Azhdarchid
Jr. Weyrwoman 
azhct[M:-1490]
Totes.
Posts: 1,627
|
Post by Azhdarchid on Jul 17, 2012 14:24:45 GMT -5
Watch me.
Halventh opened his eyes, surprised. Those were his words! The voice even sounded like him: warm with confidence, smoothing out the tart sounds of the words, and boasting strong promise of a reward for compliance.
L'xon was not supposed to sound like that. That was not the man he had chosen. The young dragon raised his powdery blue neck from the snow, preening the edges of the imprint he had left with his paw as he obligingly sought around the Bowl for his lifemate. His turquoise facets shimmered faster as he spotted the blond standing at the top of an artificial snow bank. Crafty beasts had scraped it together from the the couple inches of white Dalibor had accumulated over the past sevenday. What snow had not been aggregated had melted, save for thin patches like the one Halventh had been reclining on.
His rider waved at him, then pointed to a leathery object at his side. It was a bit like a cutting board, only longer, tapering on the ends, and fashioned from less precious materials than wood. L'xon laid the board down on the top of the hill and put his feet on it. With wherhide straps, he fastened his riding boots to knots on the surface. Watch, he insisted, and Halventh bobbed his head, mesmerized by this change from dutiful mediocrity. L'xon rocked his weight on the board, pursing his lips as the forward end twitched over the edge of the hill's precipice. The pursing turned to a concentrated nibbling of his lower lip as he stared downward. Halventh detected a faint trepidation, and started pulling his feet in to stand up.
Then L'xon jerked his weight forward and the board- and him -plummeted off the side of the snow bank. The bluerider coasted down the incline for about twenty feet, then his board tripped forward and he tumbled face-first into the hill's soft foundations. His momentum carried his toppled body the rest of the way to the bottom, where he stopped half-buried in snow. The entire mess happened so quickly that Halventh did not even have time to squawk alarm.
Besides, L'xon was not scared. He had been, but the emotional message was confounded by other notions: elation, and excitement, twittery concepts that also usually belonged only to Halventh. The dragon cocked his head at the fallen rider, wings raised to midspan. L'xon stuck his arm up and waved it.
I don't understand.
L'xon ignored him and untied his boots, then stomped back up to the peak and repeated the maneuver, complete with the faceplant climax. Halventh could discern his man's giddiness more clearly this time, a well-articulated joy taking the place of uncertainty. As L'xon headed back up, Halventh walked over and sat down next to the hill. He stuck out his paw and pushed his rider the rest of the way to the top.
Thanks, L'xon said, brushing some snow off his sharp wherhide coat. He glanced at Halventh just before binding his boots again. Oh, I've got an idea. He reached out, and the dragon gingerly extended his arm up to that he could climb down to the saddlebags he'd mounted for an exercise earlier in the day. L'xon plucked out his riding goggles, then crept back up the arm to his snowy summit of choice. "Yeah," he muttered as he fastened on the goggles. He smiled at Halventh, who drew his head back at the boxy accessory.
You're bleeding.
"Huh?" L'xon brushed at his face, but his gloves came up dry. Halventh showed him an image of himself, and a very minute slice just opened on his lip from the last trip. "Oh." He pawed at the area and was rewarded with a faint sting. It's okay. Just stop me if I start breaking teeth.
Stop you, Halventh gurgled anxiously as L'xon propelled himself down the hill again. Me stopping you. That happens. L'xon did not trip this time, but as he reached the end of the hill his board went into an spin that ended with him falling backwards into an impromptu snow throne. He laughed. Halventh eyed him. Are you okay? L'xon smiled back. Halventh picked him up and placed him back on the precipice.
Saw someone doing it last night and I thought I'd give it a try. Not sure I made this bit right... L'xon fidgeted his board's nose around. But it works! Just metal rods and hide. I'm a regular smith.
You're happy?
It's allowed.
But why?
I just wanted to be more like you, I guess, L'xon said, and kicked off down the snowbank once more.
|
|
Kestrel
Wingrider 
kestct[M:821]
Posts: 374
|
Post by Kestrel on Jul 20, 2012 0:17:09 GMT -5
Viyeri was probably one of few residents at Dalibor who was actually happy for the return of winter. Winter had never been his favorite season, not when winter had normally meant several months of icy death and being elbow deep in howling blizzards, back in Bitra. Dalibor’s winters seemed fairly mild in comparison, though they weren’t exactly temperate either. But something about the snow reminded him of home anyway, and left him feeling nostalgic.
He supposed he must not have hated Bitra quite as much as he thought. At any rate, he was actually enjoying taking a walk around the bowl, crunching his way through whatever scant patches of snow he could find. It meant taking something of a weaving path, which he hoped he was passing off well enough as aimless meandering, but it was worth it to feel the crumbling compaction of snow underfoot. Familiar. He’d never thought very highly of nostalgia—it just seemed silly—but he supposed he could indulge himself just this once since it wasn’t like anyone was watching, anyway. Who wanted to be outside in the cold?
Actually, there was someone else out—Viyeri turned and squinted ahead as his peripheral vision snagged on a man-shaped figure rapidly going down a hill. Was someone falling? Well, the man did fall—but he didn’t exactly seem injured. Not from a distance, anyway. Driven largely by curiosity, Viyeri adjusted his meander-path to take him over toward the man—a dragonrider, apparently, since he didn’t see anyone else and doubted he’d simply adopted that blue for the day. And actually, as Viyeri drew closer, that blue looked pretty familiar.
“I have to admit, I didn’t take you for the jumping-off-of-hills-on-precarious-contraptions type when we met last time,” Viyeri called up to L’xon, keeping some distance between himself and the hill. He didn’t really want to turn the makeshift track into an obstacle course. “But I suppose everyone has hobbies.”
|
|
Azhdarchid
Jr. Weyrwoman
azhct[M:-1490]
Totes.
Posts: 1,627
|
Post by Azhdarchid on Jul 21, 2012 11:18:22 GMT -5
L'xon heard the call just as he was dipping into the next round. He looked at Viyeri, dark eyes wide, but as his board started to fumble he raised his bent arms and rebalanced. His focus went back to the slope ahead, and the bluerider glared down the challenge as he coasted to a safe conclusion. Pressing his weight back on the rear of the board, he cut short the finale tailspin so that he was facing an angle just off Viyeri's. From there he had to hobble his bound feet around to face the Candidate, but he had been close.
"Didn't I stick my hand in a fire last time?" he offered, with a grin that surprised him as much as anyone. Viyeri's reaction had been priceless, though Lex had not commented on it at the time. Only now did the private opinion surge forth. "It's good to see you again," he said, scratching another new addition: his winter beard. Very short, but yellow as the hair on his head. He discovered himself stroking it and pulled his hand away. The pale coat was inadequate for disguising a more typical flush of color to his cheeks. "Halventh can fly now." He pointed, just in case Viyeri's attentions were not fully redirected.
Halventh cocked his head, then opened his wings a tad in appreciation. "I mean, he can fly with me. We fly together. And he breathes fire!" L'xon seemed content to view these successes in isolation, as if they were not the things every dragon had been bred to do. He looked back down at his board. "This isn't anything compared to taking the firestone out." He flagged down Viyeri with a wave of his arm. "Watch." L'xon looked to his dragon, and Halventh obligingly transferred him back to the summit. He pushed off right away, shooting down the snow hill, crouching down to attain his fastest speeds yet.
And there was another uneventful landing where he got to stay upright, though he immediately rocked back to fall into a seated position. That way it was easier for him to get at his boots. "I can't believe we never thought of anything like this at Fort. We get some awful winters and the children end up cooped inside." He already had one foot free of the boots, which he left tied-on. His eyes traveled from his revealed gray sock to Viyeri's feet. "My boots might be a little tight on you. But you want to try, right?"
|
|
Kestrel
Wingrider
kestct[M:821]
Posts: 374
|
Post by Kestrel on Jul 24, 2012 14:47:08 GMT -5
Viyeri stood by with his usual ease, arms crossed over his chest as he watched L’xon coasting off down the hill again. His cool posture, though, would be readily abandoned in favor of fleeing should L’xon go off course and be redirected, by some sort of rock or ridge in the show, perhaps, toward Viyeri. The pessimistic side of his mind was quite assured that this fate was inevitable. But L’xon looked like he was in decent enough control, and Viyeri was in a social mood. Viyeri was just going to be a risk-taker today.
But Viyeri, thankfully, did not get run down by the bluerider on his strange contraption. Now that he was closer, he could see L’xon wasn’t just standing on it, it was strapped to his feet. Well that was different. Viyeri was a bit surprised by the grin that readily sprang to L’xon’s face, since while the bluerider had been willing enough to chat before, he had seemed a bit more…reserved, maybe? But Viyeri was nonetheless glad to see that L’xon was evidently in a good mood. “You have a point there,” Viyeri said with a grin. “I hope you don’t make a habit out of that.”
“I’m sure it is. Everyone loves my company, you know.” Between his tone and his expression, it was evident enough that he was just being silly. “But it’s also nice that it’s you I will be gracing with my presence for the moment, for what it’s worth.” Anyone willing to put up with him was to be appreciated. The conversation shift to Halventh seemed a little abrupt, but Viyeri was willing to go with it. He looked over to the blue dragon, who was indeed much larger than he had been last time. “How impressive!” He said, fairly earnestly, actually, at the list of Halventh’s accomplishments. “And to think, despite no doubt being hard at work acquiring all those skills, he’s even found the time to become even more handsome than before. No easy task, I’m sure.” He supposed it must be natural for dragonriders to be proud of their dragons and want to talk about them, so Viyeri was content enough to indulge him.
He watched, amused, as Halventh moved L’xon back up to the top of the hill, so that he didn’t even have to climb it himself before sliding down again. It was surprising how fast he could go on that board thing. He tilted his head as he watched L’xon flop backward and start taking the boots off, figuring perhaps he’d had his fill of going down the hill. “I’ve never seen anyone do that either, and we used to get quite a bit of snow at the hold.” Considering what hold he came from, that was something of an understatement. “Though I imagine it would be a bit more difficult if you didn’t have a dragon to put you back on top of the hill each time. I doubt you could climb back up yourself with the board still strapped on.”
Somehow, Viyeri really hadn’t seen the question coming. “Me? Well…” He peered at the board, then at the hill, and traced his eyes down the snow bank. He was tempted to just make some excuse why he shouldn’t on the spot, but it really wasn’t all that high, and hadn’t he decided to be a risk-taker today? Even if that thought had been mostly sarcastic. “Oh, all right. Why not. Even I should be able to fall down hills.” Of course, it was a bit more complicated than that. “How do you work this thing, anyway?”
|
|
Azhdarchid
Jr. Weyrwoman
azhct[M:-1490]
Totes.
Posts: 1,627
|
Post by Azhdarchid on Jul 25, 2012 10:12:45 GMT -5
The blue dragon under discussion stuck out his chest at one of his key words, handsome, mantling his wings to their full shady span. L'xon waved at him and he noticed eventually, reaching for his rider and setting him up on his shoulder. L'xon scooted himself back to the saddle between the dragon's ridges. It was a temporary seat so that he did not need to rest on the snow, shoeless, while Viyeri took his turn. And for a moment he was not sure the Candidate would take him up on the offer, smiling when the acquiescence finally arrived.
"Kind of better to learn through experience. I think pressing on the foot in the back binding makes it slow down." The weyrling cupped his hand over one of the ridges at his side, rubbing the protrusion while he waited for Viyeri to get the board on. He glanced back, then patted Halventh's hide. "Put him up there." Halventh's large head ticked toward him, a confused warble vibrating up his neck. Halventh looked back at Viyeri, then stuck his nose skyward. L'xon pressed his lips into a thin line. "Halventh." The blue opened his eyes wide, hanging his lower jaw and goggling dully back at his rider. "Wenth doesn't drool all over herself."
Halventh flicked his jaws shut and mussed his paw against his neck and chest, only to find it dry. He snorted at L'xon, then crooned and turned toward Viyeri. That large pentadactyl paw descended...and rummaged through the snow in front of the Candidate. Halventh plucked out something gray and segmented, pressing it to the tip of his beak and receiving a delighted Drm![/color] for his consideration. He set the squirming bundle on the top of the hill: a pillie. She waved her antennae around at the very high air, but at an encouraging chirp from Halventh pushed off from the peak. She tried to ball herself up, but she was both too late and a little too broad, and ended up in a vaguely clam-shaped orientation as she flopped down the hill a ways before sticking in the snow, tiny legs flailing.
The dragon reached for her with a shocked gurgle, but at that moment something stronger than his desires pushed in from his human half, and he peered back at L'xon to find the blond's brown eyes narrowed in steely concentration.
Okay! Halventh squeaked, redirecting his paw to snatch Viyeri off the ground. He put the Candidate on the peak, then prodded him a few times, "assisting" his balance. L'xon relaxed, and Halventh shook his head and neck a little. The dragon licked the corner of his jaw, then reached in and extracted Lexy, leaving a bug-shaped pothole in her wake. He put her up right next to Viyeri, stroking the back of her shell with a loving claw. Lexy crept up to the edge of the incline, then looked over at Viyeri, her bipartite mouthparts quivering.
|
|
Kestrel
Wingrider
kestct[M:821]
Posts: 374
|
Post by Kestrel on Aug 1, 2012 17:28:10 GMT -5
Viyeri had to smile at the blue’s obvious posing, evidence enough for him that Halventh had picked up on the compliment. It was a little weird talking to L’xon while the weyrling was perched on his dragon’s neck, but he couldn’t really blame the other man for not wanting to stand in the snow with no shoes. Viyeri, meanwhile, busied himself with pulling off his own boots in favor of strapping himself to the strange contraption. “Back foot slows down, good to know,” he mumbled back as he messed with the straps, checking to make sure they were tight. He certainly wasn’t going to take chances of flying off the board midway down the hill.
He stood up when he was finished, his balance a bit precarious now that he couldn’t move his feet. Even with his arms out to the sides, he wobbled a bit before he got a better feel for standing on the thing. Since L’xon had told him to put it on, rather than making him hike up the hill first, Viyeri assumed he’d be hoisted up the hill the same way the weyrling was. Viyeri had mixed feelings about that, but his laziness won over. He braced himself as that paw finally descended toward him (though it apparently took a little convincing) pinning his arms to his sides lest Halventh inadvertently bend one the wrong way, and…what was that thing?
At first Viyeri thought it was one of those bug-creatures people seemed to enjoy keeping, but a dead one, perhaps squashed by a dragon’s misplaced step. But…no, no, it was making noise and moving around. “Is that thing yours?” Viyeri asked, frowning at the creature the blue dragon had set at the top of the hill. The dragon and the flat thing did seem familiar with each other. Confusion gave way to amusement, though, as the bug somewhat unwittingly took Viyeri’s place as the one sliding haphazardly down the hill. “I hope my turn goes a little bit better than that,” he said, chuckling as he watched the pillie floundering about where she had stuck in the snow.
He hadn’t expected the blue’s paw to suddenly change course midway through his grab for the bug-creature and suddenly seize him by the midsection, and the candidate let out a short yelp that was anything but dignified. His efforts to gather up what was left of his dignity and collect himself at the top of the hill once he was set down, however, were thwarted by the blue’s poking and prodding. He tried not to scowl too much as he was nearly knocked over a few times, clearing his throat and doing his best to keep his balance as he peered down the hill. “Oh. Funny. It looks a lot higher from up here, doesn’t it.” He was already regretting his decision to try this out. Watching L’xon had been interesting enough, why hadn’t he just stuck to that? The pillie, at least, proved a bit of a distraction from his imminent peril, and he smiled down at the odd-looking creature. “Oh, are we going to race?” he asked. He was sadly unsure he could win.
|
|
Azhdarchid
Jr. Weyrwoman
azhct[M:-1490]
Totes.
Posts: 1,627
|
Post by Azhdarchid on Aug 3, 2012 23:07:52 GMT -5
"No it's definitely not mine," L'xon answered as soon as he heard the high note signifying a question. "Halventh keeps it around for his entertainment. Best not to deny a dragon his toys and all that." A little stiff on the dismount, but at least Viyeri was soon distracted by...his own panic at being seized by Halventh's helping paw. L'xon crossed his arms, eyeing the blue but not actually preventing any of his further Viyeri pestering.
Lexy flinched when Viyeri spoke back at her, pulling all her legs beneath the cusp of her bland shell till it appeared that she was not only squished, but limbless. A cheery warble from Halventh only encouraged her a little, but it was enough to get in another tip over the hill's precipice. By some miraculous configuration of her withdrawn limbs, her underbelly remained flat enough this time that she began sailing down the snow, mouthparts unfurling in noiseless surprise as she gained speed and her feelers flapped over her back.
She was coasting down at a velocity a little slower than human walking speed. Halventh finally stilled at the spectacle, giving L'xon room and concentration to look past him at Viyeri. He waved. "You can beat her!" the Weyrling cheered, startling himself with the volume his enthusiasm for the sport. Halventh, be ready to catch him if anything goes wrong.
|
|
Kestrel
Wingrider
kestct[M:821]
Posts: 374
|
Post by Kestrel on Aug 4, 2012 3:47:59 GMT -5
“A dragon with a pet?” Viyeri chuckled. “Well…I suppose stranger things have happened,” he said with a shrug. Technically he considered the pillie L’xon’s pet, anyhow—if his dragon kept it, and L’xon was responsible for his dragon, he was at least indirectly responsible for the little gray thing himself. And speaking of the flat little seashell-looking creature. Viyeri thought that perhaps he had scared it by addressing it, and that was what had driven it to tuck itself up inside its little shell as best it could. But scared of him or not, it moved over the edge and started its own descent down, so as best as Viyeri could figure, the race was on.
“That’s not fair! It got a head start!” Viyeri complained none-too-seriously, more to give him a second to stall his inevitable plunge over the hillside for another second or two than anything else. But it wouldn’t do to be shown up by a bug, so he scooted forward as best he could, arms spread out to the sides like awkward plucked wherry wings, and flapping a bit like them too once he actually did start over the embankment and begin to slide down. Not that they helped slow him down in the slightest. Viyeri was reminded of what L’xon said—back foot to slow down, right?—and he tried that, and actually found it slowed his progress an acceptable amount.
Rather too much, actually—he was barely going faster than the pillie, and she was still ahead of him thanks to her trickery in starting early. Viyeri begrudgingly shifted his weight forward, and sped up at once, and after the initial pang of fear at the unfamiliar sensation, a grin spread over his face. A bit of a shaky laugh even escaped him at L’xon’s cheering, and he bent his knees a little, finding that to help him balance and pick up his speed just a tad. He looked to the side to see himself finally pass by the gray pillie, and he smiled all the wider as he reached the bottom of the hill, winning the little race. He stood back up straight, moving to put more weight on his back foot, but he shifted too quickly, and Viyeri’s smile flickered away as he felt all semblance of good balance go out the window. His arms flapped uselessly as he unceremoniously started to topple backwards.
|
|
Azhdarchid
Jr. Weyrwoman
azhct[M:-1490]
Totes.
Posts: 1,627
|
Post by Azhdarchid on Aug 6, 2012 12:35:38 GMT -5
L'xon got one knee under himself and grasped the higher ridges of Halventh's arched neck, leaning around the left side to watch Viyeri. As the Candidate began to speed up, the bluerider climbed onto his sock-clad feet and stood where he normally sat, clinging to Halventh's neck. He detected a change in Viyeri's posture, the way he moved, and as he tried to divine just how much knee flexing was needed for the aerodynamic quality the other young man shot past Lexy, a dark arrow.
Halventh, a little less involved in the whole affair, predictively shuffled a step closer to the bottom of the hill as Viyeri arrived. When L'xon started to grip his neck tighter at the detection of an imbalance in Viyeri's dismount, Halventh stuck out his paw and collected the tumbling snowrider into it, even pulling back as human and palm collided to keep the contact from jarring. He put down a wingclaw for balance and extended his other paw to pick Viyeri up, holding him with a practiced gentleness- their Weyrling training had literally involved the handling of injured bodies, which was different from plucking up, say, a herdbeast.
The blue had one paw braced against Viyeri's back, the other supporting his legs. It was a different procedure for each class of dragon, but with both paws engaged Halventh could lift even a tall man like the Candidate. Half-standing, half-hanging off his dragon's neck, L'xon waved enthusiastically at the day's victor.
"You did great. That was a lot better than my first time." The blond's eyes stopped looking quite at Viyeri, focusing on a commentary given privately, and then he grimaced and thumped Halventh's neck. The blue snuffled. "Do you want to go again? Or...I have more than enough materials for another slider at my weyr." He gestured to the board fixed to Viyeri's feet. "I could show you how to make one. One that fits."
Lexy had acquired a slight rotation in her downward coast, but when her momentum petered out she found the revolutions had carried her to face forward once again. Surprised at her gracefulness, she hopped up with a cheer of Drr-drm![/color] and waved her antennae about.
But no one was paying attention anymore.
The pillie sank back into the snow.
|
|
Kestrel
Wingrider
kestct[M:821]
Posts: 374
|
Post by Kestrel on Aug 10, 2012 23:51:28 GMT -5
Shards, he was going to fall. And not even an intentional fall like L’xon had done—he was just going to fall on his butt with all the grace of a one-winged wherry. Oh well. It wouldn’t be the first time he fell down in the snow, that was for sure. But it was certainly the first time he ended up being swooped smoothly back into a stable standing position, caught in a gentle grip, rather than gathering some bruises from falling in snow that often might as well be a pile of rocks.
“Why thank you, Halventh!” he said, pleasantly surprised, and patted the nearest part of the blue’s paw. Given the blue’s prior behavior toward him, it was certainly unexpected. So much so that Viyeri wouldn’t be so surprised if Halventh ‘accidentally’ let go and he ended up in a clumsy heap on the snow bank after all. But until that happened, Viyeri was going to be a gentleman. “You saved me from quite an unpleasant fall, I’m sure. Clumsy me.”
He grinned up at L’xon, resting his arms atop the paw he was gripped in. “Just beginner’s luck, I’m sure! That’s usually how it goes—I stumble into a good way to go about it, and drive myself crazy trying to figure out how to repeat it. I’m sure next time I’ll have a more satisfying crash for you to watch,” he said cheerfully. “That was actually a lot more fun than I was expecting. It wouldn’t be very fair if I kept on monopolizing the one board you have—we can go see about making another. Then maybe we could race, unless Halventh’s little friend wants a rematch.”
Reminded of the (not so little) gray bug, he looked down and saw that she had indeed made it to the bottom of the hill, one way or anther. “Oh, look at that. I guess we have a winner for second place!” he said, grinning at the pillie.
|
|
Azhdarchid
Jr. Weyrwoman
azhct[M:-1490]
Totes.
Posts: 1,627
|
Post by Azhdarchid on Aug 14, 2012 13:30:22 GMT -5
L'xon granted a good-natured raise of his eyebrows at Viyeri's first modest admissions, but the rise developed into a more sincere curiosity as the Candidate continued babbling. He looked around as Viyeri twisted to address the pillie, mouth settling into a thin, sturdy line. Halventh peeped back at him, eyes rolling with green trails till L'xon motioned back at him. The blue lifted Viyeri away from his congratulations and settled him on the round of his shoulder. L'xon leaned down and seized the front of the Candidate's clothing, hauling him up to the notch behind his own. He huffed at the weight, then shook his head as Halventh handed him the Candidate's boots, each one balanced on the point of a pale claw. "No worse than firestone," the rider pronounced his passenger's weight. Since strapping Viyeri in properly would have to wait till he had gotten the board off, L'xon turned in his seat and kept one hand clasped over the other's shoulder. He stuck out his other arm to receive the board as soon as it was sufficiently loose. Halventh's wedge-shaped head sat still, one eye tipped toward them and brimming with sluggish glimmers of interest in the proceedings. The dragon's nostrils flared and oozed out silver whispers of breath into the winter air. Responding again to some non-public goading, L'xon looked up at those big jaws cracked in a predator's toothy grin, then shook the comment off and turned back to Viyeri. "How many dragons have you gotten to ride since arriving?" he asked, though there was a tease in his voice. L'xon did not mean to poke at the black-haired Candidate's perpetual status, but maybe just to point out that he was the first hero to really offer- "Oh," he said with a little intake of breath. "I'm sorry. That was Halventh. Not him directly..." He ducked his yellow head a moment. "Sorry. Sometimes I just mistake his thoughts for mine." Aware of how this sounded, he raised his hand off Viyeri's shoulder to wave dismissal of it before clamping back down again. "We have similarities, so maybe something I wouldn't normally say- he'll say it no problem. Because he has no shame." His own shoulders hitched together as sheepishly as they could under his leather coat. "Dragons don't tend to, as a rule. They're- he's rude." But even as he said it, he fired a look of apology back forward at his rude blue. "He's a bad boy," L'xon concluded halfheartedly in an example of a strong rider scolding his foolhardy dragon. Halventh rumbled sweetly in return, and twisted his neck all the way around to nuzzle L'xon, who accepted this potentially embarassing affection without so much as a raised hand in protest. And a vacant, preoccupied smile. Then Halventh pulled away, and he refocused on Viyeri. "It's a lost cause," he sighed. "I hope you get one." [ OOC:  ] |
|
Kestrel
Wingrider
kestct[M:821]
Posts: 374
|
Post by Kestrel on Sept 14, 2012 5:00:53 GMT -5
It hadn’t taken Viyeri log to peg L’xon as one of those who required Viyeri to do most of the legwork in a conversation—or at least, that was how Viyeri saw it with his ideals for conversations. Which meant lots of talking and not a lot of that not talking stuff, usually. But he was okay with that. Especially when L’xon and his dragon were busy hoisting him up to the blue’s sky-colored shoulder, getting him up to the perch with minimal work on Viyeri’s part. Quite unfortunately, Viyeri couldn’t have easily scrabbled up with both feet still strapped to the board. Being lifted up by the blue’s taloned hand, however, did afford him the opportunity to notice that there was something very charmingly wintery about Halventh himself, likely thanks to those lighter marks milling about the darker canvass of his stomach. An evening snowstorm came to mind—Viyeri had been through plenty of those in his lifetime, that was for sure.
But while L’xon could be quiet, Viyeri certainly couldn’t call either half of the bluerider pair chilly. “Why thank you again, Halventh,” he said, smiling warmly as the dragon took care in handing up his boots. They looked as small as a kitten’s mittens, perched on his claws as they were. He shifted just as much as was safe, turning back to L’xon at the firestone comment. “Oh, good to hear. I do hate to be a burden, literally or otherwise. Though I suppose I should not be so useful as the former if thread were to fall. I’m happy to leave that one untested.”
He was glad of L’xon’s hold on him as they fiddled with the board. It would be one thing to have brought his face into an unhappy reunion with the hard-packed snow while on the board—and quite another to do so by tumbling off the dragon’s shoulder. He wasn’t so sure Halventh would be able to intervene if he did fall again, either. That would be pushing his luck, and Viyeri tended to have very terrible luck from the start, for a Bitran. The candidate was a little surprised to hear the proud, almost teasing qualities lacing the tone of the bluerider he had figured as shy, but ready enough to roll with it, a grin on his face and a reply itching on his tongue before its entry was prematurely cut off. Viyeri had clearly not been offended, but he indulged L’xon’s apology all the same, trying to look understanding, or at least, trying to look like he was trying to understand. Because naturally, he couldn’t quite relate. “Oh, don’t be so worried about it, I don’t really mind which of you it came from; it’s not a bad question! And I’ve always imagined, with a human and a dragon’s minds linked as you are, that certainly thoughts must get a little tangled up now and then.”
It was hard not to smile too much at the most half-hearted scolding he’d ever seen given out, complete with the blue in question, evidently unfazed, giving his rider a good nuzzling. “You sure told him,” Viyeri said, an eyebrow raised as he watched in amusement. “Ah, but he doesn’t seem so bad to me! He’s been very sweet, lifting me up here and all, and keeping me from falling. Rude, imagine! Now that doesn’t seem a fair thing to say at all,” he said, glancing toward the dragon’s very large blue face as though to confer with him over the injustices of his rider’s criticisms. Viyeri was almost surprised by L’xon’s well-wishing, having not thought much about the possibility of his own impression in some time. “Oh, I don’t know,” he said, with a long-suffering sigh. “It would be nice, I’m sure. But I think it may be time to put a bit more effort into a contingency plan—I’ve been thinking about vinting, actually. If I could just find a vinter—for some strange reason, the weyr seems to have far more healers and herders.”
|
|
Azhdarchid
Jr. Weyrwoman
azhct[M:-1490]
Totes.
Posts: 1,627
|
Post by Azhdarchid on Sept 19, 2012 12:20:05 GMT -5
Halventh's big head cocked toward Viyeri at the rebuke of L'xon's already pitiful scolding. Lime began to populate his eyes, fluttering through the facets like stars streaking past a stained glass window. His shoulders bumped up at either side of his riders, whole body hopping up from the rock. L'xon gave this show of enthusiasm a glance, but did not pay his dragon much mind. He gripped the ridge ahead of him as Halventh leaped off the snow, then immediately turned back to continue the conversation.
"You're reacting quite kindly to my admission that I'm a mad wherry," the blond observed in a dry voice. "I must not be dramatic enough about it." Even drier! "You're strange. I won't say that most Candidates don't have alternatives, but once they're here, it seems like most feel a dragon is destiny. It's the only thing they should point their life toward, thought and deed. And I mean that in a way that's different from it being their duty." He touched one gloved hand to his chest. "Until you've actually got someone that can return on your interest, I guess it just strikes me as being like an obsession." Halventh's wings flared out just a little further than normal, and suddenly he was still upon the cusp of his weyr ledge. L'xon glanced down at the precarious grasp of talons on stone, then rolled his eyes. "Sort of like how it's suddenly alright to be hearing voices after you Impress."
Halventh chirped, stepping away from the edge and under the stony roof of his lair. L'xon thumped his side, then began unstrapping Viyeri while the blue laid down neat as a cat on his rocky deis. "You're like Rennin," the rider decided. "She didn't care either." And she was the definition of strange. "Now she's got her blue who-" The chest beneath them contracted in a derisive, sneeze-like snort. "-will never be as large or beautiful as Halventh. But I'm sure he's adequate...for her." Halventh's eyes flashed a muddled blue-white, but he grumbled his appeasement to the description. L'xon glanced back at his beast's face, more than once, while his lips twitched at further commentary that never quite surfaced. He bent down to start removing the board and boots from Viyeri's feet, not even thinking to ask if the Candidate would rather conduct such strippings himself. "Sort of lost familiarity with Rennin, though," he murmured. Then, with conjured lightness, he explained: "The first few seasons are killers. I really don't think infants should ever be longer than five or six feet." L'xon rested a hand on Viyeri's knee to caution him against trying to rise, feet free or not. "Wait here."
Without reclaiming his own boots, the bluerider strode down Halventh's arm and landed on the winter stone in his socks. His progress from there was less graceful, hampered by the desire to keep as little of each foot in contact with the cool floor as possible. He disappeared into the smaller cavern designated for a rider's rooms, and reemerged with an impromptu carpet fashioned from the first layer of his bedfurs. The pattern was not herdbeast, but feline, all spots and stripes and tawny fluff. L'xon bore the carpet up to Halventh's arm, laying it down just aside from the normal dismount spot. Halventh responded by coiling his body around the spot, twitching his tail across to complete the circle. "Grab your things, climb down and land here," L'xon advised after he finished pressing flat the fur's corners. He stepped onto it himself, sighing at the prompt absence of freezing feet. "Halventh will warm this place up quick. I study this way rather than in my room." Though the implication was that his room did not have a dragon handy to heat it, there was a naturally occurring geothermal that took care of the matter.
Halventh-sponsored warmth was just comfier. "There are vintners here," L'xon muttered in a late addendum, looking at an intersection of spots on the fur under his feet rather than watching Viyeri's downward progress. "And other dispensaries. You just wouldn't want to train with them. They are decidedly rudimentary."
|
|
Kestrel
Wingrider
kestct[M:821]
Posts: 374
|
Post by Kestrel on Sept 19, 2012 23:05:19 GMT -5
Viyeri’s smile broadened a bit when Halventh’s massive blue head turned his way. From what he knew of dragons and their shifty color-changey eyes, the reaction wasn’t a bad one. Viyeri had not, however, been entirely ready for the dragon to simply leap into the air without warning (though what sort of warning he expected, considering both he and L’xon were now strapped in and everything, he couldn’t say) and he had a brief moment of panic that he was about to go flying off (once again despite those very nice secure straps that were quite evidently holding him in place). His hands flailed around for a moment in search of handholds, and one found the neckridge in front of him while the other caught one of L’xon’s shoulders. Thus secured, Viyeri hunched down as if to prevent the wind from plucking him off the dragon’s shoulders.
He realized, in the next moment as they continued flying and he did not in fact tumble off to a miserable early death, that his fear had been quite silly, and he slowly pried his hand off the bluerider’s shoulder and eased himself back up. Huh. Not so bad. “I guess that answers your question about how much I’ve been flitting about the weyr on dragonwings lately,” he said with a rueful smile. “Well, at least now I’ve met my loss of dignity quota for the day.”
“Oh everyone knows all dragonriders are crazy, don’t worry about that,” Viyeri said good-naturedly. “Ah, drama takes a certain flair, you know? It was a good start, I’ll grant you that, but you’ll need to keep working on it if you really want to get it down,” he said, playing the critic. He looked a bit more thoughtful as he listened to L’xon’s description of most candidates—it seemed true enough, from what Viyeri had seen in many of the others. “That sounds like a good way to set yourself up for disappointment,” he said, smiling. “Not to mention quite a crisis if the whole dragonrider business turns out not to be in the cards. Though who knows—maybe the dragons like those sorts best, so they don’t have to worry much about that. Maybe that’s where I’m going wrong—not committed enough.” He shrugged, still evidently not terribly serious nor worried overmuch about his dragonriding prospects. “Was that how you were? Obsessed?” he asked, with a teasing grin.
The ride had actually not so bad, once he’d gotten over his initial start from the take-off, but the wind turned out to be even more biting when you were plowing through it at higher altitudes, so he was glad enough to have reached the shelter of L’xon’s weyr. He let the bluerider deal with the riding straps, as he could no doubt do a better job at that then Viyeri, and watched the bonded pair with amusement as L’xon tried to talk about another dragon. Halventh probably had one of the biggest egos of those dragons Viyeri had met—not that those were many. “Mm. Well, if she’s busy with weyrlinghood, I’m sure you’ll get to see more of her one her dragon’s a bit more self-sufficient. Most of you dragonriders seem to manage to have at least some kind of social life. Somehow,” he offered, half-teasing. More seriously, he added: “I wouldn’t worry about it.”
While it made sense for L’xon to undo the riding straps, it was a bit stranger having him unstrap Viyeri’s boots, as well. But he didn’t object, to the boots or the order not to move, and remained seated on his living perch as he watched the bluerider embark on his perilous quest across the cold weyr floor. Which, apparently, was to retrieve a very nice looking bedfur that served just as well as a carpet. He held on to Halventh’s neckridge as the dragon shifted beneath him, curling around the impromptu rug. Once Halventh seemed settled, he grabbed both the board and his boots, and made a not-very-graceful, but also not-horribly-embarrassing descent to the carpet. “This is a very nice fur,” he said. “And thanks for the help. It’s been a while since I was the one getting waited on,” he said, chuckling. “Oh there are, hm?” he mused, at the mention of vinters. He had nearly forgotten about that. “I suppose I’ll have to go track them down and hassle them into teaching me, then, won’t I?” And at the mention of those less than licensed vinters: “Well, I’m not in much of a position to be picky. But I suppose I’ll try the actual crafters first.”
|
|
Azhdarchid
Jr. Weyrwoman
azhct[M:-1490]
Totes.
Posts: 1,627
|
Post by Azhdarchid on Sept 22, 2012 14:28:30 GMT -5
"Obsession is the opposite of me, on anything," L'xon replied, mulling the notion as he spoke. "I was surprised, and then I just..." His pale brows worked together, then resolved to raise a bit at Viyeri. "I have always just done what's required of me. It takes up all my time, till today I guess. When I first went to Western Hold, that might have been a little rebellious, but now I think it was some scheme Halventh worked out. A few Turns prior to his conception, granted, but he's a clever fellow when he focuses." L'xon crossed his legs, pulling the board over from Viyeri and detaching some of the support leather from the nose. "I arrived the same day of that fire in the kitchen, so I was just put to work helping the clean-up. No time to get obsessed."
Though a passive party to the conversation, Halventh was nonetheless keeping a swirling eye on it. His wings bustled about on his back with constrained impatience. "And I was a lot worse on my ride with the Searcher. I screamed and everything." L'xon avoided the point that his pre-Impression ride had included a trip Between, whereas Viyeri had suffered through the meagerest hop in Halventh's repertoire. "When we got here, of course, J'von saw the smoke and he just sort of dropped me by the Barracks. About broke my arm."
Halventh whistled in sympathy. L'xon leaned back on the nearest portion of his blue's coiled body. He unfolded his legs across the fur, fingers lingering on the board. "Isn't it?" he said with a smile, drifting one hand down to the patterns playing amongst golden threads. "I got it when I first moved in here, just assigned it instead of herdbeast out of chance. I've never gotten to hunt one yet." Dragon and rider adopted similar expressions of half-lidded hope for that opportunity. L'xon's was the first to clear: "I'm serious," he noted with mild affront. "If anyone tries to barter any sort of liquid to you, please tell me. It's not just wine." The bluerider's shoulders squared tight against Halventh. "From what I've seen, it takes more effort to be what's expected than to do whatever you want. It's inherently more virtuous. And even riders are suspect of being..."
L'xon's eyes dropped to the board. "I didn't bring anything to make the new one with." He got to his feet and walked back to his bedroom. He did not flinch at the chill even once. He came back with his arms laden and stepped over Halventh's tail-tip. "Liars and brigands like that just concern me," the former guard explained as he sat back down. But it wasn't like any of these worried could form the roots of an obsession. Nothing moved calm L'xon like that. Nothing.
|
|
Kestrel
Wingrider
kestct[M:821]
Posts: 374
|
Post by Kestrel on Oct 1, 2012 19:26:59 GMT -5
“Ah, above such worldly things as obsession, are you?” he teased. “That’s good, though. That sort of thing rarely ends well.” L’xon did seem like the dutiful type, so Viyeri was inclined to believe that he generally devoted himself solely to whatever normal tasks were assigned to him, though he had to smile at the idea of Halventh being responsible for any spontaneous activity even before he was shelled. “Well, I suppose dragons can be quite sneaky that way,” he said, chuckling. He waggled a finger at L’xon. “But don’t think you can just pin the blame on Halventh for all your dangerous, new fun-seeking ideas! I can see through you—secretly, I bet you’re just as bad as he is.”
The reminder of the kitchen fire was a sad thought, though—Viyeri hadn’t been around at the time, of course, but he’d certainly seen its effect on some who had. Like Rhikail. “Mm. That would be a sobering beginning for a candidacy indeed. Mine was thankfully far less eventful.” Uneventful wasn’t very exciting, perhaps, but after his recent life prior to candidacy, uneventful was a nice change indeed. That part of his life seemed very long ago now.
L’xon had settled against the blue’s side easily enough, but Viyeri was more hesitant to make himself comfortable against someone else’s dragon. Though Halventh had been reasonably amiable toward him (aside from pushing him around while he was on the board, at least) he wasn’t sure how Halventh would react to being used as a backrest. Instead, Viyeri tried to get himself situated so that he was close to, but not actually touching the blue dragon. At least the fur was comfortable, in addition to being pretty. “Well, you have some luck then,” he said, casting an appreciative glance at their makeshift carpet. “You actually want to hunt a feline?” He tried not to look quite as incredulous as he felt, though the idea of the bluerider pair stalking felines in the jungle was a little bit amusing, too. “I guess I’ll never understand why people like that sort of thing. Though I suppose the risk is a good deal less if you have a dragon to back you up.”
He was a bit surprised that L’xon seemed to care so much about Viyeri taking lessons from illicit winemakers—especially when he hadn’t really been serious. It was nice having a friend who actually cared what he did, though. He held up his hands in surrender, smiling. “All right, all right, I promise. No covert winemaking classes for me. If vintercraft doesn’t work out, I might try weaving or something instead.” Viyeri could tell L’xon still seemed bothered by something, though he wasn’t really sure what, or why. Unless he really just did care that deeply about people making their own drinks. He didn’t say anything as L’xon abruptly left to retrieve wood for the new board, bringing it back to their cozy little circle of dragon-warmth.
“Why should you be bothered?” he said, eyebrows rising a bit. “I don’t think many of those sort would stand up to a dragonrider. They wouldn’t pose much threat to you.” Viyeri would know, sadly. Not that he was going to tell L’xon that. He let out a hint of a sigh. “I think the ‘virtue’ of doing what others expect of you depends entirely on what exactly is expected. I don’t think it necessarily takes more effort, either—the risks involved in following your own path tend to be much steeper than staying with the herd. There’s a lot more vulnerability. Of course, there’s no guarantee of a good outcome either way. But I don’t know. To be fair, I’d say I’m pretty jaded.” He concluded his ramblings with a somewhat apologetic smile, before shifting his attention to the wood L’xon had brought over.
|
|
Azhdarchid
Jr. Weyrwoman
azhct[M:-1490]
Totes.
Posts: 1,627
|
Post by Azhdarchid on Oct 5, 2012 21:27:41 GMT -5
"Faranth forbid." Were he silly as his dragon, they'd not last a Fall. Or any significantly less dangerous but still integral events. Not with many friends left afterward, anyway. Though Halventh managed some affinity even with the crotchety soul of, say, Ambrith, L'xon often thought that was more a favor to him. He liked Ambrith, and the viridian's brief consideration of him was one of the few pre-Halventh memories that stuck. "Hunting with your dragon is one of the best experiences you'll have," he answered the Candidate without hesitation. His concern about appearing strange on this topic fell swiftly to his love for Halventh, and the sorts of uniting experiences that fully realized their life-bond. Still, maybe he detected more than a feline-specific disbelief on Viyeri's end. "Didn't your dad ever take you hunting?" he teased.
When he returned, on that far less humoring note, he frowned at Viyeri's characterization of the troublemakers, but said nothing and started laying out his dissected board as a blueprint for the second edition.
You know... Halventh started, but never finished. A touch of his words went to Viyeri, lifting away from the Candidate's mind like a soft film. L'xon glanced over his shoulder to spot the blue's wedge-shaped head resting on the floor. Halventh's enormous eye, possessed of darker cerulean than the rest of him, had remained fixed on Viyeri as he spoke. He was not too stealthy in his staring, but when he noticed L'xon looking he blinked his inner lids and peered off elsewhere. After a calculating pause, the blue filled the gap in his rider's understanding with a wash of renewed support. Even encouragement, though L'xon could not determine to what end.
Nonetheless he turned back to Viyeri with a tentative smile, signaling an end to his stony apprehension. Though he nodded in acknowledgement, he did not quite agree. His fingers made tracks between the boards as he replied: "That 'going it alone' tale is in harper songs for a reason. It doesn't happen in real life without the rogue risking their family as well. I don't think those are risks we are allowed to take. I left Fort for the sake of my family- the one I was still making, and the one my parents had made for me. I needed to keep them both satisfied. That's why traditions are there: to create the expectations we need to meet to keep our families safe."
He pulled the base of Viyeri's board closer and began weaving crosses of leather strips over the firm central spindle. "My father would say that any failure in life is paid for by a..." He struggled with the word, even if he had heard it before. "...deviance from tradition." He turned the board over and began tying up the tail-ends of the strips in the same intersecting patterns. "There's just one, tiny," and he held up one hand briefly, pinching his thumb and pointer together to indicate the tininess. "Problem with dragonriders. They have no family. There is nothing in this place that speaks to intimacy, and though I am sure this opinion will change as I experience more, I am certain right now that the only thing that keeps any of us together is the nature of the dragons themselves. Beyond that we're not much more than acquaintances who fight and sleep together."
A few low notes thrummed in disparate disagreement from Halventh, who had not been trying to stimulate quite this kind of doubling down in his rider. But L'xon's voice did not fade into the murmur of apology. "In a few months, I will ask my wife if she will come here to continue alongside me. If she refuses, I suppose I will be like the rest. But I wouldn't ever abandon her." He held up the strung-up core of the board that would be to Viyeri. "So, someone who goes on their own is just being selfish," he concluded. "There's- I can't see it any other way. That's not how we do things at Fort." He clung to the last phrase like it was the rope out of a pit.
He tilted the board from one side to the other, then peeked around it at his guest. "You can pick the outer patches you want for it. See, like that one has stripes..."
|
|
Kestrel
Wingrider
kestct[M:821]
Posts: 374
|
Post by Kestrel on Oct 6, 2012 4:19:45 GMT -5
Viyeri smiled at L’xon’s response, though he wouldn’t think it quite so bad as the bluerider seemed to if L’xon was more like his dragon. Perhaps not too much alike—but a little bit of willingness to have fun and be impulsive couldn’t hurt. He continued looking on with a humoring smile, too, at the suggestion of Viyeri someday hunting with his dragon—the red star would crack in two before he ever saw that day. But his happy expression faltered with amazing rapidity at the mention of his father. It had come up too unexpectedly for him to do a better acting job, but he was just going to have to roll with it. “…no. We didn’t do that sort of thing.”
He watched L’xon start positioning the board, but his attention was interrupted by a strange, foreign sensation, too brief for him to determine much about it. It seemed linked to the blue behind him, though, but by the time he glanced back at Halventh, the faceted eye was already lidded and turned away from him. Weird, but Viyeri doubted it meant anything. L’xon’s silence, though, probably did—Viyeri got the feeling that the bluerider hadn’t much cared for what he’d said. And when L’xon did break the silence, it seemed he was right.
“Mm, there’s definitely some truth to that—I wouldn’t say that intentionally breaking from expectations is necessarily a good thing. I was only speaking to what you said before, about effort. It may not be right to do things one's own way all the time, but I don’t think it would necessarily be easy, either,” Viyeri said with a conciliatory smile. “I can agree that there isn’t much virtue in shirking one’s responsibilities.” Not that that meant Viyeri wasn’t ever going to shirk them anyway.
He wasn’t terribly surprised to learn that L’xon was from Fort, either—it did explain a good deal. He’d learned it was best not to push anyone from Fort too much on their views, too. Viyeri wasn’t really the argumentative type anyway. His eyes narrowed a little in thought at the particular wisdom L’xon shared from his father. “What does that mean, paid for by a deviance? Wouldn’t the deviance from tradition be a failure in itself? Hypothetically.” Viyeri looked down at the wood, watching L’xon work. He was surprised to hear from the bluerider in particular—who had always told Viyeri how strange yet gratifying it was to have a dragon—that he didn’t think dragonriders had much of a community at all. That was the sort of thing the holdfolk said, but it was quite different hearing it from the runner’s mouth, as it were.
“I’m sure that can’t all be true,” he said, with a sympathetic sort of frown. “Lots of riders have weyrmates, which seems like much the same thing as a married couple, as far as I can tell. And I’m sure you have friends—the weyrlings all seem so close that I’m sure you can’t have come out of it without anything more than acquaintances. I guess it’s not a typical family, but you surely can’t all be so detached.” L’xon’s home weyr may not have been much of a surprise, but the fact that he had a wife certainly was. He didn’t seem all that much older than Viyeri—though the candidate supposed it wasn’t uncommon at all for people to get married that young, in holds. He’d been in a weyr too long. He declined to comment much on this piece of information, though—it was always better not to get involved in people’s relationships, especially when he didn’t know the whole story. It was remarkably easy to say the wrong thing and get on someone’s bad side, and that was something Viyeri always tried to avoid.
He settled for nodding and a sympathetic glance—you could rarely go wrong with that. He ran a hand down the board-in-progress, and examined the patches in reflective silence for a moment. “I like the stripes,” he decided, pushing the selected one toward L’xon. Silence came back to roost on his shoulders quickly enough, until he shooed it away again with a sigh. “For most situations, I can’t really disagree with you. But what about—here’s a hypothetical one. Suppose someone quite important—the Lord Holder, your father, someone like that—asked you to say, lie or steal, and said it was for the good of your family or the hold, or both. Not saying it would ever happen, of course, but if it did. Would it still be more virtuous to do what they expected of you for the sake of your family, even if it might hurt someone else’s? I’m not sure tradition has an answer for that,” he said sadly.
|
|
