Exploration [WIDE WIDE OPEN]

[ryanne]

The jungle here looked the same as the jungles that he'd already passed through. Nothing seemed different now that he'd actually moved into the weyr. Everywhere he went and everywhere he looked still looked... well... like land, trees, water, sand, dirt. He didn't know why he expected such a big change. Just, for some reason, he thought life would seem different once he'd finally settled down, once he finally decided what he wanted to do with his life.

Looking at the trees above him, Dinag still felt the urge to just start walking, to see where the path he could carve through the trees would take him. He was a wanderer by nature, whether he would admit it or not. He always thought that once he set his mind to something, that he would do it. His air of nonchalance was not all that he felt, but it was all that he would show. Even though he worried greatly about his future here at Selenitas, he simply continued to wander through the jungle, plucking a leaf from a branch, rolling it between his fingers.

He could figure this out, he decided. He would just stick with it, continue to adjust his sleep schedule, and he'd do his best to bond with a wher. He wasn't sure exactly how he could aid the bonding part of that list, but everything else, he could work on. The sun was still high in the sky, but if he stayed up all night tonight, then tomorrow he'd sleep through the sunny hours and do his chores during the dusk hours. He began to feel better as he started to plan, wandering in back in the general direction of the weyr.

[Requiem]

Hands clamped neatly behind her back, Ximera's head was tilted upward toward the canopy, watching the birds flitting through the trees with simple joy. Felines and wild whers were a danger, of course, but not so close to the Weyr, and much as many would tell you that the fourteen-turn-old had no sense, she did know enough not to venture alone into the truly wild part of the jungles. "I know, I know, Laddie. But people look at me funny when I talk to you, so I can't do it all the time," she stated cheerily to the...ladle in her pocket. Not that it was immediately clear, what with her eyes fixed on the higher branches. Her head tilted slightly to one side, short curls bouncing. "I suppose I could try. Mr. Black maybe? But they like to use him for stews, and I'm not allowed in there anymore. I think they figured out my disguise, too. It's hard to try to be a guy...so complicated." The girl's nose wrinkled.

The girl did a little skip step, the hardened soles of her bare feet - evidence enough that she often wandered outdoors without any footwear - liking the feel of the bed of leaves and warm earth beneath them. "Mom says that the night flowers grow high on the trees. I'm not allowed out at night, though. Not yet. X'rx says he's sure that I'll Impress, though. He's really sweet. You remember him, of course? Anyway, do you think that the flowers will have bloomed a little early for me? If I bring them to the gold wher, she might tell her babies how nice I am."

In the midst of her quiet conversation with the kitchen utensil, she'd quite forgotten to look where she was going, and as such it came as something of a surprise when she ran smack into a rather solid - but still soft enough that it certainly wasn't a tree - object. Ximera's arms circled his waist automatically to keep her from falling flat on her rear, the girl blinking as she looked up the chest, right up into his eyes. Very blue eyes. Her head tilted to one side, a pleasant smile on her lips. "Oh, hi, where did you come from? Or...you're not him...no, you couldn't be."

[ryanne]

Dinag was lost in his thoughts as the sun continued to shine in the sky. Momentarily, he wondered if he’d miss it much. He never did travel too much under the stars instead of under Rubkat’s rays. It was always easier to pick a trail and follow it when it sun shined so brightly, lighting his way. Even on days when rain poured down, all but obscuring the well-worn footpaths he liked to travel, it wasn’t the same as trying to pick through the woods with the night. He wondered if he’d get to travel if he managed to Impress a wher. Would he still have the freedom that he had with no one but himself to look after?

But would he have the unconditional love that he would gain if he bonded with a wher? He would have someone to care for, to care about. Was that more important than his independence? Dinag was sure that it was. He was ready to stay in one place, to do more than just blend in. He liked to stay in the background, to know what was going on and, even, sometimes, intervene (hopefully without anyone noticing though). To be at a weyr and bonded to a wher, he would be a part of something that he never managed before. At the hold, he was always just someone’s child. The healer’s kid, that no one really paid any mind to. At the weyr, he would be Dinag, a wherhandler in his own right, respected for his duties to the weyr.

Of course, this was all dependent on whether or not…

His thoughts were cut off by something small running into him, causing him to stumble forward a step with a small oomph. Surprise was painted quite clearly on his features while the small girl wrapped her arms around him and peered up at him. “Am I who?” he asked, quite puzzled. This small girl-child didn’t look like she had any intention of moving, apparently quite content to be touching him. Dinag swallowed the desire to untangle himself. She obviously meant no harm. “And you are?” he continued, curious.

((She should make Dinag's wanderings a bit more interesting. Lovely character, for the record.))

[Requiem]

Ximera laughed, not an unkind sound, at the adorable confused look on the man's face. "It doesn't matter," she stated cheerfully, smiling up at him. Her prince of course would know. Or maybe he wouldn't? Either way, it wasn't her job to tell him, if that's who this was. (She didn't believe it was. Pern was still a place of darkness, and her prince was supposed to fix that first. Of course it was possible she might meet him beforehand. Possible. But he still had much work to do, after all. Thus the secret must still be kept, no?)

Snugging him briefly, she took a step back, hands clasping demurely behind her back. "I'm Ximera," she stated quietly, flicking a glance at his face. "So sorry to run into you, mister. I was looking for the night flowers, even though it is not quite night. They're supposed to grow high and I wasn't looking where I was going," she explained, not once thinking that the other might actually be upset about a Ximera running into him. She wasn't big enough to hurt anyone with her clumsy blundering, after all. At least, she didn't believe she was.

"What's your name?" the girl questioned lightly. Laddie wanted to be introduced, but she ignored him for now. They'd already discussed that introducing him to strangers wasn't a very good idea...so far the only ones who knew about him (or should know, but of course she accidentally slipped up on occasion) were her mother, X'rx, and a few of her closer friends. "I'm a candidate, too," she added brightly, a genuine smile touching her lips. "I'll bet you want to Impress a dragon, though. Everyone wants to Impress a dragon. My older brother is a weyrling, has an adorable green with much too long teeth." She demonstrated the fangs with her hands.

"I want to Impress to a wher, though. Do you think Eikask would like the night flowers?"

(thank you, lolz. i was tryna go for something different than my usual charries. dinag looks interesting, too xP

[ryanne]

Dinag cocked his head to the side a little bit at her response. Maybe she had assumed he was someone that she knew. It didn’t really matter, but something about this little girl puzzled him. She seemed a little off, but who was he to judge? She seemed nice enough.

Oh, okay, she was hugging him. Affectionate. Alright. Before he could react, she had moved away, the picture of innocence. He had to resist the urge to scratch his head. “It’s okay,” he replied, “I wasn’t exactly paying attention either.” He paused for a moment, “And I’m not ‘mister.’ I’m not that old.” It was odd to here such a title stuck to him. He still felt so young, as if he had just left the hold, not spent a couple turns wandering. Either way, though, he was still no ‘mister.’

“Well met, Ximera, I’m Dinag,” he answered her after she asked him his name. He was so perplexed by this girl-child that even his manners were failing him. He was usually sure to casually be polite, as to not offend anyone by his propriety or his lack of manners. It was a fine line that usually had to be adjusted for the more rigid of company, but it was a line that worked for him. Ximera, well, though he knew she looked to be only a few turns younger than him, her mannerisms made her seem much younger. He didn’t know if he should treat her as a child or an equal, and there was quite a difference between those two categories. For now, though, he just decided to play it safe.

He laughed at her rant. “I think whers are just as useful as dragons,” he told her firmly, “That’s why I want to Impress a wher. Plus, you can live more places with a wher. A dragon has to live at a weyr. A wher can live anywhere.” Then he thought about it. This was one of his fellow candidates? Now he wasn’t sure how he felt about that. He supposed that it couldn’t hurt. “I guess we’re candidates together, Ximera.” He smiled for good measure