Search Thread (I'm horrible with titles >.>)

[Sebz]

Keavon lounged at the edge of the dock, sitting comfortably, rope in hand. Methodically, he twisted the twine and manipulated it until it made the knot he wanted. Bowline, Reef Knot, and back to Bowline. It was something he did when preoccupied, it gave his hands something to do.

Well, they'd done it. His parents had dropped a bomb today. He wasn't usually one to be petty, but this just wasn't fair. His oldest sister was to marry a tanner who lived in a secluded hold to the east, and he had only just learned of it. She was to be married off in less than two month. Two Months! And then, he most likely would not see her again.

Keavon sighed and pushed himself off from the wooden pier, and stripped down to his boxers, and placed his garments and rope in a pile before diving into the salty water. Once submerged, he let out a strangled yell that took the form of bubbles that he watched rise to the surface in frustration. Though it might bother some, the salty water did not irritate his eyes. Keavon had gotten used to it during the years of training to be a fisherman.

His mind in a daze, he kicked up to the surface, taking in a deep breath of air. He felt like everything was going wrong. Besides the fact that he was about to lose his sister to some unknown man, his father had just revealed to him that within the year, he would be taking over the Melinda, his fathers favorite ship. As far as Keavon was conserned, that was his fathers way of saying that it was time for him to accept his future in fishing. The boy brushed his sopping hair out of his eyes, and cast a glance at the fine vessel that was floating in the peaceful harbor. That was the destiny that his parents had chosen for him. To live a life of fish and salt.

The boy dove down once more, before surfacing and climbing back onto the pier. Grabbing his shirt, he toweled off his hair and pulled his worn pants back on. Turning to leave, he went to pick up his rope, but it had dissapeared. Perplexed, he turned and looked out into the water, but his rope was gone.

Why was everything going wrong today?

[Ruby]

Well, Blossom had proved useful earlier that day, so M'kai had dropped Cailan off at the Weyr and come back for a second pass. He wasn't even really supposed to be on search, except that every Burimyu rider outside the Weyr these days was on search always. With Jingth going up any day now, they'd need to step up their candidate collecting abilities - it wasn't like they could just waltz in and have the pick of the Holds, not without alerting Selenitas to their presence. It had to be done on the sly. Runaways and orphans were best, or those disgruntled enough that they didn't feel many ties to their home hold. They'd already picked up some of those, but not enough. There was never enough of anything at Burimyu.

So a lone boy caught his eye... and the water caught Futh's. The dragon hadn't been swimming in forever, and he loved water. It made him feel light and agile, not big and chunky like he did in the air and on the ground. M'kaiMineLove....?[/i] the dragon suggested, and his rider knew what he meant. Alright, fine. You can have a quick dip, I'll talk to this kid. He looks about the right size, yeah?

Futh responded in the affirmative, landing on the shore quite close to Keavon. In case the boy was looking his way, M'kai tossed him a casual wave - everything was alright, hang on a second - before sliding off Futh's shoulder. It was the work of moments to remove the riding straps, and M'kai looped them around his shoulder in a practiced motion as the sky-blue dragon plunged into the water, making enormous waves. M'kai laughed and shook his head as the dragon cavorted in the shallows, as if he were a hatchling again. Cute.

Once the straps were taken care of, M'kai strolled in Keavon's direction, Kami coming in to land on his shoulder. She liked going flying with him and Futh, but sometimes she fell behind - of course her wings were much smaller than a dragon's. The little razorclaw was tired, slumping against his neck, although she still looked fairly intimidating. "Hey," he called once he was within reasonable hearing range, "You from around here?"

[Sebz]

He had been turning to leave, but Keavon stopped when he saw a dragon quickly flying over the harbor. At least he assumed it was a dragon, he had never seen one up close before. But then again, what else could it be? Keavon put his hand up to block the dying sun's rays, expecting to watch the dragon and rider fly on, but was thrown for a surprise when the large creature landed on the shore.

What was a dragon doing here, Keavon wondered as he stared, not bothering to hide his surprise. And was the rider... waving at him? Keavon cocked his head to the side, brows furrowed as the blue dragon took a mightily leap and splashed playfully into the harbor water, sending waves out in all directions, some smashing against the side of the dock sending spray up into the air.

Keavon was effectively soaked once again.

But he didn't mind in the slightest. Once he was sure that his family's boats were undamaged by the barrage, he was to awed by his good fortune of seeing a dragon, a playful one at that. From what he had heard, Keavon had painted a mental picture of regal creatures, ridden my stanch men, who didn't have time for nonsense.

And yet here was a dragon who was enjoying wetting his hide and playing.

Forcing himself to tear his gaze away from the dragon, he realized that the dragonrider was closing the distance quickly- a flit riding on his shoulder. Keavon walked forward slowly and rather tentatively. Not because he was scared, but because he was cautious. He had heard of the Wasteland takeover, and he couldn't be certain that- though the blue seemed relaxed enough- the rider wasn't looking for trouble.

“Yes, I am ,” He said, relaxing his slightly tensed muscles. “My names Keavon. Is there anything I can help you with sir?” Glancing back at the harbor where the dragon was still wallowing, he added, “Tell your dragon to be careful, if a boat capsizes it takes hours to right and even longer to fix the damage.” Keavon knew better than to tell a dragonrider what to do, but he didn't see a reason to apologize for his rashness. He was being reasonable after all.

[Ruby]

Dropping the heavy straps onto the dock, M'kai offered the boy a hand. "Keavon? Nice to meet you. I'm M'kai, that's Futh. And he'll be careful; I know he looks like an oaf, but honestly he wouldn't hurt a fly unless he had to." Yes, dragons were dangerous, even the gentler type like his Blue. It was true, even though Futh currently looked anything but dangerous - now that he'd gotten in the water, he wasn't splashing anymore. Instead, he was floating on his back, drifting slowly into deeper water. The picture of comfort.

M'kai, however, was more interested in Keavon, although he couldn't help but correct the boy's manners. "It doesn't hurt to add a 'please' when talking to Riders, either. I'm not a stickler for manners, but some of them would backhand out for being presumptuous. Just a warning," he added with an easy smile to take the sting out. It was true, and even though Keavon seemed to be a level-headed young man, a warning couldn't hurt if he planned on spending any time near the more prickly riders. Any Weyr had it's difficult Riders, and in a population as small and restricted as Burimyu, it was harder to avoid them. Unfortunately.

Crossing his arms, M'kai moved on, not wanting to dwell on stupid courtesys. "There is something you can help me with, actually. I'm a rider out on Search. Our Gold should be rising any day now, and we need well-trained Candidates to stand for her clutch when it hatches; Futh thinks you might be a good fit. We're not Selenitas, but I can't tell you much more than that until you agree to come. I can tell you you won't be able to contact or visit your family for oh, two turns or so after I take you, so if you need time to think about it and talk it over with them, take it."

Shifting his weight, M'kai glanced back over Keavon's shoulder, watching Futh doing slow rolls in the middle of the harbor. "Interested?"

[Sebz]

(FAIL Post, my muse hates me! Is candidateship even a word? Sorry Ruby!)

Keavon took the blueriders hand and nodded in greeting, giving his customary firm handshake in return. “Much thanks bluerider M'kai” he said rather quietly. “And you to Futh,” he called to the wading dragon, grinning inwardly. His day sure had turned around.

The lad took the admonishment in stride, pursing his lips. After all, perhaps he had been in the wrong. “I am sorry, I forgot myself, it won't happen again.” Keavon listened to the bluerider, storing the information in the back of his head. Riders liked manners. No manners could equal trouble.

No Problem.

This M'kai seemed like an alright guy, Keavon mused, not the stickler he assumed all riders must be. And Futh's wallowing had absolutely shattered his self-created perceptions of riders and dragons alike.

His train of thought was instantly diverted when his eyes focused on the riding straps that M'kai had lain down. “Did you make these yourself?” Keavon asked curiously, studying the intricate knots. He reached out but pulled his hand back instantly, remembering what M'kai had said about manners. Looking at the rider incredulously, he asked, “May I see them?”

But then, the bluerider said something that made Keavon jerk up and square his shoulder.s Searchrider... but not from Selenitas. Then who...?

But it didn't really matter. When M'kai asked if he was interested, he paused only for a second to think of his family. No, he would not worry about them. His father was not so old he couldn't man the ships himself, and Keavon , at least in his opinion, was not contributing to the family.

They didn't even think highly enough to include him on discussions of his siblings futures.

“If you're...” Keavon began slowly, gathering his thoughts. This was a shock to him, to have to search for what he was trying to say, he was never caught off guard.

Taking a breath he started over.

“Searchrider M'kai, if you are offering me a candidate-ship and your Futh approves, how could I refuse?”

[Ruby]

Well, as it turned out, Keavon accepted the correction gracefully. Good, he thought - that was something quite a few of his motley crew could do with learning, if he did say so himself. More points in Keavon's favor.

And as if he didn't have enough already, the kid immediately took a interest in Futh's straps. "If you do come, you'll be bored of those within a week," M'kai assured the Holdboy. "I did make them myself, and it took me... three turns to get them looking that nice? The first few sets looked more like a ball of yarn a feline got into than anything. You're welcome to take a look, just try not to tangle them. They're a bitch to get undone again," he added. Futh, eavesdropping mentally, let out a snort at that, immediately breathing in water and nearly choking.

As the Blue flailed and tried to cough up water, M'kai ignored him. What he'd offered finally seemed to have penetrated, and Keavon understood. Futh? he called, when he spotted the shocked-but-hopeful look that could only mean one thing. Better get out of the water, looks like we've got a live one. Wouldn't do for you to be damp on his first dragonride. It seemed M'kai was right, as Keavon stammered out an acceptance.

"Candidacy, I think you mean, and we'll be riding Futh, no ships involved," M'kai said with a grin and a wink. "Regardless, there's plenty of ways to refuse, 'no' being chief among them," the bluerider added, slightly more serious this time. "Honestly, it's a big choice. Two turns, minimum - you could come out of that with a baby dragon and be tied to the Weyr forever, or you could stand the rest of your life and never impress. Either way, you're giving up whatever it is you have here," he said, gesturing out towards the ships and docks. "Candidacy isn't easy; lots of chores, usually the nastiest, not to mention the Candidatemaster is a slavedriver, or so I hear," he said, proudly sporting the white cord that named him as said candidatemaster. "I just want to make sure you know what you're getting in to," he added, dead serious this time. He'd never had a choice; he was born for dragons. Keavon? Maybe he wasn't. Only the kid himself would know the answer to that.

[Sebz]

Keavon's hands were on the braided safety straps as soon as M'kai gave him the ok. “Three years?” He asked furtively, examining the craftman ship with interest. The riding braids were sturdy enough so the rider would be secured saftly, and thick enough so that in case of emergency the rider would break his neck as the straps were pulled taught. “There very well made,” he complimented, lips upturning when the bluerider proceeded to explain precisely how hard it would be to untangle. After a few seconds, Keavon neatly laid the straps back onto the dock.

Riding dragon back? Keavon had to use all his self control not the blanch in astonishment. Instead he kept his expression neutral entertaining the idea of never stepping on the deck of a retched ship again.

And that thought pleased Keavon to no end.

“Thank you for your concern blueri- Candidate Master,” he corrected, enjoying the fact that the rider could poke fun at himself, “but if I had meant to refuse, I would have done so already.” He glanced at the rider, lowering his head apologetically in case he had overstepped his boundaries again. Keavon was not a good judge of social behavior. “I would like to come with you to your weyr, the chance of impressions- no matter how slight- is to good to pass over.”

Keavon stole a glance at Futh, wondering if he was one of the search dragons that he had heard about. What the dragon had picked up on, Keavon hadn't a clue. But if M'kai was offering him the chance to stand, then he would take it.

[Ruby]

"Good." The answer was brisk, as were M'kai's movements. They'd wasted too long here already, and while there was no one to see them, that didn't mean there wouldn't be people to see him along soon. The Candidatemaster stooped to hoist the straps back to his shoulder, the hint of a smile on his lips as he did. They weren't the nicest in the Weyr by far, but he was and always had been a glutton for praise. He'd take it where he could get it.

Futh had surged out of the water, setting the ships to rocking again. He shook himself like an enormous canine, then hopped up into the air for the short glide to the two humans. It wasn't necessary (and honestly, given Futh's struggles with takeoff and landing, probably slower) but the wind of his passing did dry the last drops of water from his hide. Once he settled in front of them, M'kai strode forward, glancing over his shoulder at Keavon. "Watch closely - this'll give you a head start in lessons, if you do." With that, he proceeded to clamber all over his dragon, attaching the straps with a speed that would startle any new Weyrling. Shortly, the Blue was outfitted for Flight, and M'kai slid back down his side. "Again, turns of practice. Need a boost?"

((I'm good if you are!))

[Sebz]

Keavon watched Futh approaching, feeling his excitement mounting with each second passing. The blue dragon looked magnificent and to be truthful, rather frightening. When the dragon landed and M'kai quickly mounted after fixing the straps back on Keavon tensed his muscles, ready to jump.

"I got it," he said with much more confidence than he really had and jumped up, scrambling in a rather ungainly manner onto the back of the large creature. But never the less, he had mounted without the help of the candidate master. Satisfied, Keavon patted the dragon's hide in greeting and looked back at M'kai in anticipation.

What a day it had turned out to be!

((All done~))