Boo
Jr. Weyrwoman 
booct[M:-425]
Shirath: THOSE aren't spirit fingers... THESE ARE SPIRIT FINGERS!!!
Posts: 1,917
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Post by Boo on May 19, 2011 18:09:19 GMT -5
The gurgling that accompanied the slightly larger Black Wher as he made his way out into the darkness of the Weyrbowl was somewhat too ugly sounding to actually be deemed anything except for cute. Nose to the ground, spindly body waggling as he walked along Kisk truly could have been mistaken for a large puppy. Kire walked along beside him, Vesta perched on her shoulder. Kire had just finished oiling the two of them when Kisk had insisted that he smelled something strange. The Pink wasn't impressed with the antics of the Black Wher a little annoyed that she could not finish cleaning him before he had rushed out the door. In all seriousness he was as clean as Kire could make him but this was clearly not enough for Vesta who huffed at the thought of this Wher being fit for public. Still, she had ceased sitting on his back and trying to clean him when he'd suddenly decided to roll over and try to catch his tail.
Kisk suddenly stopped, pointed his nose in a random direction, front foot raised off the ground. He turned back to Kire almost immediately.
"Kisk, you're an amazing investigator! What does your nose tell you about the smell?" Kire asked utterly doe eyed over the Black.
Kisk waggled his body again at the praise and plopped himself onto the ground. He waggled his short little wings in happiness.
What smell? He asked, cocking his head to the side.
Kire stared at him blankly uncertain as to whether he was asking her to identify the smell or whether he was curious as to what she was even talking about. He suddenly started sniffing the air again and jumped to his feet.
Kire smell? Kisk smell! Kisk find smell! He shouted into her mind.
Kire followed him as she started running around the Weyrbowl, trying to catch up to him. Thankfully she did as he had stopped and lay down in the Bowl.
Kisk sleep. He informed her.
"No, ah, no we have to go to our room for that!"
Kisk suddenly jumped to his feet again.
What smell? Kisk Smell! Find smell!!
Kire laughed and followed the Wher once more, Vesta taking flight to catch up to the Black and chirp in his ear not pleased that he had managed to pick up some dirt in the process of his antics. |
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Azhdarchid
Jr. Weyrwoman
azhct[M:-1490]
Totes.
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Post by Azhdarchid on Jun 19, 2011 18:08:23 GMT -5
The scent Kisk was intermittently hunting down might have been the blood of a tunnelsnake. For there was one down by the wherry pens in a precarious situation: it had slithered out of its rocky niche in the dark of night and headed out to eat some of the wherries' refuse, and maybe an egg if it was lucky. Instead, when the mottled yellow serpent arrived at the fence, it was attacked! Attacked, just for wanting dinner. Its attacker was smaller than it, but strong for his size and decidedly more intelligent. And flying. Darting in and out, he bit the tunnelsnake and gashed at it with pincer-talons.
"Get 'im Watch!" a female voice cheered the drama in miniature. Pen was dressed in her sleeping shift, a pair of spontaneously selected brown pants, and sandals. In retrospect the sandals were a poor choice: she could not expect to step in and crush the tunnelsnake's head if her toes were exposed to its venomous fangs. But her experienced Blue firelizard was faring quite well against the giant opponent. He had not suffered a single wound, and the 'snake was unable to catch his winged body in its binding coil. Unfortunately his claws were not rending much more than scratches in the tunnelsnake's leathery skin.
Pen had been called out to her flit's activities by the images he sent her. Watch did not seem to realize they were no longer responsible for the local herds. But any sleepiness or regret on the Candidate's face dissolved at the sight of the age-old mortal combat between Pernese natives. Recognizing that Watch might be starting to tire, she began rooting around by the fence for an axe or other herding tool that could be used to dispatch the serpent. Watch detected another flit's chirping nearby and flapped his way out of the tunnelsnake's range for a moment to query back.
But the 'snake made a run for it the second he stopped playing harpy at its back. Watch dove and his wings strobed alternating shades of blue as he seized the fat yellow tail in his talons. The tunnelsnake proved strong enough to drag him with it, its six small legs motoring in vestigial complement to the undulating muscles of its belly.
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Boo
Jr. Weyrwoman
booct[M:-425]
Shirath: THOSE aren't spirit fingers... THESE ARE SPIRIT FINGERS!!!
Posts: 1,917
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Post by Boo on Jun 20, 2011 8:23:21 GMT -5
Kisk charged onwards for a while, stopping every now and again to double back. Kire followed patiently, stopping beside him whenever he seemed to get distracted and urging him onwards when he did. They eventually reached the feed pens and Kisk settled down bugling happily.
Kisk smell! Kisk find! It SmallPinkThing but not smallpinkthing! Different. Not best but good.
Wow Kisk! You are so smart!!
KIRE KISS KISK!!
OK!! Kire replied and bent down to kiss Kisk on his knobbly little head.
Kisk waggled, gurgling happily and stuck his nose in the air once more sniffing. He turned his gaze to the blue firelizard and called out once more. It wasn’t the same smell, no it wasn’t. It was something different. He bounded forwards and leapt at the new smell.
It was so strange and different. Not at all like Hims or MummyHim! No it was something entirely different. Not SmallPinkThing and not BestKireKiskLoveKissBest but he did smell one of those around. He landed on the creature and warbled happily. He waggled his whole body and spotted a SmallBlueThing. Another one!? No! It was the smell from before. He bugled at SmallBlueThing and then pranced back to BestKireKiskLove, head wobbling from side to side.
Kire stepped forward spotting another female and smiled at her. She wasn’t sure who it was but if she was out at night she must be someone linked to Whers in some way!! That’s right, she was just as good at figuring these things out as Kisk was! Maybe she was also an amazing investigator! She should probably say something, though. Especially considering that her nose wasn’t even all that good! Nope, she just had to go off what little she could see in the dark.
Oh no! What if Kisk had just jumped on someone’s pet!? Whatever would she do? Kisk was too lovely to do something like that though. Plus he was way too smart to mistake someone’s pet for something that could cause problems to people. Kisk was the smartest Wher there was, smarter than her by a long way!
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Azhdarchid
Jr. Weyrwoman
azhct[M:-1490]
Totes.
Posts: 1,627
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Post by Azhdarchid on Jun 21, 2011 16:43:57 GMT -5
Pen tugged a wood scrap out from under the edge of the fence, and turned around prepared to end the tunnelsnake. Only, Watch had managed the feat on his own. The tunnelsnake's head rested on the Bowl floor in a pancake-like formation, a modest puddle of ichor haloing the edges. Except Watch was standing on the serpent's twitching tail and how he had gotten from there to the head, with sufficient force to crush the skull, proved something of a mystery. Watch chirped and directed her attention to a couple shadowy figures nearby.
"Oh!" A watchwher. Far more plausible than a firelizard-- no matter how muscular he was --singlehandedly dispatching the giant snake. Pen had heard that the Weyr kept its own population of whers, but she had not seen one before. "Hello!' she answered Kire's smile. Glancing at the wooden stake in her hand, Pen inched over to the fence and put it back. After brushing her hands on the sides of her sleeping shift, she walked over to the wherling pair and stuck her hand out to Kire. "I'm Pen. Thank..."
The Candidate yawned. "...thank you! Watch and I are used to the 'snakes scuttling off after he knocks them around a bit." The blue flitter winged up to her shoulder and she caressed his head with one fingertip. "But I guess they don't really have anywhere to go here, so they make a fight out of it." She motioned to Kisk. "I like your wher. He's um...well I can't really tell with it being so dark, but I'm sure he's great." How she guessed Kisk was male despite the blackness cloaking him was not so much of a mystery: Pen simply assumed it.
She looked around at the corpse. "Well I hate to leave that there for someone to see in the morning..." she began, but rather than volunteering anything her eyes flicked between the wherhandler and the dead 'snake suggestively.
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Boo
Jr. Weyrwoman
booct[M:-425]
Shirath: THOSE aren't spirit fingers... THESE ARE SPIRIT FINGERS!!!
Posts: 1,917
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Post by Boo on Jun 23, 2011 22:56:02 GMT -5
Kire was so relieved by the greeting that she hadn’t even noticed that Kisk had wandered off to investigate something else.
“Oh, hello! I am pleased to have helped out a little.”
So he hadn’t attacked someone’s pet, thank goodness! Vesta hissed at the mess Kisk had made and flew off to clean. Silly black, always making a mess of everything! Hers had at least managed to keep most things clean but the Wher. He always seemed to create mess wherever he was. She flew over and hovered in the air for a moment, spotting the blue firelizard just as she was about to run straight into him. She chirped a harassed ‘hello’ and then set to searching for a means by which she could clean up the mess.
Kisk, meanwhile, had wandered around in the darkness, nose to the ground, sniffing for the new smell. He walked over to the dead tunnelsnake and bugled happily! He had found a new smell! He pranced around in a circle and back over to the other female, standing behind her. He tilted his head up to her and waggled his tail.
Kire smiled with extreme pride when Pen mentioned how wonderful Kisk must be. She nodded. As if it even needed saying!
“He is wonderful! I’m Kire and Kisk is…” She squinted in the darkness and thought she saw him wandering around somewhere, “Well, he blends in with the darkness because he’s a black!”
Kisk Kiss?
Kire’s eyes widened a little as she spotted Kisk opening his mouth happily ready to give a kiss to the female, Pen.
No! Um, I think you can… Maybe you can kiss the tunnelsnake.
Kisk did not seem impressed by that and trotted back around to meet Kire once more.
Kisk no like tunnelsnake. Kisk no like, no eat. Kisk like, Kisk eat.
Well that certainly explained their impression. Kisk pranced his way over to the tunnelsnake and pawed at it, causing Vesta great anxiety as he created more mess, moving the ‘snake around, pushing it along, dragging its blood everywhere.
“There he is!” Kire gestured happily to Kisk.
Vesta finally gave up on trying to clean up the ‘snake and flew to meet Watch. Stupid creatures, hope you get a smarter one, she chirped at him.
“Are you here for the dragons then?”
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Azhdarchid
Jr. Weyrwoman
azhct[M:-1490]
Totes.
Posts: 1,627
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Post by Azhdarchid on Jun 25, 2011 17:39:11 GMT -5
Watch chirped acknowledgment at Vesta, and when the Pink had obviously begun scraping at work of some kind or another he fluttered down to help. When the wher came back he took two wingsweeps and shot out of nibbling range, then drifted back down when Kisk had moved on to Pen. Pen grinned at the wheret, though sleepiness diminished the extent of her raised eyebrows and curling lips. She remained still despite his opening jaws, less reactive than she was at a normal hour.
"I see!" Pen called back when Kisk returned to the 'snake, sending Watch right back up in the air, scolding the wher alongside Vesta. When Vesta addressed him, however, the Blue firelizard responded via noncommittal whistle and sailed off along the wherry pen fence. "Beasthalls have a lot of whers. At least, the one I was from did. They're real good for watching the stables at night and everything. Always grateful to see them." Pen regarded the Wherling, Kire. "Blacks are small, huh? But he's even smaller. Baby!" She raised her dark arms in triumph for all the infant beasts of Pern. "Dragons for me though, yeah. How did you guess?"
Pen considered herself, her night shift pale yellow in the starlight. And dotted with cartoonish, chubby embroidered firelizards. "Oh." Not ideal nocturnal patrol attire by any means. She shrugged, then glanced after Watch. "My flit spotted another 'snake. I suppose if he keeps me up too many nights I'll have to give up on dragons and get a wher myself." The herder folded her arms behind her back and strolled after the Blue. "Were you for dragons too? People seem to take on whers as a uh..." But she could not find a polite way to phrase it and let the point extinguish in the dark.
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Boo
Jr. Weyrwoman
booct[M:-425]
Shirath: THOSE aren't spirit fingers... THESE ARE SPIRIT FINGERS!!!
Posts: 1,917
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Post by Boo on Jun 27, 2011 7:33:01 GMT -5
Kire was pleased that Kisk had not managed to sink his teeth into Pen. She smiled, relaxing considerably and watching as the two firelizards berated the little wher. She was quite accustomed to Vesta getting mad at the black but she’d never really seen the reactions of some of the other creatures. Some whers seemed to think her poor adorable little wher intolerable but she just figured it was because they had no idea how to speak with him. He was so smart!
“Oh! You were in the beasthalls!? I was a dolphineer myself. Not quite the same thing but I enjoyed working with them all the same. Then I decided to volunteer myself as a wherhandler. My dad was one, you see.”
She had almost forgotten about Kisk as he wandered around playing with the dead tunnelsnake. Looking back over at him she spotted him jumping about, waggling his wings, pouncing on the snake. He seemed to be enjoying himself but she couldn’t help but feel a little worried about the extra mess he seemed to be causing.
“And I guessed you were for the dragons because, well, I wouldn’t want to do chores in my nightclothes and ruin them if they were that pretty!”
They seemed to be very pretty nightclothes from what she could see of it. She almost wanted one herself. She smiled at the female to show she was actually sincere about the clothes being nice. She knew there were some females who were mean to others. Lucky she had never met any of them. Camea was probably her best friend and she had never said anything with insincerity.
Vesta had grown tired of Kisk’s actions and had now flown down to try to move the ‘snake away from him. As soon as she lifted it Kisk let out a yelp of surprise.
IT ALIVE! IT ALIVE!
He seemed to shriek in shock and then grabbed it in his jaws, forcing Vesta to release the body and shoot into the air with a screech. He shook it back and forth then released it, sending it flying about a meter away from him. He approached it tentatively and then sniffed it again.
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Azhdarchid
Jr. Weyrwoman
azhct[M:-1490]
Totes.
Posts: 1,627
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Post by Azhdarchid on Jun 27, 2011 22:58:50 GMT -5
"Dolphins are a kind of beast," Pen said, generously extending her Craft's merits to the oceanic Hall, since Kire seemed interested in that variety of validation. Pen did not mind offending a few non-present dolphins over it. While she recognized their intelligence, she had not met the creatures herself. And Dolphineering was a very young Craft, relatively speaking. Mastering beasts, meanwhile, went all the way back to...to the start of time! Kire's mention of familial relevance earned a grin. "My parents are Beastmasters! Oh, but my brothers are dragonriders already. I guess I'm sort of moving sideways and um, following them instead of my mom or dad."
She glanced down at her attire for the compliment. "Thank you..." Just then she had to dance aside however, as Kisk was flailing about with the long-dead 'snake and the tragedy they had been discussing came flying right at her. Pen was quick enough, and not a spot of bronze snakeblood touched her precious firelizard print. Her new position was just aside Kire rather than in front of her. Pen rubbed at one of her eyes. "Energetic isn't he?" she offered, not quite sure how to judge the Black otherwise. The herder waved her hand northward. "Watch-- my flit --has a live critter for him. Best go for that...there is too much mushed around here to clean up now."
At the very least, Pen the Dragon Candidate who wasn't even supposed to be awake saw no reason why she should meet with an extra chore. "I am sure Watch is going to keep following 'snakes around all night. He's twitchy like that. If you tell Kisk to follow him, they can hunt 'em all down. And Watch can send Kisk the pictures instead of me!" Pen nodded vigorously to her own proposal. "Not really my candlemark, or job, or anything..." she added in a mumble that ascended to a laugh. "I'm so sleepy! Sorry! Thanks for your assistance and everything though. Everyone here is so nice. I'll look for you at breakfa-- at dinner. And I'll wave!"
That was about all Pen would be inclined to do without further prompting, but at least the two could find each other on agreeable terms. She flapped the skirt of her night shift at Kire in a joke of a curtsy, then flounced back off to the barracks.
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Boo
Jr. Weyrwoman
booct[M:-425]
Shirath: THOSE aren't spirit fingers... THESE ARE SPIRIT FINGERS!!!
Posts: 1,917
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Post by Boo on Jun 28, 2011 22:39:37 GMT -5
Kire knew that had some of the dolphins been with them at that moment… Well, they may have been somewhat offended. Lucky they weren’t around to hear. She felt that some of the dolphins seemed almost smarter than the whers. Not Kisk, of course, but some of the others definitely. With the tunnelsnake having flown off into the darkness, Kire looked at Pen with an awkward and slightly worried smile.
“Oh I’m sorry. He was just making sure it was dead! He is pretty energetic. Keeps me on my toes anyway.”
Kisk, maybe you should follow Watch.
Other Vest? Ok!
Kisk wandered off, nose in the air sniffing for the blue firelizard and any sign of the ‘snakes. It was odd to see him so applied to one single task. He just seemed to be thoroughly distracted.
“Oh, I understand completely. I would hate for you to be tired during chores tomorrow.” Kire smiled.
She dipped her head back and waved slightly as the candidate retreated. She then called Kisk and the two of them started searching for ‘snakes, anything to keep him moving. She had to call the wher a couple of times to keep him focussed on what was happening. Every now and again he turned to Vesta, waggling his body and then started running in the wrong direction before following Watch again.
In a few minutes he had already found one snake and was currently playing with it, pawing at the snake in an excited fashion, pouncing forward and backwards. Meanwhile, Vesta was not having a good time. The silly creature was causing so much mess. Why had Hers brought the silly thing home with her?
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