Post by Azhdarchid on Nov 23, 2011 20:13:37 GMT -5
From her post in the skies well past the Rim, the tan dragon Unath could see the hairs dotting the herdbeasts' Summer coats, red and black. Her rider, Q'sis, was not available for any extended excursions today, or she might have been hunting in other pastures. As she circled, riderless, her shadow was too faint on the feeding grounds below to stir any but the greenest animals. Of course their nervous scurrying drew Unath's eyes to them, but not all dragons were so easily swayed by the dances of the walking dead. The older prisoners of the pens were not simply used to the dragons, but often frightened to stillness rather than stampeding. Theirs was an unpleasant, brief existence. Another winged predator swooped along the herds' heads, zipping out Dalibor's main entrance. Even the most stoic inmates scattered, and Unath lost track of which one she had wanted to eat.
You don't have to wait for me, came the deep reassurances of her rider. His thoughts were colored by concentration on other matters, a reading of some sort that he was conducting in a classroom within the Weyr's west wall. Unath could not help him with that.
I don't, she replied, the firmness of her answer perhaps inherited from the man, or simply something she had come into with sufficient age. But I will anyway. That got a smile onto Q'sis' lips, and all was right with Pern from Unath's simple lofty viewpoint. I am thirsty, she added, a small notice that she would not be waiting on him to serve that particular need. Q'sis did not mind at all.
I will be there soon.
Unath focused on remembering why she was descending as she pulled in her leathery wings. Her dusky, brownish bulk sank through the thermals she always preferred, hind legs extending out as she neared the Bowl floor. Her three-toed feet touched down first, knees bent groundward as she balanced out the gravity of landing. Then she put forward her front legs, small but still capable. She assembled her wings more neatly to her back.
She had happened to land before the Candidates' Barracks, and noticed the building on her first curious head tilt. She wandered over and promptly stuck her head through the main entryway, only to find the commons within awfully constricting. The Tan coiled her neck back with a whistle. She had come down for some other reason that did not involve suspicious buildings. What was it? A mental nudge from Q'sis answered her. Oh. I am thirsty.
Stomping off to the lakeshore, Unath tucked her head towards the water. She scooped the liquid up with her lower jaw at first, but varied between that and lapping with her bright blue tongue. She kept an eye on her surroundings while she drank, the facets only just starting to flow red.
You don't have to wait for me, came the deep reassurances of her rider. His thoughts were colored by concentration on other matters, a reading of some sort that he was conducting in a classroom within the Weyr's west wall. Unath could not help him with that.
I don't, she replied, the firmness of her answer perhaps inherited from the man, or simply something she had come into with sufficient age. But I will anyway. That got a smile onto Q'sis' lips, and all was right with Pern from Unath's simple lofty viewpoint. I am thirsty, she added, a small notice that she would not be waiting on him to serve that particular need. Q'sis did not mind at all.
I will be there soon.
Unath focused on remembering why she was descending as she pulled in her leathery wings. Her dusky, brownish bulk sank through the thermals she always preferred, hind legs extending out as she neared the Bowl floor. Her three-toed feet touched down first, knees bent groundward as she balanced out the gravity of landing. Then she put forward her front legs, small but still capable. She assembled her wings more neatly to her back.
She had happened to land before the Candidates' Barracks, and noticed the building on her first curious head tilt. She wandered over and promptly stuck her head through the main entryway, only to find the commons within awfully constricting. The Tan coiled her neck back with a whistle. She had come down for some other reason that did not involve suspicious buildings. What was it? A mental nudge from Q'sis answered her. Oh. I am thirsty.
Stomping off to the lakeshore, Unath tucked her head towards the water. She scooped the liquid up with her lower jaw at first, but varied between that and lapping with her bright blue tongue. She kept an eye on her surroundings while she drank, the facets only just starting to flow red.
