Hay Fever (May W'ling Chores, tags Rei)

[neeuqtar]

'Reine had... no useful skills. He had attempted to get into the laundry team, given that he had been in charge of caring for his own clothing on the Valiant, but tending to silks and fancy clothing was far different from cleaning heaps of disgustingly sweaty workout clothing. He had been summarily thrown out on his ear by the no-nonsense laundresses, and sent to do work that nobody could mess up.

They hadn't met 'Reine's like before. Told to get a runner from the field, he had nearly been kicked in the face, and then nearly trampled to death when a very worried Madhavath came charging to the rescue, stampeding the runners. The blue had been commanded to go to the other side of the river, where the dragon howled disconsolately in mournful imitation of some sort of dirge.

Now 'Reine was in the loft, with orders to fork hay down into the room where hay was gotten for each stall. The loft was painfully hot and sticky, and little bits of hay were flying everywhere. It was making 'Reine's eyes water and that was making his eye-makeup melt. And his sateen shirt was sticking to his skin... thankfully the skirt was letting his legs get some air, though he was getting pricked by hay.

'Reine glanced around. No, no one else up here. With a furtive sigh, he stripped off his shirt and hung it on a rafter, before grabbing a pitchfork and digging it into the mound of hay. He had experience with hard work, at least... The blueweyrling heaved, dislodging a swirl of hay-dust, and chucked the fork-full down into the room. Now, only a couple hundred more to go...

[Rei]

Erilena really didn’t like runners. They where a tad scary. Their big liquid eyes and the noises they made where also fairly disconcerting. It wasn’t truly fear as much as wariness. They where big. Had huge teeth and if they sought to come after you what could stop them? Feyrianth had made the stable erupt in nervous milling and whinnying just by arriving and had been quickly sent off to swim, or something of the like, until she was finished with her chores. Stable work. Why had the greenrider decided to do this? It would have been far easier to stick to something like laundry and cooking. She could do that. Was fairly decent at it. Runner care she was not. But it had been something she hadn’t done and it was an attempt to branch out a bit. Too bad Erilena was regretting it now.

Upon arriving she had been examined and handed a pitchfork. Blinking at it in a half confused manner Erilena had been given directions to the loft with the task of throwing hay into a room below. Didn’t sound too hard and they had said she would have help at the task. One of the new weyrlings. Sel’n had made a note to try and pair up with the younger class for chores. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad. At any rate the greenrider shouldered the fork and made her way to the barn in question. The climb into the loft hadn’t been too bad. It was terribly hot though. Ick would the heat ever break? The sound of someone else shuffling around up among the hay caught her ears and curiously Erilena peaked over the top rung of the ladder. Squinting through the dust she caught sight of a shirtless figure. Gingerly steeping into the loft she cleared her throat and stuck the fork into the hay beneath her feet.

“Um Hey. I’m Erilena. I guess I’m your help for the afternoon? I’ve got water if you’re thirsty.” Squinting through the dust she tried to get a better look at her chore mate. For a moment she was thrown for a loop. Wait a minute…Was he wearing a skirt? Maybe she had been mistaken and her partner was a she? Oh dear. Blushing she lowered her gaze and tried to look at something else. Awkward. If her company was female she most definitely did not want to be accused of staring, What was with these weyrbred types and shedding clothing?

Feyrianth paddled down the river happily, sticking her head under the water every now and again to get a good look at this or that. Soon a peculiar call caught her attention and she cocked her head to listen. Giving a concerned croon she paddled to the source of the sound and gave a soft call to the blue that was making such weird sounds. Excuse me little one. Are you okay? Do you perhaps have a bellyache? The four wing green asked, not trying to mask the concern in her mind voice, as she emerged form the river and gave herself a shake. Trotting quickly over to the young blue she dipped her head to nuzzle his back in an attempt at comfort. Oh poor little. Why was he making such sad and hurt sounds. Littles should not have to make sad sounds. What is wrong?

[neeuqtar]

A voice. 'Reine froze, hands stuck to the pitchfork. He was not usually embarrassed about his body (obviously, being an ex-sex slave did that to you), but his back was marred by whip-scars and he could not help but be self-conscious about it. There was not much about him that he felt was ugly, except for those scars. He hated being scarred. He-- My love my LOOOOVvveee~[/color] Madhavath called, breaking through 'Reine's swirling mind. I love you I LUH-UH-LOVE you!

'Reine shook himself mentally. I love you, too, 'Dhavvie, the young man replied back to his blue, closing his eyes for a moment and resting in that sense of pure adoration. And he meant it. As obnoxious as Madhavath could be, as much sleep as the dragon destroyed and how grating 'Reine found Madhavath's insistence on femininity being inseparable from beauty and prettiness (because wasn't 'Reine beautiful and pretty? Yes, Madhavath had always responded, but that was different.), the weyrling truly did love the blue dragon.

"Hi," 'Reine replied, trying to regain his composure. "I'm 'Reine -- Madhavath's my blue. I'm not thirsty yet, but I surely will be shortly," he said, trying out a smile and wiping sweat from his brow with his forearm. "Are... uh, are you okay?" 'Reine asked as the woman looked away, apparently blushing. "I could... um, do you want me to put my shirt back on?" he asked hopefully. His voice was relatively androgynous, a light tenor that was high for a boy and low for a girl. But a closer inspection would show him to definitely be male, despite the skirt and lilting voice. 'Reine was slim but muscled, and though his shoulders were narrower than would be strictly masculine (and his waist narrowed by the work of a corset he was not currently wearing), he had the marks of testosterone. And a slight shadow on his stomach where he needed to shave again...

Oh! Helloooo~ Madhavath said to Feyrianth. She was much bigger than him. And oh-so-green and pretty. And! Oh my! She had four wings! How pretty! I am so so SO sad that Mine is OOOOooooh so far away. But my 'Reine-lovely-handsome-Mine (OH I love him!) is doing woooorrrkkkk withOUT me! The blue looked up at the older green with whirling eyes, much less distressed now that there was company. She was very pretty, too. And oh-so-nice. I am the lovely lady Madhavath! the blue proudly announced. You are VEERRRRY pretty, like a four-leafed clover!

[Rei]

Erilena shifted a bit uncomfortably as she stood in the dusty loft, the hay poking at her feet through her sandals. When he(?), hard to tell still until she got a better look, finally spoke she slightly frowned. Shame the voice didn’t tell her much. Nor did the dragon color. She knew plenty of females who rode blue dragons. Iskierka her Weyrlingmaster for one. His/her, name could be either to really. ‘Reine? It wasn’t like Sel’n or R’ven or Cr’oph so hard to tell. The greenrider didn’t want to be rude but well she was just a tad uncomfortable. If she wasn’t a girl then he was a very, very feminine male and that in itself made her uncomfortable as well. However when her chore mate asked if she was alright Erilena couldn’t just say nothing and so she swallowed and tried to fight the blush as she turned her head up towards him. “Yeah I’m fine I just wasn’t sure if you….Didn’t want to be staring at your chest or anything. That would be horribly rude of me.” Oh Faranth she sounded daft.

The weyrling’s eyes flicked briefly over the bluerider before her, noting certain things before deciding. Male. Erilena would go with that. His admission that he would put his shirt back on if she wanted caused her to give a hesitant smile. She would like to say yes, but that would be rude right? It was horribly hot and ’Reine was a guy. It was more acceptable for them to shed clothing. “No. It’s alright. Forgive me. I’m just a bit flustered I guess?” Idly she tapped the pitchfork with her palm. “I just learned that I really don’t like runners. They are a bit creepy and you gave me a bit of a start is all.”

There that wasn’t false. She did just learn that she didn’t like runners and he had given her a bit of pause. To bad the awkwardness just wouldn’t go away. Moving through the hay Erilena hung her water skin on a rafter, followed by the bag she always carried. Never know when you could use certain things. Turning around the greenrider went back to the pitchfork and hugged it out of the hay. Turing back to “Reine she gave an awkward smile but couldn’t help the way her eyes where drawn to his skirt. So odd….

Feyrianth titled her head at the little blue her eyes whirling in somewhat calmer shades after his words. Ah. Yours is doing chores then. The green gave a knowing nod and traced her muzzle lightly along the hatchling’s back. She briefly checked in with hers and gave a soft croon. It is okay. It is hard at first to be away from yours when they go to the chores. Soon you will find however that you will enjoy sunning or playing while yours works. Erilenamine is doing chores with yours so I can play with you if you would like? The four winged dragon flopped down on the grass next to the blue and reached over to give his small head a light nuzzle. Liked littles she did. All kinds of littles.

I am Feyrianth. It is very nice to meet you Lady Madhavath. The green said with genuine cheer before spreading her wings out for the small blue to get a better look. Four leaf clover? I am not sure what one of those is but my friends like to compare me to a flutterby. I like flutterbys they are very graceful. Have you ever seen a flutterby? Keep the little one entertained and it would not be upset. Simple logic.

[neeuqtar]

"Oh, um. It's okay?" 'Reine stammered back. He wasn't usually uncomfortable in situations like this, but then again... he'd never had reason to before. But he was in a very different position than he had been before, and with the added spectre of his whip-scars -- scars he hadn't had before half a Turn ago -- 'Reine had no idea how to behave. He kept himself from grabbing his shirt anyway as the girl expressed that she didn't mind it. Would it be rude to put his clothing back on, as if he didn't want her to look at him? His instincts screamed that it would be, but his instinct was mostly good for being a good sex slave, not a good weyrling. What had Madhavath even seen in him to make him a dragonrider??

"I don't seem to get along with them, either," the blueweyrling confessed, glad for a change of subject but still feeling as though eyes were fixated on his scars as he turned and resumed forking hay down from the loft. "I've never really seen runners before. I lived all my life in Bitra Hold or on the trading-ship Valiant." Sweat trickled down his back as he kept working in the steamy loft. He just wanted to get his chores done and get this over with so that he could go jump in the river or something. 'Reine had never dealt with heat like this before. He didn't like it at all.

Madhavath's eyes lost the tinge of worry as Feyrianth kept talking. She was a very pretty green, she was, and very nice. Madhavath liked her, and the way that she was so nice to a lady blue like herself. I do not know all that much about playing, the blue admitted, sitting back to regard Feyrianth's four wings. But I do think flutterbys are VERY pretty! They dance Oh so preeettty~ Madhavath's voice took on a sing-song quality again, as the blue got up and pranced, wings flaring out as the dragon attempted to imitate the delicate motions of the insects. They sit on flowers! But I bet that if you sat on a flower, it would not hold you up, the blue finished, very seriously.