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Post by reqqy on Oct 7, 2008 10:21:20 GMT -5
Mutasim grumbled beneath his breath. How had he managed to end up back here before general weyr duties? And why, in Faranth's name, was he still on chore rotations with all the wherry-headed candidates still in lessons? The truth of the matter, however, was that the head Archivist had finally cut him off, and now he was having to write everything out on his lonesome. It seemed that she must have got wind that he was playing her. Bother.
Moping just a bit, and ignoring the knowing smiles of any archivists who crossed his path, the young man worked to finish this page. He glared at her when she approached, but she ignored the expression. Was no one afraid of him anymore? Mutasim sniffed pointedly. She looked at the page, frowning, then finally offered him a curt nod. The first one to pass muster. The candidate would have been pleased if he wasn't already so annoyed by the whole thing.
Why he should be held to the same standards as the people who had been writing all their lives he had no idea. Out of habit, he reached up to pull the sleeve of his trench down, then remembered that he'd torn off the sleeves when his arms started becoming too long for them. He'd done the same with his pant legs, too, come to think of it, the garment now coming to a tattered end just below his knees. Above when he was sitting down like this.
With a wearied sigh, Mutasim dipped the quill back into the ink well and blazed through another series of marks. Even if he couldn't read every word, he knew the letters well enough that it wasn't difficult to imitate. Jabari reclined on the edge of the desk, gnawing at a meatroll pilfered from the dining hall just before coming here.
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Post by archenstone on Oct 10, 2008 14:58:06 GMT -5
Nearby Kalina was copying hides from the section she was at before. She read through the scrolls less attentively then last time. What she really wanted was to be outside. She didn't even care if it was for chores. She just wanted to be out under the sun or in the jungle or......the nook and cranny's of the canyon. She imagined all the interesting things she could find out there.
Time passed and eventually she set the quill down and leaned back in a stretch. She felt her muscles resist slightly as she arched back with her hands out. She had closed her eyes during her stretch and opened them now before sitting strait again. That was when she noticed Mutasim. Sitting back straight, she decided to say hi. She was bored enough that she didn't care if she was rebuffed.
So she picked up what she was working on and moved to the section across from him. "Hello, I'm Kalina. What's your name?" She smiles.
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Post by reqqy on Oct 10, 2008 17:58:13 GMT -5
He'd noticed her, vaguely, but he was dead set on getting these lines written out, and...unlike last time, he wasn't in that highly jovial mood that only came from the freedom of movement after being bedbound for an extended period of time. Thus he wasn't feeling particularly social. That was rather typical of him, though. Mutasim wasn't what you would call a sociable person. Nor was he normally approachable, but that didn't seem to deter her any.
Mutasim looked up from his scribblings with an arched brow, noting immediately as she moved that this girl was roughly his age - and a good half a foot taller, if he was any judge. The boy suppressed a sigh. The South bred giants. Or, rather, the people of the South generally were not malnourished, and therefore actually grew. Whatever you wanted to say. This one certainly looked like a Southerner from her coloring, and had more muscle than the average female. He always tended to notice that part. Old habits and all that.
He leaned back, regarding her through his lashes as he stretched his arms. Mutasim himself had a childlike face and height...but that's when things started getting muddled. A dusting of whiskers and a distinctly broad set of masculine shoulders offset the young appearance, as did the wary cynicism in his gaze. "Kalina. You haven't been here long, then, I suppose." Or she wasn't much for socialization, either. Mutasim had been around for two and a half turns...and he had something of a reputation at the weyr. "I'm Mutasim. And that's Jabari." He jerked a thumb at the brown flit, who flicked his tail lazily and paused in his eating to chirp a quiet hello.
"I'd much rather be outside," he added, though it was unclear as to whether that statement was meant for Kalina or himself. "Dusty, dismal place."
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Post by archenstone on Oct 10, 2008 19:05:07 GMT -5
Kalina noticed the light brush of hair on his face. She hadn't noticed it till she was sitting in front of him. "Hi Jabari," She said as she looked at the brown Flitter. When Mutasim mentioned being outside it seemed like her smile crept into her eyes making them glint.
"No one seems to want to explore around here. The farthest I've been able to get was the gathering. Maybe when we get done here we can make our way out and find something to do?" It would be fun to go exploring. Did they have the same stuff here as the forests near Blossom? Maybe she could find some neat stones near the river. After she made her suggestion though a slight doubt crossed her mind. The boys at her Hold always thought she was the weird one for wanting to travel everywhere and getting into trouble. What if the people here would find her strange? Already she had felt out of place at the gathering. She told herself not to care. If she impressed a dragon at one of these clutches then she'd never be alone.
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Post by reqqy on Oct 12, 2008 7:49:48 GMT -5
The brown chirped again, but he was very much interested in the bit of meatroll he hadn't yet finished, and otherwise paid Kalina no heed. Mutasim merely stared at her lingeringly. She was grinning. He almost shuddered at the sheer happiness. No one had a right to be that happy when forced to sit all cramped up here at this desk, scratching away at parchment for no real purpose he could discern. What was so wonderful about reading, anyway? From what he could make of these scrolls, they were utterly boring. Accounts of who Impressed which dragon and how much had been given in tithes some fifty turns ago. Mutasim was all in favor of gathering up records and making a gigantic bonfire. Maybe some night...
And, amidst this torture, she was grinning. He wondered absently how long it would take him to give her a permanent frown with his blade. Only two slashes, right? Three seconds? Maybe five, because the desks were in the way. That thought had Mutasim smiling in return, in a decidedly less friendly fashion.
A calculating gleam came into his eyes at her suggestion. He had no earthly clue what Kalina meant by the Gathering. Selenitas was nothing but river islands and trees and one or two buildings who had the only sane designer - the treehouse man must have been sick that day - and weyrs cut into the gorge face. But was Mutasim going to disabuse her of her ignorance? Certainly not! It suited him just fine that she hadn't properly explored the jungles. The candidate wondered how long it would take him to lose her on a little 'tour.' Hopefully to get eaten by something with nicely sharp claws and fangs. Would she still be smiling?
"There are plenty of nice places around here that I could show you, along the river and deeper into the trees," he stated, tone carefully neutral. Couldn't seem too eager, or she might get suspicious.
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Post by archenstone on Oct 12, 2008 11:10:28 GMT -5
Her smile eases back some as she looks at what she has left. "I would like that. I used to go into the forests around Blossom Hold."
Indeed she was already curious about what she would find. She was nonplussed that he didn't seem overly friendly. He was willing to show her the river and forests. Then she could return on her own. As long as I don't get any more of those Feline monsters after me... She thought. But then, now I know what their dens look like. I can avoid them. Wanting to finish her last bit on this hide she went back to work. "This last piece shouldn't take long. Or do you want to come back and finish these later?" Now that she was going to go out her heart wasn't completely in her chores. Her mind was already out of them.
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Post by reqqy on Oct 13, 2008 20:02:21 GMT -5
She was a holder, then. One of the naive and pampered, no doubt. Although Mutasim technically was holdbred himself, he often found that he was more comfortable around the weyrbred, who were less...sheltered. Blossom was an interesting hold, though. To be honest, it was almost interesting enough to entice him to the Gather. Almost. Of course, there was quite a difference between seriously considering something and actually following through.
"I'd rather not set foot back in this place if I can help it," Mutasim replied, not unkindly. He genuinely had absolutely no desire to go from the freedom of outdoors back into this drudgery. With a casual flick of his wrist, he tossed the quill from one hand to the other, setting to the paper with vigor. There was no noticeable difference between either hand. The advantage of never having been taught in a formal setting; Mutasim didn't have the handicap of one writing hand. "People weren't meant to spend all their time indoors," he added, still rather grumpy. The boy generally preferred to spend his time out beneath the open sky. It only made sense, really. For the majority of his life, freedom was represented by the open sky.
Completing the last line with a flourish, he tossed the quill indifferently at the inkwell, but even without carefully taking aim, turns of target practice had the quill falling right beside the small jar...and imbedding into the table point first. He raised a brow at this Kalina. "So. You ready yet?"
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Post by archenstone on Oct 14, 2008 6:21:13 GMT -5
As she quickly finished her last piece she noticed that Mutasim could switch hands. No fair....I can't do that...She thought amused as she hurried to finish. As she finished her last line she heard a thud. Looking up she saw the quill and her eyed widened slightly. She couldn't help it. She was impressed. After all she never learned to throw....sharp objects. She could throw a rock with great aim though.
"I'm ready," She said, standing up. She set her quill back the normal way.
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Post by reqqy on Oct 14, 2008 9:55:16 GMT -5
"Jabari." The brown glanced up from his half-finished meal, chattered, and promptly went back to eating. Mutasim stood, glaring at the firelizard all the while. "Don't think I'm going to leave you here. You'll just shred the nearest parchments out of boredom." Jabari cocked his head at his humanpet innocently - then went straight back to ignoring him.
The candidate growled softly, unsheathed a knife from the belts crossing his chest and whipped it within a hairsbreadth of the flitter in one smooth motion. Jabari just cast a lazy glance at the blade. Obviously, this wasn't unusual behavior for Mutasim. The brown stretched beneath Muta's glare, and langorously made his way for the boy's shoulder, where he continued to gnaw at the meat. The candidate jerked the blade from the table with a muffled curse. "Infernal pest. I'm going to skin you one of these days." Jabari merely crooned and rubbed his head against the boy's jaw.
Mutasim strode past Kalina - and caught his foot on the edge of the table. Hissing, he hopped on one foot, his glare falling on the taller girl, just daring her to laugh. Sharding legs, always getting longer on him without his permission. In a truly foul temper, he stormed past her and into the open air. The jungle. "Are you coming or not?" the boy grumped, without looking behind to see if she'd followed.
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Post by archenstone on Oct 14, 2008 22:36:42 GMT -5
This guy is nothing like the ones back home...She thought. How many knives does he have? Kalina was starting to wonder if this had been a good idea. The brown Flitter didn't seem to mind their exchange though, so was this normal? Kalina had moved out of his way, giving him a clear path to the door.
Not as clear as she thought though as Mutasim stubbed a toe. Hopping around, he seemed even smaller than before. She looked down and decided not to laugh, how ever humorous. His glare reminded her that, although he seemed harmless, he could turn that around swiftly. She quickly followed as he made his way out. She was not going to let any ill temper bother her! Determined to have a good time and learn her way around she followed Mutasim into the jungle.
[[Should we keep to this thread or move to Jungle board?]]
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