wait if it means I get to impress. I'm understanding more and more just how special that kind of bond can be."

[dragon]

E'yan leaned back slightly, being seated sideways on the dragon's back. He noted Lanthos' legs swinging, and recognized it as a tempo. Which piqued his interest slightly. The kid knew music? So on a whim, he asked: "Musical bent?"

Kindrith squinted his near eye almost completely shut, and heaved a slow sigh, appreciating the attention greatly. This was the life! Being appreciated finally, instead of all the attention going to those idiot browns. When Lanthos stopped scratching, he opened the eye again, to watch as Lanthos pulled a face and rubbed his own self. Kindrith couldn't help but feel a little jealous ... all that energy was going into petting Lanthos! Why was Lanthos petting himself?

"You might not have to wait that long. Occassionally people take candidates with them, when they go to do something. And that generally means a ride adragonback." E'yan mentioned. "I'd offer you a lift, but ... I don't have my straps with me. I can ride without them, but you ... your first time you'd better have them. Or you might go tumbling off before we get airborne." He said. And that was whether or not the kid knew how to ride runners. Runners didn't launch this much bulk into the sky!

[hseru]

Realizing what he'd been doing, Lanthos suddenly stopped, then grinned back at E'yan. "Not.. really. I.. well, I went to school for a while for sums and such, but I often used to listen in on the Harper classes. It kinda moved me, so I kinda began to ..dabble I guess." While speaking, he'd progressively gotten more quiet with each word, realizing that it probably wasn't right for him to dabble, as it were. He brightened a bit at a suddenly happy reminder.
"I bought a lute a while back. It's just a second hand, and even though I'm not very good yet, I wanted to keep practicing while I was here, so I brought it with me."

Lanthos stopped scratching to give a long upwards stretch, reaching high overhead to unkink his back, and wriggling in his seat again to ease the discomfort on his bottom. Dragons were hard to sit on!

"I really appreciate the thought though!" He said emphatically at E'yan's half offer, smiling back at the rider. "I have no idea how a dragon moves, so those.. straps? are probably a good idea." He gave another good scratch to Kindrith, to show him he wasn't forgotten.

"Maybe I'll get lucky and make friends with other riders and dragons. 'Course, if that were the case, I'd probably be rubbing my fingers to the bone trying to scratch all their itching spots along with Kindrith's."

[dragon]

E'yan laughed lightly at Lanthos' remarks. "Well, it looks to me like you've got a good ear for timing, then. I really don't handle a lute much, but I can teach you to read notes if you want." E'yan offered, rather liking the lad. And having someone else to play music with was always a plus. The blue rider's favorite part of being a Harper was the music aspect. He really wasn't so much for the histories and lessons. But he was excellent with music.

"Yes, straps are a very good idea. Otherwise you'd go tumbling off the back in a hurry." E'yan casually indicated Kindrith's tailward sections. "And landing in the dirt afterward isn't rather pleasant." He remarked, with a strange tone that seemed to speak of experience. Indeed, the rider had taken a few tumbles before he had learned how to ride without straps. "But anyway ... if you've ever got more questions about dragons, feel free to ask. Most of them I can answer pretty readily." He said, with a grin and a slight wink. There were a few that he wouldn't really know the complete answer to, but that was only cause they were more color specific items, and he really wasn't on the up and up about the higher ranking colors.

Rascal wandered around on Kindrith's back, warbled, and then sat down. He looked around for a moment, then got to all fours to start what looked for all the world like digging motiongs on Kindrith's hide. But he didn't get anywhere with it. Kindrith eyed the brown flitter for a moment, before squinting his eyes shut again. The digging felt more like gentle scratching to the dragon, and he was content to let the flitter have at it.

Though it was rather silly looking.