Avu
Weyrleader Ce'thian Rider A'emi Handler Sena Harper Matteo Weyrbrat Riaren
Posts: 2,439
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Post by Avu on May 29, 2009 17:37:03 GMT -5
Lust? Oh, yes – most of the Healers were acquainted with Lust, whether or not they liked it. Meira wrinkled her nose at the mention of the Salamandyr, smiling sympathetically at Stumpy’s reaction. She almost reached out to stroke him reassuringly, but Zesa got there first – unsurprising, considering the blue had been edging towards the gold. The firelizard queen crooned quietly, turning her head to rub her muzzle on the blue’s back, her tongue flicking out to touch Stumpy’s side lightly. Mean Salamandyr, that one; she didn’t like him either; they could keep each other safe from him, yes? The gold nuzzled Stumpy once more on the shoulder, turning entirely around so that she could reach him more easily, before she glanced up at R’wign and Meira, peeping quietly at both of them in the same breath. Technically, Stumpy was older than she was, and she was very much aware of that; since she’d Hatched, the only firelizard Hatchings had been her clutches – until the Caravan – and she recognized every one of her babies, and anyway, hadn’t R’wign just said so? But he was sweet, and he seemed to be scared of Lust, so she would adopt him whenever Lust was near, she would, and if she couldn’t be there, then R’wign would.
Zesa’s peep drew a smile from Meira that was intended both for R’wign’s comments and her firelizard; the wherhandler tilted her head slightly at the firelizards. Gold and blue. Funny that Zesa was so fond of browns and blues – see Jabari, and Hazard to a lesser extent, Meisk, and now Stumpy, for further references – but it was cute, anyway, and that wasn’t to say she didn’t like bronzes as well – she did like them, especially her own offspring, which numbered two: Brass and Hero. The wherhandler didn’t comment as R’wign reached out towards Zesa; the queen twisted her head away from Stumpy to rub her head lightly against the brownrider’s hand, crooning in slight approval. She was not a vain creature, but Meira wouldn’t have been surprised if R’wign managed to make her literally start preening someday; Meira doted on her, too, but R’wign, apparently, was different because he wasn’t Hers.
Meira was watching Zesa – and, thereby, R’wign’s hand – as he spoke; she wasn’t too good at comforting losses when people spoke so matter-of-factly about them, but…Checkoth – learning dragonhealing – it was worth it, wasn’t it? …kind of…? “Well…I’m sorry they died, but I’m glad for you Impressing Checkoth…” And learning dragonhealing, which was…probably very handy right now, considering Kalierre was pretty much out for the count. The wherhandler’s stomach tightened at the thought of the greenrider Dragonhealer, and she forcibly ejected the thoughts from her mind. Gather. She didn’t want to make herself throw up because of what had happened to Kalierre – not now. Reaching out to run her hand down Zesa’s back, the wherhandler shrugged, and added quietly, “I never – really figured out – do you know why firelizards aren’t allowed at Hatchings…? Or is it just…the queens?” It wasn’t like the firelizards would hurt the hatchlings, after all, and if Zesa would (rather petulantly, but still) allow Salamandyrs near her eggs…
“It’s not anything you’ve done,” the wherhandler protested – she looked up at him then, blinking in surprise. It really wasn’t R’wign; she just didn’t like being bothersome to anybody. Even if she wasn’t yet, Meira didn’t want to become bothersome – she’d much rather be a wallflower anyway; it was easier and safer, and she didn’t feel lonely because she had Zesa and Meisk with her, and the Night Watch practices, too. Her smile was slightly dismayed and embarrassed as the brownrider went on, and she shook her head slightly as he spoke. “Thanks for the warning, but…” But – it probably wouldn’t work, now that he’d told her. Not that she wouldn’t blush; Meira knew she would, but – that didn’t mean she’d talk. She didn’t talk, usually. Biting her lower lip thoughtfully, the wherhandler shook her head, leaving her sentence unfinished. She didn’t talk a lot – around anybody. Meisk and Zesa were the exceptions to that, but that was to be expected. “No thanks,” she added, and then shrugged, slightly amused. “There is a pie-eating contest planned, you know…couldn’t you have waited and just…gotten to eat all the pies for free…?”
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Post by glamourie on May 30, 2009 4:42:35 GMT -5
Zesa’s attention comforted Stumpy and the blue fire lizard curled against her, chirping quietly in pleasure. His eyes whirled happy shades. She would keep him safe, she would. She was a good queen, like Ellie, but Ellie was very busy because she was going to be having babies soon (so he thought, hadn’t she Flown recently?) so she couldn’t keep him safe. Oh, but he would have to keep her safe too? He could do that. He was very good at being brave where pretty queens were concerned. Millieth was a pretty queen and so was Zesa. He could stand up to the scary bronze worm if they wanted him to, yes he could. For Zesa he would be happy to do anything she asked, yes, he would do anything -- even confront his fears and stand up to the mean one who ate his tail once upon a time. His eyes whirled vividly at the thought, but he puffed up and stuck out his chest as best he could in a show of completely faked confidence. His little wings flared slightly. Despite being tiny, he had no problem showing off from time to time, and if it meant he would be thought better of by a queen, Stumpy was all too willing to give it his best shot. Never mind that were Roxie awake and paying him any mind she would have been furious (the green did not relish the idea of sharing her mate; she barely tolerated his fixation on Millieth). Zesa’s attention and thoughts of him were all that mattered! He could be brave… for her!
The little blue did not notice (or rather, it didn’t phase him one little bit) when Zesa turned to rub on R’wign’s hand. The brown weyrlingrider gently ran his finger down the queen’s back, his touch meant to be gentle; he was good at judging just how much pressure to put with fire lizards, since he had enough of his own to make an entire clutch. Complete with full color set at last! Ironic really…
“I’ll always miss them, but -- life goes on, and I think Li would be annoyed at me if I sulked or something.” The bronze was always very fond of trying to keep R’wign content, after all. He’d been such a sweet creature… if on the arrogant side; the typical fire lizard gossiping was viewed as simply beneath Li after all. Raising an eyebrow, R’wign considered Meira’s next question before biting his tongue. He wasn’t sure how to answer that without risking upsetting Zesa, but… not answering would have been rude, and anyway Meira deserved to know. “M’ta brought Jabari onto the Sands once. Aslath almost killed him, she was so furious. Jabari, not M’ta. I don’t remember if she threw a fit at M’ta as well or not -- I tried to avoid Aslath as much as I could. She… literally threw me off her Sands at her first clutch’s touching. Deemed me not good enough for any of her babies.” His head cocked to the side and he glanced vaguely in the direction of Checkoth. “Personally I’m grateful; I’m happy with Check, and he’s definitely not one of her offspring. If the choice is him or Calistoth, I’ll always pick Check. Always.” R’wign turned back and propped his elbow up on the table. “I think it’s just that most of the dragon queens find fire lizards bothersome. Millieth’s not too bad, and according to Ka’rys, Hepaticath is very tolerant. I think Aslath may have just set a bad precedent, but asking the queen rider is really the best way to go about things. Me, I just made all mine stay. I didn’t want them to risk Aslath’s temper, she was so moody, and since I kept them off for her, I figured the least I could do was offer Millieth the same courtesy.”
He really hadn’t liked Aslath at all. If she was the only queen at Selenitas, R’wign would never have stood again. He only stood for her first clutch because S’rei made him and the second one because he knew he wouldn’t Impress - knew, instinctively. Checkoth was better than any dragon that Aslath had ever clutched in his opinion, which made Millieth a far superior queen in the brown weyrlingrider’s eyes. Of course, he was arrogant: Checkoth looked to him and could really do very little wrong as far as he was concerned. How many browns hatched with such a sweet demeanor as his? How many dragons, at that? Check was special - spectacular, really - and no other dragon could compare. Plain and simple.
The mention of a pie eating contest drew him out of his reverie and R’wign huffed haughtily. “Like I would be bribed so easily, or allow my superior skills to be bought by mere ‘free pies’!” he replied, sniffing. Then, almost as an after thought, “I found out about that after I ate the first batch. Truthfully, I’m not sure I could eat enough to win a contest anyway, especially not after how many I’ve already had. Plus I’m trying to cut back.” Clicking his tongue, R’wign leaned forward and raised both of his eyebrows. “One day I’m going to find a way to make you talk. I like it when you talk. You’re obviously intelligent. This quiet, meek thing…? Yeah, it just makes me more inclined to follow you around and be annoying. You’re better off just indulging me and pretending to make conversation. Maybe one day you’ll even grow to like talking to me. I think I’m quite interesting.”
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Avu
Weyrleader Ce'thian Rider A'emi Handler Sena Harper Matteo Weyrbrat Riaren
Posts: 2,439
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Post by Avu on May 30, 2009 12:45:44 GMT -5
Stumpy, Zesa decided, was a very nice blue; he and Meisk were the nicest she knew of. Her babies were very nice, too, but she was automatically biased towards them, so they didn’t really count – and, anyway, she liked Stumpy and Meisk more. Could she have two pet blues? She only had one brown – Jabari – and she was very, very fond of the brown in question – the gold had been highly and very obviously agitated when he’d been injured during the Siege, and she’d spent much of her time in the Infirmary curled carefully near Jabari trying not to hurt him. Zesa hadn’t ever considered having more than one blue, though; Meisk was her blue and Jabari her brown – and she – didn’t really have a bronze. She liked Storm well enough, but he wasn’t hers. It would bear thinking on, that. Crooning at Stumpy, Zesa nuzzled him again, amused and pleased by the blue’s puffing up. He was sweet, he was; too bad Meisk might be upset if she had another blue. The wher was…rather possessive, especially of Meira, but that possessiveness was extended to Zesa as well. Never mind, though; she’d still make sure the bronze didn’t hurt him; he was nice, was Stumpy – and Lust was mean; he’d deserve it.
Meira was still watching Zesa – the queen seemed more focused on Stumpy than R’wign, though the latter received a pleasant hum as he continued to stroke her – when R’wign spoke; the brownrider’s answer to her question made the wherhandler’s eyes widen slightly. Aslath had been…very upset when Zesa had come onto the Sands as well, but to be fair, she’d forgotten because of the severity of Pasine’s injuries at the time, and there had been so many Candidates hurt – and it had been a very short rage. The gold’s hum became a slightly distressed chirp at the thought of Jabari being hurt; her eyes whirled rapidly in her agitation as she flapped both wings nervously; she hadn’t liked Aslath at all – and what R’wign was saying only made it worse; clearly she was mean. Meira reached out, silently applying slight pressure to the queen’s wings to make her close them before she accidentally hit Stumpy or R’wign – she was careful, but just in case – before she shrugged weakly.
“Checkoth is sweet,” the wherhandler agreed, instinctively following R’wign’s gesture in the brown’s direction, though he wasn’t visible from their table. Well – some firelizards were bothersome, she supposed; it just depended on the flit – but anyway, the first time Zesa had ever been on the Sands was also the last; the gold wasn’t stupid, after all – she’d remember next time, she would, and Meira didn’t plan on going back to the Hatching Sands anyway; typically Hatchings were during the day and she was, therefore, not awake for them. She didn’t know any of the Candidates to cheer for them, in any case. “Hmm,” she observed absently. “Well – I don’t want to bother the Weyrwomen about it – and anyway, your explanation’s good enough for me.” She smiled slightly, gaze flickering briefly up to R’wign’s face again before she dropped her hand from Zesa’s wings; the gold had calmed at her touch, though there was still a slight tinge of distress in her gaze.
The brownrider’s…haughtiness…at the mention of a pie-eating contest made Meira’s smile widen slightly, more amused. Maybe it was just her, since she’d hardly any marks – none, now, since she’d had to pay for Crash’s egg – but why not a pie-eating contest? She crinkled her nose slightly; he didn’t have to win to have eaten the pies, did he? – wait, what? Cut back? Meira glanced at the pie tins and uneaten pies on the table, and then back up at R’wign, amusement clear in her eyes now. “You’re…cutting back,” she echoed, the disbelief clear. If this was cutting back – hmm. On the upside, at least they weren’t the full-sized pies, but so many little pies…
His determination to make her talk, however, merely had Meira biting her lip, turning her face away to hide the embarrassed smile. She wasn’t used to having attention focused on her – she didn’t particularly like it, most of the time. The wherhandler shook her head slightly before she glanced back at R’wign, slightly curious; why exactly did he want her to talk? There were lots of people who liked to talk; she didn’t. “You are interesting – I’d rather listen than talk,” she protested, half-smiling despite herself. Interesting enough; she wasn’t. Meira didn’t feel the need to talk, most of the time, and she didn’t want to ramble about…nothing; it made her feel ridiculous – and she didn’t want to bore anyone. Especially if they wanted to talk. She was willing to bet that R’wign could talk enough for both of them anyway.
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Post by glamourie on May 31, 2009 3:29:12 GMT -5
Practically writhing in delight (he did so adore being acknowledged; given how many flitters looked to R’wign, he was hardly the ‘center’ of attention though he never was ignored), Stumpy trilled so hard his whole body vibrated. Not that there was much to him aside from a very, very long tail, but still! So excited was he that the blue fire lizard actually tumbled over onto his side, causing enough noise that Hazard finally vacated the bowl to look at him inquisitively. Stumpy did not notice his ‘brother’ watching him though, instead chittering quietly to himself and squirming in joy. He didn’t bother climbing back to a proper sitting position, either, since he would surely just fall over again. Oh, oh, oh. The pretty queen liked him, she did, it was so exciting. Surely this merited telling Roxie all about it later on - she’d never believe him, she thought that she was the only female who ever deemed him worth noticing. Silly Roxie, well he’d show her, he would. She’d have to face the facts: he was obviously special if a pretty, pretty gold thought him worth noticing, yes sir.
Hopping off the edge of the bowl, Hazard made his way over to R’wign and looked up patiently. The brown weyrlingrider turned his focus away from Zesa long enough to retrieve his handkerchief and clean Hazard up, all while the brown neatly sat, with the patience of a saint. Once he was through, Hazard chirped quietly to Ellie and then bounded over to look at Stumpy and Zesa. Curious, he cocked his head to the side and gave a soft flute, obviously asking what they were doing and why Stumpy was rolling around on the table top. Didn’t he know that fire lizards didn’t need to roll about that way? Hadn’t they set a more proper example? So confusing, Stumpy could be. Hazard folded his wings and leaned over so sniff curiously at the blue, and his nervousness showed in the whirl of his eyes. What in the world was he doing…? Hopefully not annoying Zesa…?
R’wign’s gaze followed Hazard and then moved to Zesa as her posture became distinctly agitated. Perceptive, he was, and he noticed it immediately. “Don’t you worry,” he reassured her, speaking not to Meira but her flit, “I’m fairly certain M’ta let Aslath have quite the earful for daring to upset Jabari so, and she’ll never scare him again, you’ll see.” He had noticed the gold’s fondness for the brown; hard to miss considering he was technically Jabari’s ‘physician’ (a comical thought; he’d never imagined treating fire lizards, but he wouldn’t have trusted anyone else to care for M’ta’s beloved pet). “He’s almost healed up, just so you know. He’ll be flying again in no time, my promises.” He didn’t know whether or not she was aware that he was the one who mostly-treated Jabari or not, but if there was any doubt, it would be clarified by his words. Meira’s movements made him turn his gaze back to her, however, and he was effectively distracted from the gold… though, probably for the better, since most of his fire lizards were calming down. Not that Ellie ever wasn’t calm.
“What is your fixation with bothering people? First you thought you’re bothering me, now you think you’d be bothering Kaegan or Savitri. You work with Savitri sometimes, and I’m sure she wouldn’t mind answering your questions if you had any, and Kaegan - I can tell you from personal experience, she’s all too happy to help. You worry way too much.” R’wign shook his head, slinging a few black curls down over his face in the process. One dangled down over the eye patch, almost entirely hiding it from view. “And yes, this is me cutting back. There’s only eight there. I can eat that many of the full-sized ones if I try. I’ve done it before. Of course, they kind of have to be fresh and different flavors or it starts to become bland, but I have done it, and I’ll have you know, eight small ones is less than some of these hold brats eat. Make me sound like a glutton, you do. Pfft!”
Actually, where pie was concerned, he was a glutton. Ignoring that fact, R’wign scratched his ear and crinkled his nose slightly. “You are interesting too. I’d like to know more about you. So far all I know is that you’re extremely shy, you Impressed a blue wher, my brown dragon would very much like to lick him, you Impressed Zesa and she’s dazzling -” He paused for a moment to flash the queen a grin, very much intending to stroke her vanity, “- and you’re a healer by choice, for reasons that continue to baffle me. I don’t even know where you’re from. Do I have to pin you to this table to make you talk? Also, I need to go to the Glasscrafter stall and I fully intend to haul you with me, just so there’s no misunderstandings. You’re not escaping me so easily.” Not entirely truthful. He also knew what she looked like naked. But uh… he doubted Meira would like being reminded of that and anyway, R’wign was actually enjoying the conversation… one-sided though it was. He was determined to pry her open and get answers. He was a man with a mission!
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Avu
Weyrleader Ce'thian Rider A'emi Handler Sena Harper Matteo Weyrbrat Riaren
Posts: 2,439
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Post by Avu on May 31, 2009 16:09:42 GMT -5
Zesa was very obviously amused by Stumpy now; the gold crooned at the small blue, her own tail flicking animatedly, though it was only the very tip of the appendage, tapping against the table. The tiny queen’s chirrups were quiet as she leaned over to nudge Stumpy curiously, her muzzle resting briefly along the smaller firelizard’s side, the vibrations created by his trilling rippling along his hide and touching Zesa’s muzzle; she flicked her tail again, eyes whirling in rapid amusement – and then Stumpy toppled over, leaving Zesa to stare at him in curious surprise. What was he doing – ? Sprawling over the table because of sheer joy was not an effect the gold usually had on people – and she hadn’t thought to try for it, either; Stumpy’s excitement was clearly baffling. She was just – she wasn’t like – like a dragon or anything. Sweet that Stumpy seemed so delighted, though; Zesa leaned over to nuzzle the blue again, slightly absently, but still pleased.
Hazard’s approach made the gold straighten up, dipping her head in a polite mimic of what humans did sometimes. The brown was still recognized as her hatchling – one of the nicest ones; he was quiet as far as Zesa knew, and the gold didn’t usually approve of loud, unnecessary noises – but he was all grown up, and she’d refrain from treating him like a hatchling. The brown’s flute was answered with a high, slightly nervous trill from the gold, and Zesa dropped her head to nuzzle Stumpy again to make it clear that he wasn’t bothering her in the least; she liked the blue, she did – and then Zesa slid into a Sphinx-like position again, forelegs straight before her, flat on her stomach, though her tail stayed curled around her haunches, the tip still moving in slight agitation; heeeerrrrr Jabari…?
She knew he was getting better, did Zesa, since she remembered that when he’d first been brought in, he’d been all but unconscious, and going from unconscious to conscious was always good – or at least, from what Zesa could tell, it was – and while she’d been frantic at the beginning because she couldn’t curl up around him for fear of hurting him, it’d gotten better now. Storm hadn’t been hurt, as far as Zesa knew; she’d never seen him in the Infirmary, but, ironically enough, it was Jabari who would have taken most of her attention anyway; she was very, very fond of the brown. The gold’s tail stopped flicking abruptly, and she crooned at R’wign; if she hadn’t wanted to stay near Stumpy (she’d promised to protect him, she had), it was clear that the gold would have physically nuzzled R’wign in a further display of her gratitude – good brownrider-Healer-firelizard-and-pie man.
“I don’t – ” Meira protested automatically, and then bit her tongue. “I mean – they’re busy. And it’s not…I don’t need to know…” She squirmed, shaking her head again. “They’ve probably got better things to do anyway,” she added, crinkling her nose slightly; if there was a goldrider who was not Senior or Junior Weyrwoman, she might have asked if they’d ever met (by accident; Meira didn’t like to try to stalk down ranking people just for a question asked for pure curiosity), but since there were only two goldriders to begin with – well, she didn’t want to bother them; it really wasn’t all that important. Even if Millieth or Hepaticath gave express permission, in all likelihood Zesa wouldn’t go on the Sands anyway. Meira bit her lip slightly to hide the smile as she glanced down at the pies again. Eight. Eight pies. She liked pies too, but – she didn’t inhale them…glutton? Of course he wasn’t, though! “Sorry,” Meira answered, solemnly glancing up at R’wign. “Umm…aren’t you supposed to be a little more concerned about healthy eating habits, considering…?”
Because pie was just devastatingly healthy, it was.
The wherhandler half-grinned, rolling her eyes self-deprecatingly at the short list. She didn’t like to talk about herself; it felt conceited and self-centered. Zesa crooned again at R’wign, however, the gold firelizard’s pleasant chirrup clearly pleased. Technically, he didn’t have to compliment Zesa for her to like him; he’d taken care of her brown, and that was good enough for Zesa – but, unerringly polite or not, the gold was, indeed, a queen, and she had some sense of vanity – a sense that typically only emerged in making sure she wasn’t dirty. “I came here from the North,” Meira offered evasively, flicking an amused glance at Zesa. Lots of people came from the North, technically – and it probably didn’t help R’wign very much. And then, trying to turn the conversation away from herself, “What’s at the Glasscrafter Stall that you’re looking for? And were you…planning on getting more pies, or…are you – um, we – going right now?”
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Post by glamourie on Jun 1, 2009 0:04:08 GMT -5
Oblivious to the fact that he seemed to have surprised Zesa, Stumpy squirmed around and then looked up at Hazard. His eyes whirled pleasantly in greeting and he rolled over onto his belly, flapping his little wings animatedly. His claws rattled against the top of the table and he squirmed forward before sitting in an awkward, almost uncomfortable position. The entire time, his eyes whirled happy blue shades that left no denying his delight. He was practically uniform in color (except that his body was blue-and-white like the sky) thanks to his joy. She was happy with him! Happy with him! What were the odds of any gold liking him other than his gold? Oh, she was his faaavorite -- after Millieth, of course. He’d have to start bringing pretty Zesa flowers too, like he did with Millieth, because pretty, special queens deserved flowers all the time. Flowers were how he showed he liked them and he never wanted her to ever doubt how much he adored her. Yes yes.
Hazard’s eyes whirled pleasantly to Zesa and then he looked down at Stumpy. His left wing flared out to one side, almost nervously, and he watched the blue roll about in interest. The more excitable Stumpy became, the more amused the whirl in Hazard’s eyes was, until he finally just chirped quietly - his version of laughter. If he wasn’t careful, he’d make Roxie mad, didn’t he know that? But it was funny to watch. Hopping over to perch next to Zesa, Hazard wrapped his tail around his lower legs and straightened up. Just in case he needed to fly off at a moment’s notice. Hispet liked to run off at random and sometimes it was quite a chore to keep up with him. Silly hispet.
It was really tempting to stand up, walk over, pick Meira up and carry her around slung over his shoulder. If not for the fact that strenuous activities like lifting (even though she didn’t weigh a lot, she counted) were bad for him, he probably would have done just that. As it was, he fixed the wherhandler with a very passive stare that said without words what he was thinking: that she was making a mountain out of a mere hill. It was unlikely that any of the gold riders at Selenitas would take offense at someone as polite as Meira asking them a question. In fact, they’d probably be grateful for the show of manners. She was so -- so skittish, and over nothing really. He couldn’t imagine anyone being angry at Meira, though he found her frustrating - but only because she seemed to believe so little of herself. He thought she was fun to be around. Didn’t his opinion matter any?
“Sense of humor, do you have one?” R’wign inquired curiously before scrunching up his nose. “I probably should eat more healthy. Golly gee, mom, you’re not going to ground me are you?”
Okay, maybe that comment wasn’t very nice, but Meira was so… silly sometimes. Yes, he knew he needed to eat healthy foods to heal properly, and most of the time, he did. Pies were his one guilty pleasure and no amount of injuries were going to rob him of them. Besides. Eight hand pies really was cutting back… for R’wign. And hadn’t she just suggested he participate in the pie eating contest? He might have considered it if he thought gorging himself to the point of being sick would impress her, but -- Meira did not strike him as someone who would find vomiting all that sexy, and frankly, neither did he. Besides, it would make a waste of all the delicious pie. Best to let others test their stomachs out that way, he knew he had the title of pie glutton of Selenitas Weyr. That and he honestly wasn’t hungry anymore. Contrary to popular belief, his stomach was not a black hole, more’s the pity.
So unhelpful an answer, Meira’s was, too. R’wign snorted, dusted himself off, and then glanced at his fire lizards. Carefully, he scooped Collision up and turned to place him inside the black leather bag he’d brought with him. He was followed quickly by Crash and Roxie, both of whom were sound asleep. Ellie resumed her spot on his shoulder, while Stumpy was still busily trying to impress Zesa, with Hazard watching in amusement. Six. Six. Faranth have mercy.
“I’m from the North, too. Nerat, to be more specific,” he said with a lofty shrug before making a vague gesture. “Unless you’re planning on eating something, I think we can get going now that I’ve gorged myself on pie…” As he spoke, he piled the meat from the bowl (what little remained) into his handkerchief and tucked it into one of the smaller pockets of the bag to feed Crash with later. “As for what I’m looking for, I was hoping to buy a glass eye. The eye patch itches really badly, and isn’t suited for any kind of formal occasion. It looks… well, it makes people uncomfortable and while I normally don’t care about that sort of thing, I’d rather not look completely hideous. You can help me pick out what sort to get. They do custom jobs - this is the stall from Glasscrafthall. I’ve seen their work, it’s impressive. I need to go to the Weaver stall too, I want to pick up some things. You should come shopping with me -- unless you have something more important to be doing, or someone else you’d like to be seen with, but you did say you don’t have a date…”
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Avu
Weyrleader Ce'thian Rider A'emi Handler Sena Harper Matteo Weyrbrat Riaren
Posts: 2,439
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Post by Avu on Jun 1, 2009 14:32:29 GMT -5
Still rolling around, he was; Zesa flipped her tail, the tip moving animatedly across the table – the gold had an almost feline-like habit of moving her tail almost constantly even when the rest of her body was still – as she lowered her head curiously to watch Stumpy. He was sitting up now, but the position looked rather awkward – Zesa nudged Stumpy’s shoulder lightly, almost trying to guide him into a more natural sitting position on the tabletop. Silly, silly – wasn’t it uncomfortable to sit like that – see, this was better, wasn’t it? Offering a distinctly motherly chirrup, Zesa nuzzled the blue firelizard on the neck affectionately; he was sweet, in her opinion – very sweet. Hazard received an affectionately amused flute, too; the gold flipped one wing at the brown in greeting, though Stumpy had most of her attention. Hazard was one of her first babies – Jabari’s baby – that made him special, it did. Crooning quietly, Zesa raised her head to glance back at Hers and R’wign before peeping very softly. Were they going now…?
She couldn’t help avoiding R’wign’s stare, a mixture of habit and self-consciousness; Meira bit her lip slightly, cheeks coloring slightly. On a higher level, she was aware that it was probably nothing for Savitri or Kaegan to answer a quick question, but Meira was also very much aware that the question was idle curiosity, since she’d never actually need to know – she’d never Stand for a dragon Hatching, and unless she was needed on the Sands, she wouldn’t even go. If R’wign had actually said something, she would have said as much – but he’d just looked; what was she supposed to do with a look? The wherhandler didn’t say anything; her gaze was on the table, one finger tracing the pattern of the wood as she bit her lip, and then shook her head slightly in embarrassment. She liked Savitri well enough; they’d talked before, but she’d never go out of her way to find Savitri for such a…an unnecessary question.
The brownrider’s words made Meira bite her tongue, shaking her head again, a small, apologetic smile flickering across her face. Sense of humor? Well, maybe – but usually it was kept inside instead of being openly exposed. Any sarcasm or other teasing comments rarely left her mouth; she preferred to think them than to say them and potentially offend. “…kind of?” She shrugged one shoulder – to attribute any quality to herself, good or bad, was difficult, because it was very nearly impossible to have any one definition for a characteristic. Shy, she knew she was – but Meira didn’t want to proclaim herself as having a sense of humor – or anything else, really. “Sorry,” she added, shrugging again, wrinkling her nose self-deprecatingly; clearly she was indecisive as well…?
Watching R’wign…pack away his flits, as it were, Meira glanced at Zesa as well; she normally let the firelizard ride on her forearm or shoulder – it made her feel better about the gold’s safety, unnecessary though she very well knew it was – but…she supposed she could let the queen stay with Stumpy and Hazard; they’d just end up flying along behind, wouldn’t they? Anyway, Zesa looked very content at the present moment, nuzzling Stumpy as she was; the blue was cute, wasn’t he…? Unlike Collision; did he do anything but sleep? When Meira took a step backwards, however, preparing to move away from the Dining Area, the gold took to wing after a soft trill to both Stumpy and Hazard to circle R’wign and land neatly on Meira’s shoulder, nudging the wherhandler’s cheek with her head affectionately before she settled, tail looping on instinct around Meira’s neck before she glanced at R’wign and Ellie, clearly expectant.
One hand coming up to stroke the queen, Meira nodded slowly at R’wign’s statement. Nerat…she wasn’t sure how…bad in terms of cruelty the Hold was. She didn’t ask; she simply didn’t answer. Pushing the chair that she’d been leaning on forward, completely under the table, the wherhandler shrugged. “I’m not hungry,” she answered quietly, mechanically. Glass eye, though – that caught her attention; Meira tilted her head slightly, considering the eye patch. It wasn’t hideous on R’wign – though she had to admit that it reminded her of the ‘brats who played pirates, or whatever it was. Neglecting to mention that, she nodded her understanding, and added, almost absently, “Doesn’t Selenitas Weyr have a glasscrafter…? And, yes; I don’t have a date, so…I…guess I’m stuck with you.” Which really wasn’t so bad. “Um…which way?”
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Post by glamourie on Jun 6, 2009 22:05:28 GMT -5
Everything Zesa did just encouraged Stumpy more and more. He squirmed about to a proper sitting position and wriggled around in obvious delight, his wings flapping to emphasize his joy. She was such a good queen, not snobbish or mean like some of the others, and she didn’t seem to mind him at all. Were he able, it was entirely possible that Stumpy would have followed Zesa around endlessly. Alas, the blue would almost certainly forget what a friendly gold she was in time (and a relatively short span of that), so it was more likely that he’d fawn over her for the day. For now, she was his favorite, because she was being kind to him, she didn’t seem offended at all that he was fixating on her and … talking to her. Some golds took offense at that, they did, they seemed to find blues inferior or something. He was afraid of big colors because they tended to be very testy with him, having little patience for his antics, but not Zesa, not Zesa~ She was nice. He wanted to keep her…
Hazard, unlike Stumpy, was not quite so excited. He watched the blue in interest for a moment longer before taking to wing and gliding up to R’wign’s shoulder opposite his gold. As he went, he gave a distinct look to Zesa, as if to apologize for moving so abruptly. Polite, but… usually quiet. Except to inquire. Hazard rarely had much to ‘say’ though… sharing his mine-thing with so many others had taught him the virtue of silence, and he was highly favored by R’wign and the large brown because of it. He also slept on the dragon’s eye ridges in a blatant show of affection more often than not. He liked Checkoth as much as Checkoth liked him.
“Sorry?” R’wign inquired with a look toward Meira. Oh, this would not do. Not do at all. “I’m going to make you a deal, Meira… every time you do something subservient, like back off of your points just because I disagree, I’m going to embarrass you. You and I both know I can do it, and I’m not above grabbing you and shoving my tongue down your throat in a very public place just to make you squirm at people staring. This is your warning: Every time you do anything that implies your opinion isn’t valid, worth voicing, or worthy of notice, I’m going to do something like that. I would suggest, given that warning, that you learn to pipe up with your feelings, and stand your ground… because I’m not above licking your cheek or something to make it clear I disapprove. Got it? I don’t like you backing off of your ideas, and I certainly don’t want you backing down from me. Good? Good.”
If he didn’t know any better, he would have guessed that Meira had low self-esteem. She certainly did not seem to value herself and her thoughts… and that was not acceptable. He valued her opinion, he thought she had a right to speak her mind any time she wanted. Maybe threats weren’t the best way to coax a reaction out of her, but R’wign didn’t know what else to do. Continual compliments were likely to make her more uncomfortable than not, or lead the wrong impression, and he was betting that simply acting normal would have Meira doing the same. Something had to be done. He’d convinced Marra to give him a chance, hadn’t he? Convinced her that he was worth while. Maybe he’d be able to coax Meira into believing he was worth trusting, too. Maybe…
Stumpy was puzzled by Zesa’s movement and gave a startled chirrup in response. They were going somewhere? Oh, oh, exciting! Flapping his wings until he actually tumbled backwards, Stumpy squealed. There was no other way to describe the noise he made. Then he flung himself off the end of the table, and onto R’wign’s shirt before scrambling up until he was on the brown weyrlingrider’s head. He nestled there in the black curls, flared his wings and looked around triumphantly for any signs of something amiss. He was Stumpy, and he’d keep an eye out to protect his beloved queen, he would, he would! From his perch on R’wign’s head he could even see everything --- the whole of Pern! (Enthusiastic, much?) The blue gave a happy twitter, then looked down at Ellie and Hazard, both of whom had looked up at him curiously. Fluting, he pointed one wing ahead and puffed out his chest. Forward… march!
“Of course you’re not hungry,” R’wign replied, voice as patient as he could manage considering that he didn’t believe a word of what she was saying. Probably thought she was imposing on him or something odd. He had the distinct impression Meira was very worried about what people thought of her… silly, really; she couldn’t do any wrong in his eyes, short of suddenly trying to harm his fire lizards, and he doubted very seriously she’d do that. Her question made him cock his head and he shrugged. “Likely. I don’t really know. I don’t plan to ask for help from anyone at the Weyr though. I think the stall is this way…?” Starting in the direction of the glass crafter stall, R’wign made sure to look over his right shoulder, just in case his threat had chased Meira off… he didn’t want her bolting on him. Her opinion could be very valuable. “What color eye should I get? They make realistic ones, but my eye color is pretty… well, it’s pretty rare. I’ve never met anyone outside my family who has it-- and what do you mean ‘stuck with me’? I assure you, I’m a very good date. I’ll even dance if you want to, see? Good date.”
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Avu
Weyrleader Ce'thian Rider A'emi Handler Sena Harper Matteo Weyrbrat Riaren
Posts: 2,439
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Post by Avu on Jun 7, 2009 12:48:27 GMT -5
…what was wrong with ‘sorry’? Meira blinked, head tilting to one side in slight nervousness, as R’wign echoed her word – with a decidedly suspicious question mark on the end. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and then widened in surprise at the brownrider’s statements; the wherhandler bit her tongue very hard to keep herself from stammering out a protest; it wouldn’t have been coherent at that moment in time, and she wasn’t really sure what she’d been planning on saying, either – how did you honestly react to being told something like that? Hi, I’m going to embarrass you if you act like you’re used to acting – ? Meira wet her lips; she almost wanted to take a step backwards before she spoke, just in case; having R’wign…as he’d so elegantly put it…shove his tongue down her throat was not high on her list of Things to Do, and she’d rather not have it done. “Well…I understand,” the wherhandler answered slowly – saying nothing was…risky, considering, and Meira didn’t like arguing. And it was true – she did understand. That wasn’t to say she approved, or would stand still to be embarrassed.
Focusing on Stumpy would, hopefully, provide an excuse as to why she hadn’t…expanded on that comment, and anyway, Meira honestly found the blue amusing; Zesa clearly did, too. The gold was watching Stumpy intently even as she curled her tail loosely around Meira’s neck, the queen twittering in amusement at the blue’s squeal; what was he doing that for…? They were going, they were going – but he was squealing, and it was cute that Stumpy was that excited about it. Hers was thinking about glass – to be specific, small round pieces of said material; Zesa wasn’t really sure why R’wign needed one, but that was okay – maybe he was just as excited about it as Stumpy was, and the blue was just…more expressive? Zesa flapped both wings at Stumpy’s perch, crooning at the blue and then snaking to Meira’s other shoulder to turn her head, pointer-like, in the direction that Stumpy was pointing: The blue’s enthusiasm was contagious, it was.
Meira’s gaze slid back to R’wign at the brownweyrling’s statement; she scrunched her mouth to one side slightly, indecisive as to whether R’wign was…politely voicing disbelief or not. Likely as not, he was; Meira repressed the urge to protest that she wasn’t – it would make her feel immature, to begin with, and R’wign hadn’t openly disagreed with her; she’d take what she could get. “Mm,” she offered noncommittally at the idea of a Weyr glasscrafter; she was pretty sure they had one, but she wasn’t really sure – if they did, she’d never met said crafter anyway. R’wign moving made Meira take a step backwards, and then the wherhandler followed him; she didn’t have anything against her present company, and even if she did, she didn’t know how to politely leave anyway.
She half-smiled at the brownrider’s insistence that he was a good date; Meira didn’t plan on dancing, thank you very much – she’d watch, maybe; it was always nice, the music and watching people – but she didn’t dance; dancing required confidence, as far as she knew, especially dancing in front of other people, and Meira wasn’t. “I’m sure you are, but that’s okay anyway,” the wherhandler answered absently, though she was more focused on the idea of a glass eye – an idea which drew curiosity from Zesa; the gold firelizard was amused and confused by the idea of a replacement eye; surely it wouldn’t actually work…? Only real eyes worked…“Won’t you have to get it custom-made?” the wherhandler added, meaning the glass eye; she wasn’t really sure how glass eyes worked, but everyone was unique; didn’t they have to make it…fit? (That sounded extremely blunt, it did…) Meira hesitated, and then shrugged. “I like your eye color.” She did; R’wign’s eyes were…for lack of a better word…pretty. Having his eyes match – even if one was glass – would draw less attention to the fact that one was not real, wouldn’t it?
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Post by glamourie on Jun 8, 2009 2:56:05 GMT -5
Stumpy perched on R’wign’s head and positively preened as the pair moved forward. The blue fire lizard wriggled his delight; he didn’t really understand all the talking going back and forth between His and Zesa’s, but that was okay because His was happy, and a happy His was a good thing indeed. He squirmed in R’wign’s hair and chirruped animatedly, as though commenting on everything that they passed. Quite the comedian, Stumpy could be. Look at that stall and that one and that woman’s dress -- everything they saw, the blue had an opinion on. He wasn’t loud though. In fact, the noises he made were quiet, meant only for their little group. Excited though he was, he didn’t see a reason to broadcast it. The evil one might hear. He didn’t want to accidentally attract the evil one’s attention. That would be most unfortunate indeed… So he was being careful, so that his lovely gold didn’t have to protect him from the evil one, no no. Because he was the male and he needed to protect her. It was only proper, that, and he was a proper blue. He stuck out his chest at that thought.
“I probably will have to get it custom made, but I don’t know-- I don’t know if I want it to look like my old one,” R’wign admitted. Part of him was exceedingly nervous at the idea of… well, he thought he looked horrible. Nothing about his appearance struck him as even slightly appealing anymore, and while he hid it well enough that no one had commented on it to him, he still felt terribly awkward. R’wign didn’t entirely know how to react to the sudden low self-esteem, either. Part of him was just… incapable of dealing with how ugly he thought he looked. Nothing helped. Maybe a glass eye would distract him temporarily. Her comment about liking his eye color made him glance over his shoulder at her, and R’wign smiled slightly. “Yeah… I kind of do too.”
So had the guy who cut the other one out. Which made his eye color distinctly unpleasant to him, and the concept of replacing the lost eye with one that looked similar was alarming. Maybe he’d buy two - one to accommodate Meira, since he did ask her opinion. That seemed fair. After all, it wasn’t her fault that someone had chopped out his eye against his wishes. She had nothing to do with that. It was all Benden. He just…
… thought he looked terrible.
Bowing his head, R’wign wrapped his hands around his bag and started for the glass crafter stall, humming the entire way. Fortunately, he did hum significantly better than he sang, and the walk wasn’t a long one -- maybe he’d be able to find more things he liked when he got there…
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