Clean up (open)

[Kisha-Ra]

It was a nice morning, the sun was warm without being high enough to really beat down yet and a pleasant breeze cooled things off a little. It was wasted on Selenitas Weyr. The midmorning sun illuminated the level of destruction all too well, casting dark splintered shadows everywhere, and the breeze carried with it a scent of burned wood and singed flesh though the fires no longer burned.

Rinagth would rather have been sunning by the river than helping J’on to move and break down the remains of various structures. Or having a bath, yes, a bath would be nice. She could get all this dirt off her pretty hide, and then she could sun. Perfect. There was just one problem; J’on would never abandon his self enforced punishment to wash her. Rinagth paused and twisted her neck to look hopefully at her rider but he was busy trying to haul away a half consumed support beam that was really too heavy for one person out of a pile of wreckage. Rinagth sighed prettily and wrapped her tail around the thing; it was easy enough for her to walk away dragging it to the appropriate pile of organised rubbish.

J’on looked up as a familiar tail tugged his burden out of his hands and out of the way. Why such a great sigh love? He inquired as if he didn’t already know, his green wasn’t happy that he’d volunteered her for clean up duty as well, but as she’d just proved a dragon was a lot more useful than a human in this job.

I’m tired of this, and I’m all dirty. There’s no one left to pull out, everyone’s saying there can’t be, so you could stop for a bit now. I want a bath. Please can we stop for a bit? Please?[/color] Rinagth hadn’t given up hope on the sunning and snoozing but once she got J’on away from his work it would be so much easier to persuade him not to go back for a while longer, and a little longer, and a little longer than that.

No, not yet.

Another sigh from the green and a dispirited droop of her head and overly long wings. You can’t build it again in a little while, or all by yourself.[/color] She pointed out, sensing J’on’s guilt at the destruction of so much of the Weyr and deliberately seeking to manipulate him through it. So you could stop for long enough for a quick bath. You might even work better after a rest.[/color]

I said no. J’on replied stubbornly, carefully not looking at his dragon as she drooped further, as if she no longer had the energy to hold her usual proud stace. If he did he’d give in, he just knew.

Look, he neglects me shockingly.[/color] Rinagth broadcast to the nearest people, not above speaking to other humans if it would get her what she wanted.

‘Rinagth!’

[Lotty]

Had Kasella been Ringath's rider, the chance to abandon work would have been taken up promptly. But he wasn't, and that is just life, so instead the candidate decided to mind his own business and attend to the chores he was handed out, namely cleaning up rubble and debris. It wasn't the worst job ever....in his head that was a title belonging to anything kitchen related...so he couldn't complain about much other than the heat and the monotony of it all. But that dragon over there did a bit to break up the boredom.

He laughed...a little too loudly at the announcement. Sure it might not be appropriate. Sure the dragon might think he was laughing at her, but he could hardly help it. There was something funny about a dragon who felt a little unloved. He wiped the sweat off of his forehead with a rolled up sleeve, ruffling some black hair in the process, and looked over at the green dragon. He took a few casual steps toward her while feigning commiseration, "It's an abusive relationship isn't it?"

[Kisha-Ra]

Rinagth twisted her head around to look at the laughing human, her wings rising a little, ready to take on an offended pose if the male was mocking her. It turned out he wasn’t, or at least not as far as Rinagth could tell, so she let her wings fall again and sighed heavily. Oh yes, he’s very mean to me, and I love him soooo much but he won’t do just one little thing for me.[/color] Rinagth looked back over her shoulder, as if to gauge J’on’s reaction.

J’on blinked in surprise, his dragon wasn’t above playing for a crowd, addressing all and sundry to gain the attention she so badly craved, however it wasn’t usual for her to continue talking after she had everyone’s eye on her. ‘Don’t listen to Rinagth.’ He advised the other lad with a smile. ‘She’s horrible really, make’s my life a living nightmare.’

I do NOT! Rinagth cried, offended and drew herself up into her normal aggressively space filling stance. Don’t you listen to him. Rinagth nodded her head in a human like gesture, agreeing with her own statement.

[Lotty]

Well she was a fun one wasn't she? Oh Kasella had such a way with the ladies, his scathing sharp tongue, and his head in a latrine usually equalled instant charm. Good thing this was a dragon, and not a lonely girl looking for a fixer upper as he was so commonly referred to, it made for the conversation to be so much more casual he thought. Besides, he welcomed the break from piling up charred timbers.

"Oh sweetie..." he began, inwardly chuckling a bit about his unusual vocabulary, "that is just how men are...they just take and take and take what they want from you and never give back..." and Kasella could be guilty of this, but that was hardly important to the matter at hand. There was a troubled green to console and he had time to kill, "I'm sure you deserve better..." He glanced over his shoulder at the weary rider and gave him a sympathetic shrug. He could imagine having another sharing head space with you could be quite the chore, but Kasella couldn't feel too sorry, it beat being alone.

"Don't you worry, I'm totally on your side..." the candidate was no doubt fanning the flames with that one. He had to admit, he needed to spice things up a little bit, cleaning up ruins was a little too quiet of a process, and he couldn't be hurting the relationship between a dragon and rider too much could he? Wouldn't the green just forget talking to him in the morning anyway? Kasella recalled his father's blue and it's lack of memory.

[Kisha-Ra]

J’on sighed inwardly at the other lad, how could someone who was probably several turns J’n’s senior be so… so annoying. Maybe it was just his mannerisms, J’on lacked flair and style himself and it did get annoying when other people had too much of it. Or maybe it was simply that this candidate was the centre of Rinagth’s attention. Was he that jealous? He hoped not.

Rinagth’s eyes flickered for a moment, changing colour rapidly as various thought took her attention, she didn’t miss J’on’s dislike for her new friend, or his uncertainty as to the cause but after a brief moment she decided to ignore his feelings. He wasn’t doing what Rinagth wanted him to do, so she’d play with her new friend a bit, then J’on would be more willing to give her a bath. In a sinuous motion she stretched her neck down to put her head in front of her friend’s hands. Since J’on doesn’t love me anymore maybe a kind friend like you could rub my eyeridges.[/color] The green suggested mildly, turning her head slowly so that her hide glimmered in bursts of yellow.

Behind his dragon J’on rolled his eyes outright at her behaviour. Well two could play that game, if Rinagth thought she could get a reaction that way he’d give her a reaction, just not the one she expected. ‘Yes, perhaps you could entertain my lady for a while.’ J’on flashed a totally meaningless and slightly bitter smile. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t catch your name. I really should know who to ask for when Rinagth starts pining for her friend.’

[Lotty]

He knew the dragon was taking a liking to him; how often was it that dragons conversed so with someone other than a rider ? But this was a little unexpected - the dragon lowering her head to his level and asking so subtly to rub her eyeridges. Which of course Kasella knew might irk the rider a little bit. Which of course meant that he didn't care and would do it anyway. He took a step over and easily laid a hand above the eye and lightly scratched along the ridge, and being extra careful not to rub his new friend's hide the wrong way.

Sensing that unspoken animosity radiating from the rider, he did he best to rectify - but not too much - what trouble he had caused, "Now, now. I'm sure he still loves you, he just...that's just how boys are," well Kasella was really out of things to say. It was so much easier to make someone look like a bad guy, he should really stop opening his mouth unless he had something negative to say. It was obviously his niche.

The candidate missed the eye-roll, but from his speech and his smile, Kasella picked up on what he needed to know. Shrugging again, he just dismissed the rider as being young and quick to jealousy, but even quicker to get over it. He would play this cooly and it should all work out he decided. He looked over at J'on and smirked replying in his plain manner, "My name is Kasella. I take it that you are J'on?" Of course he was.

[Kisha-Ra]

J’on firmly stamped down the jealousy that sprang up when the candidate cautiously rubbed at Rinagth’s eyeridges. He was being silly, he knew his green loved attention, and he also knew that, given a golden opportunity like that as a candidate, he never would have refused, or spared a thought for what the rider felt. Unless she saw him every few days Rinagth would soon forget her new friend as quickly as she’d come to like him anyway. That thought comforted J’on a little.

Rinagth her head happily into the hand on her eyeridge. Not only was her friend helping her in her mission to get J’on’s attention (she noticed he hadn’t returned to cleaning up) but she was getting scratched too. How wonderful indeed! Oh, do you really think he still loves me?[/color] She asked as hopefully as a spurned maiden.

J’on laughed outright at his dragon. ‘Of course I still love you Rinagth.’ He looked at Kasella with a far more normal expression. ‘Never believe her when she says I don’t. She’s vain, flighty, manipulative, and the biggest flirt on the continent but I adore her.’ He patted Rinagth’s thigh absent mindedly. ‘Of course I don’t really have a choice. But you’ll get to find all that out by yourself.’ J’on was forced to believe Kasella would Impress, Rinagth wasn’t a great Search dragon but she wouldn’t bespeak anyone less than suitable.

[Lotty]

He gave the dragon a good pat before J'on interjected with his rightful claims of devotion to her.

"See? No worries," he told the dragon before looking back up J'on. Seeing a much more at ease expression on the rider's face in turn gave Kasella some comfort as well. Ah, see, everything did work out now didn't it? Kasella was beaming on the inside for not instigating trouble for himself, and instead maybe even mending a little situation (that would have probably been fixed had he not been there anyway). Maybe he should become a special mindhealer specializing in relationships. Every Weyr would need one of those, he'd be set for life, now if he could only convince somebody that this was a real job... His idea was cut short though when he was spoken to again.

"Find that out for myself? Ha, I don't know about that," he said it with a surprisingly good natured smile. Faranth knew his standing record was a bit of a sore subject for the candidate. He was convinced he would stand until he was too old, and furthermore he thought that everyone else felt the same.

[Kisha-Ra]

Rinagth blinked, ruffled her wings, and flipped her tail, well pleased by her rider’s declaration that he did love her after all. The green simply ignored all the bad things J’on said about her with that and concentrated on the important bit. She was adored, naturally since she was adorable, and J’on was paying attention to her. Of course she was no closer to that bath…

‘Well yes. You must be the right type of person if Rinagth likes you. My lovely lady wouldn’t bespeak just anyone.’ Unless she wanted something anyway. J’on didn’t add that last though to his words, it would serve no purpose. ‘And she certainly doesn’t let all and sundry rub her eyeridges,’ he added. ‘So you must have a chance at the hatching.’ J’on’s smile was easier now that his attention wasn’t entirely on the mess and he didn’t have to be jealous over his dragon.

Ask him if he wants to help wash me later. People like that, and you could get it done twice as fast if he helped you.[/color] Rinagth prompted her rider, making sure to keep things quiet in case J’on was still feeling surly about the whole business, she was manipulative but she didn’t want to hurt her friend’s feelings.

Are you still on that tired old runner? J’on was more amused than annoyed by his dragon’s scheming now, and more willing to submit when she did have a good point. He might not want to Rina, he’s older than me. It’s not a great treat for everyone to wash dragons.

Well If you won’t ask him I will.[/color] Rinagth gave J’on a look over her shoulder before turning back to Kasella. Will you come and help J’on wash me later? I’m sure it would help a lot, and it would be good practice for when you get your dragon. And it might even get J’on to stop working and come and give me a bath now.[/color] Rinagth cocked her head to one side and fluttered her inner lids up and down since she lacked the lashes to really carry off the gesture she imitated.

[Lotty]

Kasella didn't quite know what to think. At this point in his life, the candidate had given up on the hope that he would ever Impress, actually he had spent the whole day before trying in finagle his way into a craft, to which many a Journeyman and Craftmaster would say, Aren't you too old? Huffing at such a suggestion Kasella would attempt different angles and approaches until he would get a maybe, and that was good enough for him. That was a start, but if he were to Impress, well that would take the cake. Too old...hmmf.

And here was Miss Rinagth herself confirming J'on's suspicions of some sort of worthiness in him. Of course being the goal oriented thing she seemed to be today she tacked it on to the end of more pleas for a bath. Hey and it worked, Kasella's ego was growing a little swollen with all this talk of Impressing and dragons and what not. In the midst of a little fanciful imagining, he found himself saying, "Why not?"

Of course seconds later it hit him. He had agreed to do more work. He was going above and beyond. He was over-achieving. He was suddenly all at once disgusted and confused with himself. When exactly did this transformation into model candidate begin after all?