Consequences (Open)

[kysseh]

You can't hide from the rest of the weyr forever.

Dohulth's tone was more condescending than K'von would have liked, and then brownrider offered up an obligatory glare at the larger, toothed creature. "That's rich coming from the dragon who hasn't socialized with anyone since we arrived," K'von pointed out, regretting it almost immediately at the hurt communicated by Dohulth's body language. It wasn't the brown's fault about the drugging... or the hatching ground fiasco. "I'm sorry," he said softly, reaching up to scratch the dragon's eyeridges, grateful again that the brown was on the small side. "Not your fault, I know. I just... I'm frustrated."

The dragon gave a hefty snort and tilted his head to better see the bruised and sore man that was dutifully paying attention to him. We know what has you frustrated... your dreams are-

"All right, all right!" K'von tried to scowl up at Dohulth and succeeded only in grinning a bit ashamedly at his thoughts being so openly shared. It had been awhile, and a healthy male of any species would be feeling deprived right about now. It was just different since he couldn't even look at a woman without having a vivid memory of the airborne dragon massacre. He shuddered suddenly as that memory surfaced with a vengeance. Shard it. Couldn't he just get some peace inside his own head?!

Sensing his sudden distress, Dohulth let out a low rumble. It wasn't as though he wasn't tortured as well, but K'von seemed to be the worse off of the two. Dohulth found himself constantly shoving the man awake from nightmares, and while the extreme bad dreams had decreased in frequency while the two had been out alone, their arrival back in the weyr had made the dreams that much worse. That was the reason the two males had sought solitude up on the drumheights in the early morning hours. Peace was all they required, K'von moreso, and somehow, the peace just wasn't coming.

[rippledid]

Should a boy with a penchant for completely passing out and falling down a lot be anywhere near the top of a waterfall? Well no, probably not, but the sound was filling the air and to magnificient for the girly boy to explore! Plus, the water was far more enjoyable to be splashed by than the caked dust of the records room that he was worrying was going to stain his hair an ashen color for the rest of his days.

He'd taken to wearing his hair in a bun temporarily to keep it safe from the slew of dust that seemed to adore it so much. His clothes were thick boring gray things that he wore like a dress, as he'd borrowed the protective shirt from a drudge far taller than the short little candidate was. So what if a decently sized person's shirt made a dress on him? That didn't make him any less of a boy did it? Oooh! Eggshells and Threadfall! He knew he looked like a girl, but it took reminding himself not to have a hissy fit to start sounding like one. Not that even his voice managed to give away that he was a boy!

He knew nothing of the massacre, knew nothing of a violent life. Lillvor believed only in lending a helping hand to his fellow humans, and if he had ever been accepted into a dragonhealing Crafthall probably would have gladly accepted training in such as well.

And of course, he finally spots someone nearby and it has to be a dragonrider who unmistakably was a boy. Oh shards did he hope he'd get a dragon color that meant people would just be able to tell he was a boy for once...

Either way, he found it rude to just stand around admiring the dragon K'von was being so loving to as so the candidate boy waved happily. He'd have shouted but highly doubted his petite voice would carry over the sounds of the falls. Instead he ran forward, smiling brilliantly.

"Hello there! I wasn't expected to see anyone else up here - but...well, I guess it's a lot easier for a dragonrider, huh?"

[kysseh]

Mine, it would appear that we are no longer alone.

K'von could not tell if Dohulth was amused or annoyed, though amusement seemed more reasonable at the moment. Either way, the dragonrider managed to contain a sigh. It was time to put on a brave face and hope the other person was a sharding idiot. He glanced over at the girl... no... boy... girl? Dohulth?

Should I know? the brown replied innocently enough, and K'von knew now that the dragon was simply amused by the occurrence, as well as a tad grateful. K'von wasn't the only one lonely for company. The bright and all-too-cheerful smile on the small person's face as they approached negated his original hesitation. Well, maybe the girlboy's chattering would make up for K'von's current lack of conversation skills.

The brownrider quirked a smile, tanned face creasing lightly around his eyes. "Hello. I wasn't expecting anyone else up here at this time of the morning. Though, it's much easier getting up when you have a mount." Oh, thank you, Fat One. "What brings you up here this morning?" he inquired, grinning further at having teased the gray-brown dragon that was snorting at his hair.

[rippledid]

"Getting away from chores for a little while, and half for sheer exploration. I just came here from Blossom," Lillvor said pleasantly. "Plus, the waterfalls sound positively beautiful. Though..essh, I'm surprised you can even hear me. Do you need me to speak louder, sir?" The high pitched boy smiled sweetly at the brownrider, adding the sir for sheer politeness. He always had a patient voice, and perhaps when meeting new people it had been so engrained into him that he couldn't help himself. His voice simple came out fluid, gentle, and soothing.

Lillvor took a look over the falls before laughing, sounding all the more like a girl since the tiny boy seemed to giggle, quickly blushing and covering his mouth with a small, porcelain hand. "Ahaha, I bet a lot of people get hurt falling off here, don't they? Poor things. I guess I'd better prepare for a lot of concussions. I know a lot of my peers like to get rowdy sometimes." So adult and yet every sentence strung together from him had an utter sense of naivety as well. Lillvor was a bit like a child discovering the sharp edge of a knife, visual able to understand the damage a blade could cause and yet unbothered by the concept simply from not having witnessed the blade do harm to anyone, innocent yet understanding.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself, sir!" Lillvor suddenly said, snapping out of his daze to smile brilliantly and bow his head lightly to the taller, darker man. "I'm Lillvor, Apprentice Healer and recently become a candidate."

[kysseh]

Definitely female. K'von told his dragon, eyeing the brown when the dragon made the deep noise that K'von had learned to translate as a draconic version of a snicker. Not female? he demanded, unsure what to make of the girlboy. When Dohulth did not offer forth a response, other than another noise of supreme amusement, the young man simply shook his head at the beast. Impossible.

"What I can't hear, he fills in the blanks with," K'von replied, gesturing with a hand at the highly amused dragon lounging beside him. "Escaping chores and doing stupid risky things... sounds like what I got into as a candidate. And weyrling," he added, grinning broadly and adding the last bit as Dohulth gave him a baleful look. He shook his head as the girl (or was it a boy?) took a look down the falls, one dark eyebrow climbing as he watched. "I'd guess almost no one gets hurt from falling off. Landing, however... completely different matter."

That was dark. Funny, but dark. You might scare the child. Dohulth prodded him mercilessly, still highly amused. K'von swatted the brown lightly on the muzzle, which the dragon felt barely at all. Shut up, you. "Lillvor? I'm K'von. This overgrown wherry is Dohulth," he replied. "I'm afraid that's all the fancy ranks and titles we've got."

Pleased to meet you, Lillvor. Dohulth projected for Lillvor to hear. Ignore the Fat One's whining. He is still getting used to civilization. The dragon flared out his massive wings and then tucked them back into his sides, tossing his head a bit like a runner. His manners are usually far better.

[rippledid]

"I guess you're right, K'von," Lillvor said with another childlike giggle before rocking on his feet, turning his gaze back to the falls until the brown spoke in his head, making him jump with surprise. He had barely heard a word from the dragon who Searched him, and suddenly hearing something echoing into his brain - well, it was no wonder he was startled. Like a cautious wild feline, Lillvor's eyes seemed to sparkle as he hunched and tilted slowly to look at the brown, inspecting every bit of the dragon who seemed both old and young alike. His smile snapped off of his face as he thoroughly stared, the only expression to be found written across his eyes.

"Fat one," he echoed very quietly as if trying to add to the sound in his brain before shaking his head, as if this would remove the brown's mindspeech from his thoughts entirely. He suddenly flared up a bright red though as he realized that the dragonrider surely was used to listening to the voice and he had to look silly. Besides, Dohulth and K'von had been making fun of each other. Nothing to be startled by. He might have a dragon chattering on forever in his head one day, right?

"S-sorry. I didn't mean to say that," Lillvor apologized for having repeated the teasing name that Dohulth had thrown out about his rider. He looked at his feet, obviously ashamed as he wiggled his toes awkwardly inside his shoes and put his arms behind his back, hands linked together in a childish apology. Yet again, he seemed far younger than he actually was. "I don't think you're fat at all. Actually, I've always found dragonriders to be rather nicely built and handsome. Or ...well, I mean I'm sure not everyone is - but," Nervousness, it was a bad, terrible habit of Lillvor's that rather hindered the simplicity of his existance, occasionally causing him to stutter on like a fool. "- Well, training has to bulk a person up and, you know, opposites attract. Not that attraction has anything to do with this either, of course - and..uh, I guess not that you aren't attractive... I'm just going to shut up now before I dig myself into a hole."

[kysseh]

K'von wasn't sure what to make of the giggling. It had been a long, long time since he had heard such feminine laughter, and while it was entertaining, it was also rather comforting. He saw the candidate jump and gave Dohulth a grin. "Oops?" he inquired up at the massive dragon, who shifted his weight from foot to foot. Relay my sincerest apologies for startling him, please? the brown suggested, though it was said with the force of a demand rather than a simple request. Shaking his head and grinning, K'von replied. "Dohulth apologizes for startling you, especially when you're that close to the edge." He tacked on the last bit, not quite satisfied with the safe distance between Lillvor and the edge of the falls.

Seeing the intense scrutiny he was under, Dohulth tilted his head to one side to match his inspector, eyes whirling with amusement as he watched the candidate. What an interesting little creature he was. And a candidate? How odd. K'von did not hear Lillvor's repeat of the comment, but Dohulth did. The dragon let out a hefty snort of amusement, which prompted K'von to prod until the dragon admitted what was so funny.

"Oh, don't worry about it. Dohulth does that on purpose," K'von chuckled, not at all bothered. In fact, he thought it was quite funny too, since he knew very well that the brown said it only to tease. Poor little... girl? She had no idea that she was in the middle of a teasing war. And-

His thoughts took an abrupt turn toward the insinuative at Lillvor's childishly shy behavior. Nicely built and... handsome? It took all his effort not to puff up just a little. After that long without female attention, this sort of complimenting was exactly the sort of ego-feed the brownrider needed, which was entertaining Dohulth to no end, as was evidenced by the dragon's fidgeting and snort. "Err... well... thank you, I suppose," he said, attempting to head the rambling off before she really made a fool of herself, despite the fact that he was grinning from ear to ear at the compliments. "I know I'm not fat; Narrow-necked Wherry here just likes to tease."

Oh dear...

[rippledid]

Lillvor looked up sheepishly at the brownrider, smiling sweetly despite. He blew air out his nose in a dismissive, feminine 'huff' though as he looked at the brown again, once more seeming to inspect the creature. "I don't have to worry about being to close with a valiant dragon and rider so nearby to catch me if I start falling," he said, full admiration into his voice. He knew of the war, the fighting between Fort and Benden, the dragons who fought one another, the pain, but it wasn't something he bothered to think on. He was naive, believed that nothing and no one was capable of causing harm to another person intentionally. His poor mind was going to shatter if he Impressed and Selenitas decided to join in on the fighting. Lillvor didn't spare the thought though. No, he was still stuck in the heroic, saviors of Pern, I'm-living-a-fairytale stage all candidates went through at some point in time.

He covered his mouth to stifle his laughter with one hand before he abruptly turned and walked even closer to the others, further away from the edge. "Does this make you more comfortable, though? And, I'm sure you know you're not fat, not that you'd be arrogant. I hear that brownriders are often really nice, another reason to be sure you'd catch me before I felt that pain we were talking about. Smart too." The candidate seemed unable to stop himself from continually complimenting the brownrider. Perhaps it was intimidation combined with the fact that Lillvor was simply a very nice person. "You're very handsome too, Dohulth. I'm sure the lady's love you with such interesting hide and friendly humor. I'm sorry you scared me so much. I get really nervous sometimes."

[kysseh]

Lillvor's confidence in their skills made K'von laugh, shaking his head. "He's quick, but not that quick." I wish. It'd make Threadfall and avoiding aerial combat much easier. the dragon pointed out to his rider, making the brownrider smirk. "He might not be able to get to you in time. If he was that quick, though, he says it'd make Threadfall and... well, mainly just Threadfall... all that much easier." The brownrider set his jaw at the very thought of aerial combat. Shards. Dohulth offered a suitably apologetic thought in response, having forgotten for a brief moment that K'von was much more upset by it than he was.

Nodding as the candidate moved away from the edge, K'von patiently waited for the candidate to finish her--or was it 'his'? He still couldn't tell, and Dohulth's amusement only made him suspicious!--babbling compliments. His ego craved the feeding, if only because he had been away from human company for so long. The compliments being paid to Dohulth, however, made him laugh aloud, leaning against his dragon's shoulder and attempting to control his amusement while Dohulth simply looked down at his rider, snorting softly.

"Sorry... the thought of him attracting a 'lady' is... " Doubtful. "... doubtful, to use Dohulth's words. We weren't very popular back home," K'von said by way of explanation, reaching up to scratch the brown's eyeridges. "Besides, I don't think one ever caught his attention. And he is sorry for startling you. Most weyrbred are used to hearing dragon's voices on occasion, so it's not a shock for them. The holdborn.... different story."

[rippledid]

"Maybe the right lady hasn't Flown his way yet, that's all," Lillvor said with a slight playful laugh before smiling to K'von. The slight look that seemed to cross the other's face suggested he went off talking to his brown again for a moment, and Lillvor waited. He wasn't entirely used to speaking to someone capable of thinking and holding a second conversation - and he briefly wondered if he was capable of doing the same. He barely kept track of his own thoughts! "And where's home?" Possibly a dangerous question, but no matter K'von's answer, the candidate wouldn't mind. He rather hoped the other would say that Selenitas Weyr was his home and that's all that mattered - because somewhere in Lillvor he hoped that he too would be able to say the same one day.

"And don't you worry about surprising me Dohulth! I promise I don't mind. Usually, it takes a lot to make me jump. Though it's that obvious I'm holdbred, huh?" Babble, babble, babble, the candidate just kept chattering on - despite the fact that he seemed to be asking questions. "And as far as you both go, you're brave and fast to me to even go up against Thread. A lot of people say I'm not going to be suited to do it because I'm too - " well, he didn't exactly want to say girly. The leaders of Weyrs, after all, were not men. To lead meant that 'girly' would just be the wrong thing to say. He tapped his lips with a finger as he debated just what word would be appropriate for himself. "- frightened? No, that's not right. I suppose even a brave rider like yourself is frightened." He pursed his lips, had a blush on his face, and only to add to his flambouyancy flipped a lock of loose hair behind his ears with a smile and laugh, big doe eyes looking up to K'von as if the rider would have the answer he was trying to find.

[/fail]

[kysseh]

K'von let out a dry chuckle at that thought. Dohulth was among the most good-natured of dragons that he had met, but he was not popular with many of the female dragons. His gray-tinged hide made him look older than he really was, and one had to get closer or see him in action to see that he was quite fit. "Perhaps. He is attracted to many females, but none have made him want to Chase. He must be too lazy." At the amused rumble echoing from the beast behind him, the brownrider shrugged his shoulders, grinning unabashedly. He greatly enjoyed teasing the great beast. "Or just has very strict standards of beauty."

The mention of 'home' gave him pause for a brief second, but he recovered quickly, resting his arm on Dohulth's shoulder and leaning against the dragon, quickly adjusting his expression to cover his hesitation. "Here. Selenitas Weyr is home now. Has been for a few months now." When Dohulth settled himself down on the ground, K'von reached up to scratch the brown's eyeridges for a moment. Tell the candidate that he may scratch my ridges too. I don't mind. Dohulth suggested to his rider, and K'von snorted aloud, giving the dragon look. "Pathetic, Wherry Face."

The blush and the nervousness that Lillvor was demonstrating were amusing, and K'von had to chuckle at the babbling. Poor child. At the word 'frightened', the rider offered up a casual shrug. "Frightened, yes. The day you go to ride Threadfall and aren't just a little scared is the day you shouldn't ride Threadfall. Being a little nervous makes you alert." The expression in the young teen's eyes and face made K'von square his shoulders, tilting his head to one side and thinking, trying to summon up a decent word. "Timid? Ahhh... I never was very good with words."

When Dohulth gave a mild snort and turned a baleful eye to his rider, the man laughed aloud, his smile splitting his tan face. He loved teasing the great beast. "Dohulth says that--if you're brave enough, of course--you may scratch his eyeridges," the rider chuckled, dutifully scratching the same spot. "Maybe it would help you with being... frightened?"