Explorating the Gather(tag: retired sled-dog handl

[summerrain]

The dark Blue flashed out of between above Fort Hold. His rider upon his back, he descended. He landed a distance away from the snow fields where the children were playing. The pair aproached, and the young rider dismounted.

Why don't you keep watch over the children? Tera suggested silently. She patted the dragon on his shoulder before walking away.

But don't go beyond the range of our bond, Mine, Saphireth said. Tera laughed softly.

As she walked, she stopped to get a Cinnamon Shugar Icewherry wing. She looked at the stalls, approaching some of them from time to time. She became intersted by a few of the snowmen in snowman fields, but moved on after a while. Then she came to a new stall. This one had a few canines behind it, as if they were guard canines or something. But the one female of the group looked more like a canine bred as a sled-puller. Were the other two also sled-pullers? She had long finished the Icewherry wing, and canines had always interested her. She wanted to approach them, but knew better than to approach another person's canine. "Hello?" she called. "Is someone here? Your canines are beautiful. Is it alright for me to approach them?"

[Ember]

Shamine whistled a jaunty tune as both a warning to her dogs and because she was rather excited. While she adored her older dogs a lot she also liked seeing her friends go to new, loving homes. Speaking of which, Shamine saw someone standing by her dogs peering at them but smartly not approaching. The woman snapped the fingers on her free hand and pointed to Tera when the dog at her side looked up at her. The lead dog padded over to the dragonrider with a soft woof.

"Just follow him around if you wanna look at the dogs, he's been itching to do his rounds through the oldsters, silly mutt. I have to feet the rest of my brats!" Shamine called out, waving a large bucket of meat in one hand. She veered off the path towards the three dogs available for new owners to toss her feed at the resting, younger dogs that made up her main team. The lead dog whuffed softly under his breath in impatience and left Tera to follow or not.

He approached the other dogs in turn, sniffing nose to nose with the elder female as she lounged where she was. One of the males bounced to his feet in puppy-ish energy and the older and younger males tussled a little before the other older male gave a bark that was soft even as it was commanding. The resemblance between the young lead dog and the older one that just barked suggested a familial relationship, as did the affectionate nuzzling they participated in.

[summerrain]

Tera nodded and followed the young lead dog through to the older ones. She allowed each canine to smell her hand before she pet them. "They're all so beautiful," she said, a wistful tone in her voice. "Father would never let me get a canine when I was at Ista Hold. Now, though, I wonder if I'd be able to care for one."

She moved from the female to the high-energy male. She laughed when she saw his energy, but knew he wasn't the type for her. "You're beautiful, too," she told the canine. "But I don't believe that I would be the right home for you. A family with active children would be better for you." She petted the canine on the head before looking at the old leader.

"You're absolutely gorgeous," Tera said with a soft smile. "And he seems to have the disposition of a Bronze. Commanding and calm. The other male is more like a Green flit." She looked over at the female. "The female's more like a Brown, I think. Or maybe a Blue." She blinked, suddenly aware of the fact that she was comparing the older canines to dragon colors. "Sorry," she said quickly. "I've only been a Rider for three Turns, and I'm already acting like we've been together forever." She laughed softly at herself. "I guess that goes to show how strong the bond is between rider and dragon..." She looked again at the old lead canine and bent to her knees. She held out her hand for him to sniff.

[Ember]

Shamine sighed under her breath a little as she tossed the meat to her dogs. She knew these types all too well. Her dogs were not usually good with those who had no experience with dogs ever before. Not to mention Ista Hold didn't exactly produce very strong-willed women, in Shamine's experience. She may seem just like a dog lover that didn't know much else than raising sledding dogs but she was worldly in her knowledge. Shamine used some of the snow to wipe her hands clean before wandering over to the group of dogs she was giving up and the dragonrider.

The comparison of her dogs to dragon colours made Shamine twitch on the inside. "Now you listen here, missy, these dogs don't fall so easily into your dragon stereotypes. Not sure what browns and blues and greens act like but you say bronzes are calm and commanding? Saral here is my previous lead dog. He's a champion and he knows it. You make the mistake of thinking he'll calmly follow after you just because you ask him to, you'll end up with a dog you can't handle," Shamine scolded the rider, even as the older male sniffed Tera's hands.

Shamine crouched next to Saral and scratched behind an ear, making the dog's tail bounce happily. "Now, Saral's as gentle as they come so he wouldn't do you harm but he's no beginner's dog. He likes to frustrate those that can't handle him. My husband can't stand him, really. Doesn't get why he's my favourite oldster. Does he Saral?" The woman said, putting her forehead to the tamaskan dog's head briefly. "It sounds like you're more than happy with your bond to your dragon, since you compare dogs to dragons, would you be able to give even half of that attention to one of my dogs when you're so new to your bond still?"

[summerrain]

Tera sighed softly, standing up and backing away. "I've wanted a canine, but... Even before the war, when I was still a Candidate, I knew I was too busy." She winced slightly when she felt Saphireth's hesitation.

I'm probably not going to get a canine, you dolt, she told the Blue silently.

"I could try to prove myself to you by using dragon comparisons, but I can see that's not going to work," she said with a shake of her head. "There's no reason for it." She looked over at the female, letting the canine sniff her hand before petting it on the head.

"I'll admit it," she said after a moment. "I don't really know much about canines. Father wouldn't let me study more than how to behave around them so I would know just enough to keep myself unharmed... A man doesn't want a wife that has been scarred, especially if it was due to her own stupidity." She smiled sadly at the female canine.

"I don't know about canines, but I've admired them from afar," Tera admitted softly. "Father and mother tried to mold me to their image of a perfect daughter, but they didn't imagine that I would become a Rider. Now that I am... I'm not sure that I'll have the time for a canine. Especially not one as energetic as the other male." She looked over at the canine in question, then stood.

"I didn't come looking for a canine," she admitted softly. "I don't have the knowledge. But..." She turned to the canine's handler. "Maybe you could teach me?"

[Ember]

That Tera continued to say how unfit she was for a canine only solidified Shamine's decision. Her gaze shifted fondly to Bolo when he was mentioned as she rather thought the male deserved a good family that could benefit from his energy and not the other way around. The woman shook her head a bit ruefully at all the words the rider was spouting. "It really sounds like you can't handle Saral and probably not Bolo but I'll take you and Kainu there aside and see how she responds to you."

"I don't have time to really teach you, that's not what I do, but Kainu is the best of those three for beginners so I can see what you might need to improve in the future," Shamine added before raising her voice and calling, "Kainu, follow!" The female wooly dog got up and moved after her to an empty area a bit away from all the rest of the dogs. "Go ahead and try and give her an order, any order." Of course, with Shamine around Kainu might obey just because she was present. Then again, Kainu was the least intelligent of the three, more of a mindless puller than anything else.

[summerrain]

Tera followed the woman and the female canine. She'd hoped to avoid the female, not wanting to risk her having pups when she might not even be able to take care of a single canine. However, this woman was willing to offer Tera one of her canines. "Thank you," she said. "You're very generous."

She decided to take a position across from the woman, in order to test the responsiveness of the female canine. "Kainu, sit," she said confidantly. Her friend had a canine, back when she lived in the island Hold, and she had watched him train the canine. Let them know you're the boss. But don't be overly commanding.

Tera suddenly found herself thinking that she would like to have the canine come home with her. There was one question though. "I need to know... Do you know how she acts around dragons? I came here on Saphireth, and was planning on going back to Selenitas on him. I didn't bring any supplies to travel on foot."

[Ember]

"Don't thank me yet, there's a good chance this won't change anything. Plus Kainu is a female so you run the risk of puppies and...well, suffice it to say you definitely aren't ready for a whole litter. One puppy is enough work, though you get the benefit of early training. Multiple puppies and taking care of a mother dog is an entirely different story," Shamine said, shrugging off the compliment of being generous.

The female dog blinked up at Tera for several long moments after the command before she sat back...and then proceeded to lie down entirely. Shamine considered the reaction a partial success but still worrying as a whole. The question about dragons made Shamine frown. "I doubt she would have too many problems near one but being picked up by one...eh. If you lived at Inverness it's not too far that I couldn't have dropped her off but those are Selenitas knots, right?" Shamine asked, indicating the rank knots on Tera's shoulder.

"For that matter, Kainu is a wooly breed so she would have a lot of trouble in the south unless you had the time to cut her fur and brush her ever day to keep shedded fur getting everywhere to a minimum. Do you think yourself ready for all that?"

[summerrain]

Tera nodded. "I've thought about it," she said. "I know I'm not ready to take care of a litter of puppies and a mother canine." She listened to the canine handler, then had a sudden thought.

"What if I carried her while riding Saphireth?" she asked. "Do you think she'd be bothered by that?" After hearing the woman's answer, she nodded.

"Since the war ended, had I not been Searched when I had, I would've been sent to Iverness until Impression or aging out," she said thoughtfully, more to herself than to the handler. "I doubt they'd allow me to transfer..." She took a breath, eyes closed for a moment, then looked at the woman. "I can do it," she said, determined. She looked at Kainu, a smile appearing on her face. It was a soft and kind smile, like one would use when looking at a child too young to even toddle around. She bent down and pet Kainu's head. Then she sighed. "I know I said that, but... I don't think I'm ready for a canine. Saphireth's still young, as am I." She looked at the woman. "I appreciate your kindness at allowing me this chance, but I think another kind of canine would be better for me, as a first-time canine handler. And then there's the whole thing with the pups." She stood and held out her hand. "It was nice to meet you."

[Ember]

Shamine nodded, glad the woman had chosen not to continue to pursue Kainu. She much preferred it when prospective owners realized on their own that they weren't suited to the dog they wanted to adopt. "I wish you luck with future dogs, not all are so difficult for newbies to canine training to master. I hope you find a caninine companion when you're ready for one."

((End of thread.))