Truthful Tall Tales {Chek/Open}

Kire watched as a blue landed in the Weyr Bowl the rider looking more than a little tired. She practically just stood there gawping at the two of them until she realised that the rider, an older gentleman, had called her over. She just about jumped out of her skin as she sprung to action. She bustled forwards and tripped over her own feet but managed to right herself after a moment and make it over to the rider and the gargantuan blue. She'd never really been too close to a dragon before. Sure, she'd walked past them before but, from the sounds of it, she was being asked to actually help this rider. She felt somewhat honoured that she was being asked to help and yet also felt some disappointment that the dragon was not a Wher.

"Oh yes, of course I can help. I love to help people. I guess that's why I was set to do my chores in the Weyr Bowl. I wonder whether that's why there are so many of us here... It would make sense wouldn't it?" She trailed off and cleared her throat, "Umm, just tell me what I need to do."
She wasn't entirely sure what she'd have to do with the harness having not really dealt with too many Dragons before but she was always willing to try. Besides, she wasn't about to say no to someone who was clearly in need of her help. Not only that but she wasn't sure she should simply ignore a rider.

"I haven't really done this before so I'm sorry if I do something wrong."
She was looking up at him with something a little close to awe. It was not that she had ever wanted to impress a Dragon it was more that she was simply enthralled by the thought of someone trusting her that much without even knowing here. And, perhaps in the back of her mind, she was wondering what kinds of things he and his dragon had seen throughout their time. He looked older and far more experienced than some of the other Riders that she had spoken to.

Kire heaved a sigh of relief when he assured her that it was not all that tough to take a harness off a dragon. But given that she was not precisely all that tall and there was a rather large dragon in front of her it was still a little daunting. Still, his jovial attitude served to console her a little and make her feel better about taking a harness off a giant blue dragon. She nodded a little as he introduced himself and the Blue to her.
"I'm Kire," She replied but broke off after a moment when she heard a voice in her head.

The Blue was speaking to her. It was such an honour to be spoken to by a dragon. She had not really ever been spoken to directly by a dragon before. She heard the announcements around the Weyr from the Queens but that was generally it. She smiled a little and nodded.
"I will help in whatever way I can!" She replied happily.
She stopped for a moment when he mentioned that the rider was getting old and stiff. Well of course she would help then. She was certainly not about to leave him to work on it all by himself.

The rider, F'reki, piped up at that moment and told her that the dragon was faint with hunger. Kire looked back at the Blue with alarm. What would happen if he fainted. He drooped his head a little and Kire's eyes widened with worry.
"Oh no! If he's hungry I can bring some food here directly I'm sure..."
She trailed off when she heard the dragon making strange coughing noises. Was he dying!? How horrible, she had to get a Healer in here. But then... F'reki didn't seem to horrified.

She relaxed instantaneously when F'reki informed her that the dragon was merely trying to laugh. She laughed nervously and nodded a little in understanding. She turned her attention back to the male and began climbing up the dragon with some caution worried about standing on the dragon, concerned that she would harm him. Especially if he was as hungry as F'reki seemed to think.
"Of course, I can do whatever you need me to."
She studied the harness beginning to feel a little more confident on the dragon's back. It would be rather simple once she got the hang of it after all. Right?

Kire nodded a little when she was informed that the dragon wasn't actually that hungry. But he had seemed so tired for a moment there. She knew exactly what it felt like to be hungry all the time. Well, actually she didn't really because she'd never had a moment where she'd been all that hungry having lived her whole life in the comfort of a Weyr. Still, she wondered whether Giri was only telling His that he was fine so that she didn't have to run off to find food for him. She almost laughed when the dragon turned his head upside down so that she would be able to climb down and unhook the harness.

Kire kept nodding for a while as F'reki explained what she would need to be doing. She paid close attention to his every word and then after a moment, still nodding, she hooked her hand into the harness and began climbing through the harness. It was only then that the dragon's words actually settled in. She didn't mind too much about claws or tails... She preferred the tail option when she actually thought about it. She seemed to trust Whers more than Dragons even though the Dragons were easier to control and usually only got angry if one disrespected them.

She caught onto what they were talking about only a moment too late. A white-furred waste-beast? What in the world was that? It sounded fascinating.
"Oh, I've never heard of a white-furred waste-beast. It sounds cute though... What happened?" She asked almost entranced by the tones of the rider.

Say one thing for Kire say that she was incredibly gullible and ready to believe just about anything especially when spoken by someone who had the years of experience to tell her such a tale. She was simply fascinated by just about any story someone had to tell her and would probably never even know whether or not they were talking about something truthful or not...

She payed close attention the exactly what the large dragon was doing in order to focus on not falling from the height. F'reki's warning was well received. Of course, she knew that she didn't want to fall but his reassurance that he would be watching certainly raised her confidence quite dramatically. Not to mention the fact that the dragon was ensuring she would not fall. Kire sincerely hoped she would not fall, not with a hatching this close. She placed her feet lightly on the tail offered and felt it droop a little under her weight but it was certainly rather welcome support. She gripped the harness tightly with one hand, locking it in place almost so that she would not fall if the tail failed her. She began to work at the harness as she registered what was being said to her.

The white-furred waste beast had sounded so adorable only a moment before and now it sounded absolutely horrifying from what was being described to her. Red eyes? It sounded positively frightening. She hoped she would never meet one although, from the sounds of it she would be able to smell it before she saw it.
"Goodness!" She exclaimed looking at the bluerider as best she could, eyes wide, "How frightful. How did you ever manage to survive it then? I hope I never meet one..."

She had managed to work out the buckle a little and loosened it. She had not yet completely released the buckle. She was more concentrating on not falling and so had not worked up the courage to let go of the harness and work her hand free so as to utilise both of her hands to undo the harness. She worked her hand through the harness straps so that her arm was hooked through. She then had both hands free so as to finally get the buckle free. She loosened the harness, undoing it and then held on tight once again a little petrified she would fall. Thank goodness she was a Wher candidate...

Kire kept listening to what was being said, working the harness almost with an automatic movement of her hands. She was wide eyed and staring as the story began to unfold in even greater detail. It sounded so fantastic that it must have been true! No one could have thought that up just like that. It must have been a truly fearsome beast and a terrifying moment! As the harness started slipping she too felt herself falling a little. She grabbed at the harness but Girieth was there to steady her. She breathed deeply and got herself into a more comfortable position as the harness was slipped away. She held on tight, getting her balance until she felt comfortable with climbing down from the Dragon.

"Thanks." She told the Blue pleased that he had not let her fall.
She'd had no doubts but... Sometimes the Dragons were scarier than the Whers in that they were taller, heavier and had to be ridden. Whers were usually far too small and she loved that they were able to walk side by side. She touched the ground and stumbled a little as she got used to being on it once more. She brushed herself off a little and looked up at Girieth as he took off.

She stepped back and watched him with awe as he took off almost vertically into the air with an exclamation. Despite all she thought about Whers and Dragons she still thought Dragons amazing creatures when they flew, even if she could have never contemplated flying with one herself. She turned back to F'reki with a huge smile on her face but then tried to calm herself a little.
"Wow, nothing that exciting has ever really happened to me. Well, except that I was a Dolphineer and once we thought we'd found some ruins. Old Weyrs covered with the ocean water. Then we found out that it was just a huge pile of rocks. We all got so excited... But there was nothing else to be done." She spoke quickly with a number of hand movements, "But this beast sounds so... Terrifying too!"

Kire watched, mouth half open in awe at the tale F'reki was telling. She wasn't sure what to think. She was terrified and shocked that he could have possibly survived the ordeal. She kept listening, leaning forward a little in her eagerness to know the entire story. She stumbled when she had stood so far on the tips of her toes she had almost fallen over. But by now he had stopped again. Kire wanted to know what happened next! Especially if it was so surprising!! How did he survive then if the beast had held him and almost ripped his head off!? She didn't understand how he could possibly be standing before her!

When he did not continue immediately she nodded expectantly.
"Did he bite your head?" She asked, so caught up in the moment that the stupidity of the question did not quite reach home with her.
However, she was also thinking of things that had happened in her life and whether any of them could measure up to the fantastic tale she was being told. There had been this one time... At Dolphinhall where she'd had a misunderstanding with one of the dolphins, Neidon... But that had been resolved as soon as it had started. They had worked together well after that.

Maybe if he asked she could tell him some of the stories she'd heard from other people. Or perhaps there was one thing that might have been interesting to him. Everything she thought to tell him seemed weak against the white-furred waste-beast, she wasn't sure anything could be as exciting, dangerous or frightening as that experience. Part of her wanted something like that to happen but then... She also wanted nothing like that to happen to her ever.

Kire’s mouth was wide open. How did the rider still have a head? How in the world had he survived? It was simply amazing! If ever she needed help with something she knew whom she’d call. F’reki seemed to know everything about everything. She listened, rapt, as he continued telling his story, delving into the details of Girieth fighting for his Rider’s life, attacking the Waste-Beast. She supposed that the dragon would have been larger than the Beast but that didn’t make the story any less terrifying. Any misstep and the Heroes of the tale would be Waste-Beast dinner. With F’reki almost roaring she was drawn further into the story. She could almost see what was happening for herself the picture was so vivid. But surely there was no way the Heroes could escape!

But the mighty Blue Girieth was there to save the day, descending upon the Beast as easily as he would a Herdbeast! The Hero Girieth had saved the day and had managed to even earn himself something of a snack! She felt a little sorry for the creature... He hadn't wanted to attack surely. Then again, there was no denying the facts. The beast had tried to attack and the Heroes fought valiantly.
"Wow. That's amazing! Girieth sure is a brave Dragon. You two must make such a great pair!"

Of course they did! They were rider and dragon! There was no denying their bond.
"Do you think I'll face one myself? That would be terrifying. But with a Wher we sure would be unstoppable." Her eyes were almost glittering with the thought of fighting to protect the Weyr at night with a Wher by her side.

Kire noticed the smile cross over the rider's face when she praised Girieth. She wondered whether she would feel the same when she impressed her Wher. She hoped so. Something told her that she would. It was probably just that almost everyone she had ever met who had impressed to something felt the elation and love for the bonded creature. She couldn't wait. At that note, she knew that she'd have to get back to her chores. She shouldn't have been out so early but she had volunteered for fear of being told that she wasn't pulling her weight. Plus, she thought it important to get to know at least some of the Riders and dragon candidates.

"Oh, I should get back to work. Finish up here really. It was wonderful meeting you! Maybe when I impress we can go looking for some more of these creatures... Um... Possibly some of the nicer ones. And maybe not up close..." She smiled in spite of the fear she held for the creature, "I would come with you... But I really should finish this up. I'm sorry."
She smiled anxiously, actually worried that he might not manage to get to his dinner and then where would she be!? She'd be in trouble that's what.
"Will you be alright...?" She asked with some concern.