Fit For a.. Queen? (Wide Open)

[kysseh]

There was a fine line between insistently requesting and just demanding, but Hepaticath was operating just on the proper side of the boundary, her mental tones suitably polite but nevertheless unyielding as she requested that she be allowed just one little herdbeast for a snack.

"A snack? Hepaticath, we went out hunting just yesterday. You must have had half a dozen wherries," a less proper voice groused up at the eggheavy queen, its owner standing with hands on her hips as she glared at her offending mindmate. The difference in size between queen and rider was quite comical to any who happened to be looking at the pair's weyrledge, but Savitri found it anything but amusing. If only Hepaticath were the size of, say, a firelizard-

-then she would not have been Hepaticath, which made the thought invalid. Shardblast it. "Do you really need to eat this much? This clutch can't be any bigger than the last." The young woman's fingers pinched the bridge of her nose as if to ward off an impending headache, an action that was not becoming entirely pointless given Hepaticath's continued insistence. Only that gold would be such a polite manipulator. "Cath, if you're trying to drag me to some firelizard hatching like you threatened before, I'll-"

You will do nothing. Clearly, you have forgotten all of RysCiceroth's lesson- the queen cut herself off in mid-sentence and had the good grace to look apologetic, lowering her head to nuzzle lightly at her rider with a patient croon. Her hide had deepened several shades to indicate her gravid state, and her abdomen was already quite rounded, though not to such an extent that she was earthbound. Soon, though, she would be living in the devastated Hatching Sands full-time, the very thought of which made her extremely edgy. Death and thievery and all manner of horrible things had occurred there, and the gold's memory was all too flawless on the subject. I am sorry, Mine. That was rude of me. May we please go eat now?

Whether it was the apology or the milder manner of the request that finally swayed Hers' mind was unclear to both dragon and rider, but Savitri's capitulation was clear as soon as the woman fetched the riding straps and fastened them to the gold's neck, both halves of the pair silent until the dragon, her rider safely on board, was airborne.

The flight was less even than both would have liked given Hepaticath's loss of her normal aerodynamic form, and Savitri actually let out a yelp on the landing, clinging tighter to the dragon's neck with both legs in protest to the somewhat rough arrival back on safe ground. Only the gold's comforting croon kept the goldrider from commenting much, a hand brushing over the gold's neck as she dismounted and then made a direct line for the fence.

Hepaticath needed no more encouragement than a radius of safe space in order to begin moving towards the penned beasts, though the usual efficiency of her movements were notably absent. Still, swatting over a fat buck and dragging its carcass to an open patch of ground was not a difficult task, and she was soon tucking happily into her little feast. Even queens ate with the typical dragon greed, it seemed.

"Try to not make a mess, my love," Savitri murmured quietly, perched childishly on the top rung of the fence. Her knots were noticeably absent, the plain shirt, pants, and boots unremarkable from the attire of any other weyrfolk. She had nothing to mark her as important save for her proximity to her mindmate, and that was how the goldrider preferred it. "And leave room for others to hunt." As if she needed to add that; Hepaticath was always very conscious of those around her.

[marge]

A dragon feeding was the picture of horror to many Holdsmen, but Tobby couldn't see why. Watching a beautiful creature like a dragon show off their hunting skills was... Well, there wasn't really any way that the candidate could explain. Thus, it wasn't rare for him to stop by the Feeding Grounds at least once a day to watch one of the huge creatures feed. He was on his way to one such visit now when he spotted one of the Golds heading in the same direction he was.

His eyes widened. A gold feeding? Well, he hadn't seen that yet! Tobby's fast paced walk sped up into a quick run, eager to see. He climbed partway on to the fence, grinning up at the huge dragon. The candidate recognized the gold as Hepaticath and was excited to see that she was already beginning to show her egg heavy state. Eggs! That meant a Hatching. He nearly bounced up in down as thoughts of his first Hatching began to run through his head. It would be so cool if he Impressed at his first chance.

Tobby was so busy with his thoughts of the upcoming Hatching and the sight of the Gold before him, that he barely realized he had company at the fence. In fact, he didn't notice the woman near him for the first few minutes he was there. But then he became aware and turned to wave at her, his grin wide. "Hi!" He chirped cheerfully, before he returned his gaze to the huge dragon feeding, not realizing just who it was standing next to him.

[kysseh]

Hepaticath was obviously savoring her snack, for she was taking the time to eat instead of inhaling the meal as she was normally wont to do. Her muzzle was liberally smeared in blood, the red providing a beautiful contrast to the now-dark honey hues of her hide. A beautiful creature, she was, gravid or not. Unfortunately, Savitri noted in silence, the queen was aware of that fact too. Sharded vain little-

Oh, they had company.

The young woman’s head turned in response to movement in her peripheral vision, her face unable to hold back the smile that formed at the sight of the young boy nearby. She rested her heels on the lowest rail of the fence, comfortably perching on the top one without a single thought for splinters. Her clothes had had worse things on them than wood bits, after all. Working in the infirmary and caring for children was murder on the wardrobe if one wasn’t careful.

“Hello. Come to admire her?” the goldrider asked mildly in response to the greeting, rolling her eyes as Hepaticath took notice of her audience and subsequently arched her neck a bit more. Of course the gold would do that, make herself look just that much queenly. As if the queen was not conceited enough, the boy had to add to it by openly staring. “You’re a candidate?” It was something of a rhetorical question, unfortunately. A few Turns of life around Hepaticath had alerted Savitri to that particular look of excitement that inevitably decorated the faces of candidates and older weyrbrats whenever a gold began to show signs of being ready to lay. Excitement, anticipation, hope… it never ceased to amuse the rider, if only because she remembered herself in their shoes only a few Turns before.

Sensing Hers’ train of thought, the gold lifted her head from her meal and crooned low in her throat, her gaze fixed for a moment on the pair of humans with what could only be described as obvious affection. Both were her humans, after all, even if only one was her chosen. It was her weyr, so naturally, everything and everyone in it was hers. Only logical, wasn’t it? But they were only so interesting, and Hepaticath quickly returned to her food with a will, letting Hers chat with the boy in peace.

It only then dawned on Savitri that perhaps the boy did not know who she was. Oh. That had potential. The woman had a young enough face that perhaps she could still pass as a teen, albeit one with a womanly figure. But little adolescent boys would never notice that, would they? Stifling a smile at herself for that, the goldrider glanced over her human company. “I’m Sav. You have a name?” Too much fun, indeed.

[marge]

Tobby was loathe to tear his gaze from the Queen, but he wasn't rude so he turned back to the woman next to him as she asked him a question. "Yes. I think she's beautiful. Don't you? I come down here often, but I don't often see a Gold feeding. Well... Actually I think this is the first time and she's so pretty!" He again looked to the huge dragon. Sometimes, it was easy to forget just how big they were. They were huge. More then huge.

"Yes, I'm a candidate. But only barely." Tobby gave a tiny laugh, "I just turned twelve, so it'll be my first Hatching." And he was just so excited! It was his dream to Impress a dragon. His eyes turned back to the gold just in time for for the large dragon to croon at them. In fact, his surprise and awe was such that the boy slipped partly off the fence. Tobby blinked, his grin widening even more then it had been. "My name's Tobby." The boy murmured, too engrossed with admiring the queen to even look away again. Dragons were amazing. Golds more so. His anticipation for the Hatching was growing in him. He didn't think he could possibly manage to be patient for all that time. It seemed like the Hatching wasn't for forever. Waiting was going to be hard. Insanely hard. "Gosh... she's gorgeous." Tobby again muttered softly, once more distracted from the woman beside him.

[kysseh]

“She is beautiful,” Savitri conceded willingly, unable to contain a quiet chuckle as Hepaticath tossed her head in response to that comment. The goldrider was quite able to acknowledge that she was biased on the topic of Hepaticath’s beauty, but she would scarcely tell the boy or the gold that, even though her mindmate probably already knew. The gold was ridiculously good at lifting some thoughts from her rider’s head. “Beautiful and big. And… messy.”

This time, Hepaticath snorted in amusement, tucking in her large wings and angling another look at the human pair. Her tongue slipped out and began to clean the blood from her muzzle, her body shifting to settle back on her haunches and balance a bit better. The little boy was quite the winning little creature, though he looked like he was a bit precariously balanced. Mine, do make sure he does not take a tumble.

Hepaticath’s warning was appropriately timed, for Savitri had been unaware that the boy was slipping. Distracted, was he? “Careful. Don’t want to break your arm and be unable to Stand,” she said gently, instinctively reaching out a hand toward him as if that alone would keep him from flopping off the fence rails. “Tobby… nice to meet you.” It was hard to keep from smiling at the kid. So enthusiastic, wasn’t he? “If you ask nicely, she might say hello. She’s pretty polite.” Polite because she was conceited, vain, and concerned with appearances, Savitri acknowledged, but that was hardly good to add.

The dragon had finished her meal and almost lazily hopped with the usual dragon stride towards the pair of humans, her wings half-spread to balance her weighted body. The carcass was largely gone, though the remnants were being picked over by a fair of wild firelizards, the sight of which made Savitri’s heart clench at the thought of her Ras. The dark honeycomb head turned and lowered to be on level with the humans, a low rumble of amusement beginning in the dragon’s deep chest.

“First hatching? I only Stood once. Once was enough,” Savitri chuckled mildly, thoroughly unbothered by Hepaticath’s closeness. Apparently, the gold was curious. When the bloody tongue stuck itself out to touch her hand, the woman grumbled and shoved it away. “Oh, that is gross. Don’t get that on me.” Blood on the clothing and body was disgusting.

[marge]

Tobby giggled happily, nodding. "She does seem a little messy. But I would be too if I didn't eat with silverware. It must take forever to wash her." That was a whole lot of dragon to have to scrub. It probably took hours. But then again, even washing a dragon wouldn't be that bad if it was Your dragon. Nothing would seem like a chore if it involved your mindmate.

Or at least, that's what the candidate imagined. He nodded and tightened his grip on the fence rails. "That would suck." Tobby murmured, readjusting his stance so that he was more stable. To be a candidate but then not able to Stand... It'd be awful. Absolutely awful. "It's nice to meet you too, Miss Sav." The boy beamed. But then his eyes widened, "You think she would? She'd actually talk to me?"

Wait... The way this woman spoke, it seemed like she knew Hepaticath pretty well. And she was a rider. And Sav sounded kind of like..... Oh. Tobby's eyes widened and he stared up at the other in recognition, his cheeks going pink. "Weyrwoman, I didn't recognize you." He squeaked, before turning to stare up at Hepaticath as the Gold approached them. Oh this was embarrassing. He was supposed to know all of the goldriders and all of the bronzeriders by sight, but he'd never met Weyrwoman Savitri up close before! His grip slipped again, and Tobby fell backwards off the fence, stumbling for a few steps, but managing to keep on his feet.

[kysseh]

The goldrider stretched almost lazily and stepped off the fence, standing with her hands on her hips in front of the massive gold head that still hovered in front of them. Messy was an understatement, she thought with some exasperation as she got a faint whiff of coppery breath. Disgusting.

“She talks to whomever she feels like talking to,” Savitri chuckled, raising a hand to scratch obligingly at the eyeridges that were presented to her. Demanding creature, Hepaticath was, even if she was nice about it. The woman glanced over her shoulder at the boy, suddenly alarmed when he turned a funny shade of pink. What was he so embarrassed abou- oh. Oh. He’d figured it out.

There is no need to apologize to SavitriMine. She did not tell you. Hepaticath said kindly to Tobby, her tail curling around her hindfeet as she patiently accepted the affection that Hers was bestowing. One whirling green eye focused on the boy, both intent and curious. A candidate, was he? A bit silly, she supposed, but then all young humans were, as a rule. Careful now. This addition was made on the sight of the boy tumbling off the fence, her eyes whirling a quick shade of yellow for a moment before fading back into the standard green when she realized he was unhurt.

Savitri affected a sigh and then beckoned to Tobby with her free hand, a slightly rueful smile touching her lips. “Junior weyrwoman, actually, and I prefer Savitri to the title. If you can get over the fence without falling again, come scratch her eyeridges. She doesn’t mind being doted on.” And the boy seemed like just the kind to fall all over himself at the chance. Ah, candidates. “Don’t worry; I was hoping you wouldn’t recognize me. It gets a little dull being referred to as a rank and not a name.”

The rumble of amusement from the gold elicited a light swat to the nose from Hers. That only resulted in a croon that was undecidedly smug. Hepaticath did so know how to soften hers up.

[marge]

It's true, she may not have told him, but he still should have known. Tobby was still blushing softly as he stared up at the large gold in wonder. She was even bigger up close! He'd never been this close to one of the Queens before. "Okay... Well, I can-" He cut off, blinking slowly before his eyes and grin widened simultaneously. "I can touch her?" The candidate asked before he hurried forward in excitement. He climbed up and over the fence with ease.

He'd been warned several times over the course of his life not to climb into the herdbeast pens. People said that the herdbeast could kill you if they stampeded, but with a huge dragon like Hepaticath standing nearby, Tobby wasn't at all worried. "I guess it would be really annoying to just be referred to by your rank. I've never thought of it that way." Tobby agreed, looking to Savitri before back to Hepaticath, one hand raised. Was he really allowed to touch such a marvel? He knew he'd been told he could, but it just seemed like he shouldn't.

[kysseh]

Both halves of the goldpair were used to the strange behavior of others in their presence, but it was still no less amusing to see Tobby so thrilled by the mere chance to be close to the massive gold. Savitri could only shake her head and laugh quietly, scratching her mindmate’s eyeridges. Her eyes tracked the boy’s progress over the fence, her maternal instincts demanding that she keep him safe. True, he was old enough to qualify as an adolescent, but he was still just over half her age. It was impossible for her to just assume he would be fine.

That raised hand was a bit too far away, and Hepaticath ever so subtly moved her head such that her eyeridge was just at his hand. There, now he could not avoid paying attention to her. He is a very entertaining little hatchling, ViMine. Most hatchlings do not have eyes that get so large. Do I surprise him that much? the queen inquired of Hers, obviously amused by the boy’s behavior.

“I think she just answered your question,” Savitri commented dryly to Tobby, tactfully ignoring her dragon’s query. There was no need to answer the gold explicitly. Hepaticath could pick the answer from her brain. “Go ahead and scratch at her eyeridges like this. She loves it.” The goldrider demonstrated with her own hand, seeking the spot high on the ridge that never failed to turn the giant dragon into a crooning pile of limp dragonflesh. “So, what’re your thoughts about the hatching? Nervous?”

While the herdbeasts bleating in terror were making Hepaticath a bit hungry still, the gold was currently more than satisfied to remain where she was being doted upon. SavitriHers’ hand was scratching at a good spot, and the queen crooned lowly, flicking one of her transparent lids over her quickly whirling eyes. Oh, yes, that was the spot. She liked that very much.

[marge]

The boy beamed, turning his head from Savitri to Hepaticath and back again. It was pretty easy to tell that he'd consider this the high point of his day, if not his whole sevenday. Carefully, Tobby moved his hand to scratch at the Gold's eyeridges as he'd been instructed. It wasn't the first time he'd gotten to touch a dragon. Far from. He'd been helping riders out when ever he could since before he could remember. But he wasn't touching any old dragon. This was Hepaticath, a Queen. And golly was she large. The candidate glanced sideways to the weyrwoman, wondering just how the small woman managed to bathe her huge mount. It must take forever. Maybe he could offer his help sometime, maybe...

Tobby was caught off guard by Savitri's question, but only for a split second. "Yeah. I'm a little nervous, but isn't everyone?" Tobby grinned up at the other, before adding, "I'm mostly just excited. I'm weyrbred, so being a dragonrider's always been my dream. My dad was a dragonrider and so was my fostermom so I grew up with dragons and-" Again the candidate cut off with a blush. He was talking just a bit much, wasn't he? But Tobby was soon smiling again as he looked back up at the goldrider, "What about you?" After all, the eggs would be Hepaticath's.

[kysseh]

Where Hepaticath had been contented before, now she was delighted, basking in the attention with a continuous low rumbling that was strongly reminiscent of a feline’s purr. Between the boy and SavitriHers, all of the good places on her eyeridges were being tended to, and the queen hunkered down to be more comfortable, the very picture of bliss. Now, if only she was no longer hungry, the moment would have been perfect. As it was, though, her stomach was politely requesting more food, though she was loathe to move her hefty body just yet. No, she simply aimed another croon at the human pair and then went back to her contented rumbling, very comfortable for the moment.

The gold’s unwillingness to move was most amusing to Savitri, the young woman only able to chuckle at the contentment that the gold radiated. Stuck-up, vain, silly creature. Her green eyes flicked to Tobby, amused by his seeming babbling explanation. Did he really think she minded him talking? “It’s normal to be nervous… and excited. I was both, plus a bit curious. I’m holdbred,” she explained, amused by his enthusiasm. At his query, her eyes drifted to Hepaticath’s distended abdomen, mutely wondering if the clutch would be anything like the last. “Dragons were still very new to me when I Stood the first time. It was a little frightening, but… very exciting too.”

The lid over the queen’s eye flickered for just a moment, and Savitri was aware that the queen was listening in on their conversation. The young woman ran her free hand along the gold’s muzzle, calmed by the queen’s presence. “About… Hepaticath’s eggs? I’m eager to see them hatched and Impressed, after what happened the last time.” If her tone was rather grim, she thought it was understandable. The mere thought of Hepaticath’s eggs being in danger was upsetting. “She and Ciceroth made an impressive group of hatchlings last time, so… I think they will this time.”

The queen snorted suddenly, obviously punctuating Hers’ thought. Of course the clutch would be magnificent, and Hers would be wise to not cast doubts on that. Hepaticath made a query of Hers, forcing a laugh and an eyeroll from the young woman as Savitri turned to Tobby to repeat the question. “Hepaticath would like to know what color you hope to Impress,” the woman said mildly. “She’s a bit nosy.”

[marge]

The Queen was actually purring, Tobby realized with a soft giggle. He'd never expected to see, or hear rather, such a thing. But here it was, and the candidate found himself as amused by Hepaticath as she was by him. He was convinced that he was doing a good job, so he continued his scratching, grinning to himself. He didn't even notice that his behavior was humorous to the pair. Tobby was really too excited to notice much besides the pleased gold before him.

"You're holdbred?" Tobby asked curiously, his face showing mild surprise. Picturing Savitri anywhere but the weyr and without Hepaticath beside her was hard for the boy. He couldn't imagine a life without dragons in his daily life. It sounded like a miserable sort of life. Then again, it may be more peaceful. His face darkened for a moment as he thought about the recent events and the last Hatching. But then his excitement was back and his face brightened. "Color? Well, I really wouldn't mind any color." What color did he want? Of course, he'd thought it over many times before, but Tobby could never seem to make up his mind. "My dad's dragon was blue and when I was little, I was determined to grow up and be just like him but... To be truthful, I've gotten to the point where all I really want is to Impress a healthy dragon. Color doesn't really matter to me anymore." Greens were fast, blues were calm, browns were strong, and bronzes... Didn't everyone dream of Impressing one of the metallic lords of the Weyr?

[kysseh]

“Holdborn and bred,” the young woman chuckled, leaning over to press a gentle kiss to the gold’s snout when the dragon crooned in affection. “And hush, Cath. You liked Southern well enough when we visited. It’s not that bad.” Clearly, the gold had her opinions on the superiority of the weyr over the hold, and in general, Savitri had to agree. Holds did have some good points and lacked the constant worry of war and violence, though they had their own internal problems to deal with. “I never thought to see myself in the weyr, to be honest. The master healer who was training me wanted me out of Southern, though, to get me a good challenge. I wanted to get away from my mother, so I came to help with the healer shortage. I Stood at the next clutch and… you can see the results.”

The queen rumbled to punctuate that, nudging her nose against the goldrider’s midsection. The massive head then turned to eye the herdbeasts that milled around on the opposite side of the pen, and the gold carefully moved away from those devoting attention on her. Hepaticath was a hungry mother, and she hopped over with great ease, snapping the neck of a herdbeast with a casual bite. Give my apologies to the little hatchling. I am still very hungry. the gold remarked kindly, eyeing Hers for a brief moment before digging in to the snack.

Shaking her head at her mindmate’s appetite, Savitri levered herself back up onto the fence, sitting easily on the top rail to keep herself out of the way of potential stampedes. “Better hop on up in case she accidentally shoos them this way. You’re not much good as a candidate if you’re flattened,” she commented in amusement, extending a hand to help him up if he wanted it. He probably wouldn’t, she guessed. Boys and their independence… hmph. “Color doesn’t matter, hmm? Be careful what you wish for. I wanted a healthy dragon, and … I Impressed to that big lump with a healthy appetite. You’ll Impress well, though. Hepaticath approves of you, so her offspring will.” It was not a compliment so much as a statement of fact, but since candidates seemed to usually need encouragement, she added a quirk of a smile to her face. “Just mind your manners at the Hatching, and you’ll do fine.” Considering what happened the last time, Hepaticath was bound to recruit clutch guards, and they would all be edgy and ready to snap at the first sign of mishap.

[marge]

Tobby looked quite ready to protest when Hepaticath turned to leave, but he held his tongue, instead just looking rather disappointed. But then again, she was feeding a whole clutch of little dragons as well as herself, so he couldn't fault her for snacking. The candidate turned to follow Savitri and graciously accepted the offered hand. "Thanks." He said with a smile as he pulled himself up using her hand and settled down next to the weyrwoman.

"Does she really eat that much?" The candidate asked before he caught the weyrwoman's next words. His eyes widened and he stared up at her, his grin huge, "You really think so? I mean, she does?" He gasped glancing from the weyrwoman to Hepaticath and then back again. "I'll be the most polite one there!" The boy added quickly, nodding enthusiastically. One should always respect a mother around her children, whether it was a dragon, woman, or mouse. Savitri had said he'd Impress well. Surely she knew everything. If she said he'd Impress well, then he would. Tobby looked ready to burst he was so excited, his eyes dancing over to Hepaticath.