Azhdarchid
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Post by Azhdarchid on Jun 11, 2011 18:04:11 GMT -5
Two weeks post-Hatching, and Q'sis still woke in various ache-inducing configurations beside his dragon, rather than in the nice bed his current home was outfitted with. Today he was seated on the cool stone, his back to the dragon couch and Unath's arm draped across his chest. His arm had in turn locked around the proffered tan limb in sleep, and only now did he slowly unclutch his benumbed fingers.
He was in a worthwhile pain. She was so small yet. It was too easy for someone of human size and boldness to affect her. Q'sis had to wait till she was unreachable by human hands, save the ones that would move against her through him.
At that thought, Unath's eyelids slid off yellowing facets and her hot breath puffed through his hair with sudden wakefulness. Q'sis laid his hand back to her arm and stroked her skin, then moved the limb off himself and turned around to face her. He ignored the twinge in his back, and Unath regarded him for a moment before her eyes faded back to blue. She laid her head down on the couch and flexed her white inner lids nearly shut as he rubbed behind her headknobs. She did not go back to sleep.
The dragon might have been relieved as that terrible notion slipped out of her mind like a nightmare forgotten. But it was Q'sis who took the most joy in waking and finding her there with him. Even sleepy, she was alive. Heaving a sigh into the dark, Q'sis laid his face against the join of her neck and shoulder, then rose to tip open the nearest glowbasket. He departed the room to fetch an oil bucket, not much caring what he looked like. None of the other Weyrlings ever seemed to be awake at this hour, or maybe they all just forgot who they encountered while they stumbled around in the morning haze. He returned and oiled every part of the reclining dragonet he could reach, then went and cleaned himself up for the coming day.
His short-sleeve tunic and vest were both a muddy shade of brown that worked only as a complement to Unath. Such coordination was not Q'sis' intent; he really just wanted to wear the least expensive of his remaining clothing, as it tended to end up irredeemable after a few days' worth of dragon feeding. Summer had already turned the Bowl hot, but he wore pants and boots for the sake of the imminent work anyway. Everything else was the same as in Candidacy: the trimming of an overgrown beard back to nobility, the shaping of unruly eyebrows. Unath stirred completely soon enough and began wandering around in his wake as he moved through each task till he at last returned to oil her underside.
Dripping with the sweet-scented rewards of Q'sis effort, Unath flopped out into the corridor after him. He did not have to tell her where they were going. The hatchling was still operating stomach-first. In the common niche Q'sis picked up a carving knife, and stared at the remainder of the pile for a time before twisting to face the girls' corridor.
The Weyrlingmaster-- if she could really be called that --seemed to have higher standards of them than the Candidatemaster held of their unImpressed selves. So there was more observation occurring, and stricter enforcement of the rules. Rules like "no grown men wandering around the girls' hall." Q'sis scratched the side of his head, then glanced down at Unath. She was a girl.
"Go get Mith and Valha," he told her. "I wish to speak with them." He supplied his sharp, detailed memory of their appearances with his words. Unath seemed more interested in Mith than her rider.
That is me, she declared brightly of Mith's image.
"You're dark--"
I can find myself for you. Unath toddled off down the girls' hall with confidence in her step-- even when she tripped over her own feet and landed her jaw squarely on the stone flooring. She got back up and approached a closed sidedoor. Considering the eventual size of the hatchlings, there had to exist a large, doorless main entrance to the rooms, or doors opened only by dragon strength. But sometimes there were these more personal gateways too. Hello me, she said, announcing herself to the dragonet inside and rearing up on her hindlegs. Both sets of foreclaws planted against the door with a thud, and Unath began pulling them downward.
Stop, Q'sis demanded before she had gotten more than a token array of punctures into the door. Unath immediately dropped back to all fours and looked at him.
I am confused, she confessed. Q'sis lowered his chin at her. He advanced on the troubled door, restrictions or not, and awaited the occupants beside his hatchling.
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Chek
Weyrlingmaster 
chekct[M:-15]
I'm so magical I vomit rainbows
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Post by Chek on Jun 14, 2011 20:24:26 GMT -5
Valha still wasn't used to having to wake up quite so early in order to start in on what was quickly becoming her new morning routine. The first day, she'd had to drag her cot over so it lay above Mith's sunken couch, giving the easily frightened Tan a nice, dark hiding place (at least for as long as she stayed small enough to fit. Mith was small for a Tan, but this arrangement was NOT going to last all that long). So on those nights where Valha didn't spend, or at least end up under the bed with her dragon, her morning had to start with the process of coaxing (and dragging) the poor thing out from her hidey hole.
Valha had just, just! gotten Mith to stick the end of her snout out into the room when a thump and dragging noise sounded against the door. Mith squealed and tried to retreat, but Valha lunged forward, banging her head on the bed but managing to catch Mith's shoulders, and locked herself in place, not letting Mith get away. Her flits were already at the door, Skadi with her little head turned sideways and jammed underneath so she could investigate without exposing herself - and providing a distraction for whatever was out there so Skadi could sneak up and get a good look at the guest.
Mith was still squalling, Nooo, I'm here, not there! I am only in one place! There are not supposed to be two of me! Valha was just processing that bizarre statement when a very clear image of a inverted mirror image of her Mith was broadcast from her surveillance team. Mith made an even unhappier sound, warbling, Why am I outside? I don't want to be outside! Mine, let me inside, please!
The fair, lead by Hati, didn't wait for Valha's orders, responding to Mith's distress, the pile of them landing on the door latch and shrieking and clawing until the door swung open, even as Valha was trying to explain to Mith, who'd she'd gotten out from under the bed and was now toting with some difficulty, that her twin was not her, and Unath was, in fact, quite distinctly darker than Mith. She wasn't having much luck, and looked up when her flitts settled in a line between the Tan dragonet and her rider, and their Her and the BigPet. Hati chirped an inquisitive greeting from the center of the line, and Mith tucked her head into Valha's shoulder.
I don't want to share Mine with the other me, ValhaMine. Do I have to?
Valha sighed, No, you don't have to share. She has her own rider. A rider who was, in fact , waiting beside his dragon, "Hello!” She said, shifting her grip on Mith as the tan squealed and tried to climb onto her back, “Can I help you?"
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Azhdarchid
Jr. Weyrwoman
azhct[M:-1490]
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Post by Azhdarchid on Jun 16, 2011 21:43:20 GMT -5
Unath ducked her head against the back of Q'sis leg as the door swung open, only one light blue eye visible as she regarded the flit blockade. When Hati made her inquiry the visiting Tan pulled her whole face back into view, rising onto her feet and sniffing her way a few inches into Valha's room. Meanwhile Q'sis did everything in his power to ignore the row of firelizards. He watched Valha struggle with her bonded beast, eyes flicking across the pair from toes to heads.
"Morning," he replied. The girl was more than a foot under him, but their dragonets were exactly the same size and shape. So when Valha's Tan elected to climb all over her, it was a different level of nuisance than when Unath required similar proximity. Except Unath never did, at least not without permission for it. "They're hungry. Let's go before the others wake." He had been balancing the butcher's knife in his hand handle-first, but with Valha struggling to contain her twin it seemed inadvisable to lend the blade to her just yet.
Q'sis turned away, expecting this girl he barely knew to follow without question. If not for his sake, than for Mith's stomach, provided Mith could hold her food under all those nerves. Unath made a bid in the opposite direction, creeping forward and stopping in front of Hati. The hatchling strained her scrawny neck toward the other Tan. She licked the first part in range: Mith's tail. A few chirps rippled from her throat as she tried to catch her sister's eye, her own glowing green.
Then she made a dainty turnabout-- except for the part where she blundered into every single firelizard that was not quick enough to flap away and fell over herself --and proceeded back to Q'sis' side. Q'sis looked to the doorway. "What's wrong with Mith?" He glanced at Unath, seeking reference, but she only stared back, eyes dancing with a smile her jaws could not fulfill. Q'sis shook his head against any immediate answers from Valha, and motioned to the exit with the butcher knife. "Outside."
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Chek
Weyrlingmaster
chekct[M:-15]
I'm so magical I vomit rainbows
Posts: 1,091
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Post by Chek on Jun 16, 2011 22:29:27 GMT -5
Hati and the fair took to the air, squalling unhappily as first, their BigPet was licked, and then they were all run over! Well, only Fenis was run over, he being the only one not to bother flying out of the way, but it was the thought that counted! Hati scolded unhappily – her BigPet was not food, and should not be licked!
Valha was handling with growing chaos with remarkable indifference, able to raise an eyebrow at Q'sis back as he turned away, knife in hand, and replied placidly, “There isn't anything wrong with Mith – she's just a little shy.” She got a grip on Mith, who had paused long enough to shoot a wary, yellow-tinged glance after Q'sis, and plopped the dragonet firmly on the floor. Mith huddled against Valha's legs, trying to hide...until Hati dropped down to land on the tan's shoulder.
Only then did Mith step away a touch, giving the other flitts room to maneuver as Valha watched, pleased. Skadi and Skol landed delicately on Mith's folded up wings, facing away from each other, and the little tan craned her neck around to investigate them all. Hati chirped authoritatively, and Mith marched smartly forward, looking confused.
We're hungry, ValhaMine. What is happening? Hati chirped directions alongside Mith's head, and the confused tan walked forward so Fenis could crawl up to splay himself across her haunches.
Valha was wondering that herself, and queried the little green leader of her fair. Hati sent back pure indignation over her BigPet getting eaten, and the resolution to guard her new pet. Valha just shook her head and started out of the room after the other weyrling, Mith following along at her heels. Guards, Mith. They are going to make sure nothing gets you.
Mith stopped dead and swiveled her head around to stare at her cargo, Nothing? Really? They will really keep your Mith safe?
They really will. Or call me to keep you safe. Because you can't live under the bed forever. Mith continued to stare in amazement at her crew of flitts, until Hati chirped pointedly and Mith stumbled forward, tripping over her own feet as she hurried after Valha again without pointing her head the right direction.
We need food, Mine, can we get food? Though she seemed a tiny touch braver with the squad of flitts on her back, Mith still hung far back from Q'sis and her sister as they stepped out into the early morning light.
“Yes,” Valha said aloud for the other weyrling's benefit, “We're getting food.”
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Azhdarchid
Jr. Weyrwoman
azhct[M:-1490]
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Post by Azhdarchid on Jun 17, 2011 20:27:03 GMT -5
True to his own order of secrecy, Q'sis did not answer till they had breached the sun's line at the barrack entrance. Unath followed him, sparing an occasional look back at Mith; each and every time, the leading Tan appeared surprised at the flits festooning her sister. Q'sis only stayed slow long enough to confirm Valha's pursuit, then fell into his usual stride and canceled the possibility of further travel conversation.
Where are we going? Unath asked him. The feeding grounds were plainly visible ahead, but the dragonet peeped up at Q'sis for direction. We're hungry, she added, in a bid to steer her rider to food. It was only when she could smell the herdbeasts that Unath caught on, and her eyes bloomed red as roses. She sped her small legs, flapping her wings open and squawking in sudden acquisition of her infantile instincts. When Q'sis stopped at the gate to the little side-pen where their dragons' breakfasts were stored, Unath threw herself against the fence.
She climbed the barrier without aid, hopping over the other side with her wings uselessly spanned. Despite how the membranes billowed at her drop to the ground, her descent did not slow appreciably. She showed no signs of defeat at the hard landing, and lunged on toward the morning's offerings. Q'sis followed at a more reserved pace.
"She has been 'shy' since the Hatching." He belatedly turned over the knife he had picked out a couple times, checking for defects and sending blots of reflected sunrise across his own face. "She cannot continue to be shy." The narrow green slivers of his eyes became visible as he briefly turned his head, staring at the other Tanrider. "But hard to teach otherwise, isn't it?" He faced the morning's buffet again and waved the point of his knife toward his meandering Unath. "Which one do you like, love? Choose."
Unath continued scrutinizing, mostly because she tended to forget the individuals she had sniffed at after a few moments. Q'sis always tried to get her to pick one on her own, but she could never decide.
Can I have some food? she asked plaintively. Q'sis moved forward and chose for her: the youngest bull in the lot. Though the eldest were large and looked prestigious when a dragonet chewed out their guts, the meat was tough and the bones hard. Supposedly the cows were even better, but Q'sis never accepted them, nor the near-grown calves. Not for his dragon. But he always had to arrive early to be as choosy as he liked. Unath could not tell the difference.
"What kind of woman are you?" Q'sis asked as he threw his favored carcass onto a hook, hewing its chest in half with a slow but singular stroke of his knife. Unath pranced impatiently around his legs while he fished out the bull's heart. "You are not 'shy' too."
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Chek
Weyrlingmaster
chekct[M:-15]
I'm so magical I vomit rainbows
Posts: 1,091
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Post by Chek on Jun 30, 2011 20:14:26 GMT -5
Valha didn't answer for a long moment, fully intent on her examination of her dragon's prospective food sources. Mith, for her part, hovered by the fence, tempted forward by the delicious smells and somewhat comforted by her sister's antics, but not near enough to actually approach the laid-out carcasses. She pranced anxiously, sending her passengers swaying back and forth, until Hati firmly chirped a demand for her to stop - making Mith still abruptly to peer back over her shoulder in astonishment, Mine! They are guarding me!
Valha smiled, agreeing wordlessly, having chosen her carcass, and with the help of one of the nearby drudges, managed to get it on a hook. She pulled a well wrapped knife from her belt, unwrapping the soft cloth around it to reveal sharp, gleaming metal - a gift from her brother after he heard of her Impression. "And she'll be shy for a long while yet. You can't force such a...sweet little thing to change her nature so quickly without causing hurt. She'll grow, and she'll bet better about it - or she won't. She's perfect as is, if this is how she stays."
She was very firm about this, tone even as she cut a partial opening along the belly, starting to strip away the hide from the flesh of Mith's breakfast in one large piece before she started into the gutting, intentionally leaving a scraps of meat on the hide here and there for her flits to pick over. She didn't cape the whole thing, Mith's growing hunger prompting her to slice several strips of tender neck meat free to drop into the open mouth of her little tan.
Mith gobbled them down, the flits taking flight to start investigating the hanging hide, hanging from it and nibbling at the attached chunks of meat. Still hungry, Mine. Is there any more? Mith asked piteously, looking up with big whirling blue eyes.
"Of course, my dear. All of this is for you." She murmured quietly, thinking about the other question she'd been asked as she finished caping the tender herdbeast she'd claimed, letting the hide drop to the ground, then opening up the abdomen the rest of the way - not the most efficient method, but she liked being able to use the hide as a makeshift meat table, as Mith was suspicious of dirt and twigs on her food. Also, they...had a method now.
"No, not shy," She finally said, fishing out the trailing pile of intestines in one gory heap and dumping them on the ground next to the hide, putting the heart and other organs on it. The fair descended on the pile, knowing to leave the things on the hide to their BigPet, just as Mith happily ignored the intestines in favor of, after a few glances at Valha to be sure she was doing right, nibbling on the liver with eyes half-lidded in pleasure at eating. "But I hardly think I would be the one to tell what sort of woman I am - anything I say will be what I think, not what I may actually be, you know?"
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Azhdarchid
Jr. Weyrwoman
azhct[M:-1490]
Totes.
Posts: 1,627
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Post by Azhdarchid on Jul 4, 2011 12:46:25 GMT -5
"So you're the kind with a smart mouth then," Q'sis replied, lips wrenched into an amusement the rest of his face did not seem inclined to follow. He wanted to appreciate the retort for what it was, but his experience dictated that women of the Weyr who answered perfectly innocent questions in an introspective manner were on the troublesome side. He fixed a steady, half-lidded gaze on Valha as he extended a mhandful of herdbeast thigh to Unath. Unath grabbed the ragged end and pulled. Q'sis kept his arm rigid till she managed to tear a piece off, then tossed her the remainder. Unath eyed the leg Q'sis had sawed halfway off as she chewed, then walked around and seized the other, intact leg by the shin.
Is this yours or can I have it?[/color] she inquired politely, though given the amount of slobber she issued over the fuzzy brown limb it would be an odd man who would desire it at that point.
"If you can take it off, you can have it," Q'sis said, then looked back to Valha. "It's only a problem to tell me what you think you are if what you think is highly divorced from reality." Unath backed up till the carcass' leg was fully extended, then began pulling on it, swaying the entire beast and rocking the hook and chain. Q'sis continued working on the animal's other side, pulling out the choice bits and piling them, like Valha, on a scrap of hide rather than straight on the ground.
Unath took a break from tugging every so often to pick off the top of the pile, and sat with her legs stretched out from her body while she gnawed the cartilage and tendon bits. Streamers of green began to wiggle through her red facets like unraveling clumps of Thread. Unexpectedly, she did not forget her task during her breaks, and always went to give the leg a few more tugs before resting again. "I do not know much about these girls," Q'sis continued, gesturing to Unath. "Thought I should at least know who's riding them. You keep having trouble with Mith, and it might be good to know me too."
His hard gaze managed to narrow a bit more. "Or at least let them know each other." His focus drifted off Valha, but did not automatically check-in with Unath. Q'sis watched himself slice through some of the tender meat wedged just in front of the hip bone, minding where his securing hand was placed relative to the knife, and of the tremors incurred from Unath's efforts at the other side. "As much as they can anyway."
I know myself,[/color] Unath soothed, her mental voice calm even as she growled around the leg captured in her teeth and thrashed her head back and forth to try and rip it off. Despite himself, Q'sis felt better for the Tan's assurances. Soon there was nothing but a skeleton with one swollen, fleshy leg attached by some hide and tendon. Q'sis lodged his knife in a cutting block resting beside the carcass hook and raised his eyebrows at Unath expectantly. The Tan blinked at the attention, then let go of the leg and stood as straight as she could, meeting him eye-for-eye.
Q'sis stare remained unchanged. Unath swiveled around and strutted over to Mith, skipping her front feet extra high with each step and waggling her wings for balance. He said if I pull that leg off, I can have it,[/color] she whispered conspiratorially to her twin, Mith clearly included in the count of "I." Will you help, Me? Mith? Me...ith. I get confused sometimes,[/color] she apologized.
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Chek
Weyrlingmaster
chekct[M:-15]
I'm so magical I vomit rainbows
Posts: 1,091
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Post by Chek on Jul 6, 2011 17:20:21 GMT -5
Valha tightened her grip on her knife, her lips pressing into a thin line, “A smart mouth? You call that a smart mouth?” She started working on the backstrap, taking a deep breath when her irritation made her cuts jagged instead of smooth. This is what she gets for trying tact – she should have known better. She knew it never worked out, “Fine. As far as I am concerned, I am unwilling to tolerate people baselessly judging others, and I generally will say exactly what I think and to the wastes with the consequences. I like to think I’m nice most of the time, and I think I’m good with people,” she glanced at Mith, “and others who aren’t very outgoing. Is that closer to what you were digging for?”
She worked in silence for a while longer, letting her temper cool a touch – she had been more defensive since Mith hatched, and it was strange how natural it felt compared to how even tempered she seemed to remember being. She maintained her silence through much of the process of stripping the carcass clean of meat, occasionally dropping balancing a piece of meat on Hati’s snout, where she sat, drooling slightly, at Valha’s feet. She would wait until she was signaled, then would snap her head, flinging the meat into the air and catching it in her mouth.
Mith watched in fascination, standing abruptly when Skol crept over to attempt the trick as well. I can do that too? In reply, Valha set a piece of meat on the end of Mith’s nose. The little tan stared at it for a few minutes, sitting there between her nostrils, then tilted her head to look at Hati again.
How do I do it? Mith asked her pleadingly. Valha mentally nudged Hati, who chirped for Mith’s attention and starting chirping and creeling an explanation, which was…bizarre at best from what Valha was able to interpret of it. Finally, though, Mith did attempt the head toss…but it simply flung the piece of meat over her head and into the big pile on the hide.
The little tan turned around and around a few times, looking for her lost meat chuck, before she settled her gaze on the pile, It got big. I can’t catch a piece that big, she informed them all solemnly, and a little sadly. Valha took a second to realized that Mith thought her little piece had turned into the entire pile.
She was about to explain to her dragon when Q’sis started talking again.
She listened quietly, sucking in a quick, angry breath between her teeth, and it took her a few long minutes before she felt she could speak without accompanying her words with a thrown object, “I appreciate and agree with the desire to let the girls know each other, but stop insinuating there is something wrong with my Mith.” She had to pause and modulate her voice back down, “She is afraid of a lot of things, but is perfectly obedient when the situation, and I, call for it, because she trusts me and loves me. I don’t know how it works where you come from, but in my family, you never overcame fear just because someone told you you have to. You learn to cope with it, and that is what I am teaching Mith. I would appreciate you not calling my methods into question, because they are my business, not yours.”
Mith stretched her neck out to meet Unath’s nose in an affectionate, shy little bump, But I have a lot already! It is mine, right, ValhaMine? Valha nodded complacently, letting her dragon calm her, as Mith glanced at the meat pile, Maybe there is not enough for both of me? She tiptoed around her sister, eyeing the leg thoughtfully. I will help so none of Mith or Unath will be hungry.
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Azhdarchid
Jr. Weyrwoman
azhct[M:-1490]
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Post by Azhdarchid on Jul 7, 2011 17:31:36 GMT -5
"Yes, that will do," Q'sis answered, the picture of calm despite his blood-soaked arms and the shadows of weariness under his eyes. They both returned to their work for a time, though he was the first one to part from cutting for more conversation. "That is exactly what happened in my family," he said. "You adapted or you were abandoned." And earned a few knocks in-between those eventualities. But there was at least one way Q'sis diverged from the philosophies of his kin, at least where dragons were concerned. "It is my business if either of you are endangered because your methods aren't working."
He frowned at her, but if nothing else demonstrated some reserve by not continuing right after his suggestions. The trader was aware that if his customer was in a foul mood, things could not be sold. He cleaned up some of the stray meat and sinew on the ground and carried the mess to an appropriate heap.
Good! Unath replied in an assured sort of way. She did not expect to be disagreeing with herself this early in life. This way... The darker dapple-Tan turned around and waddled past her twin, leading on to the problem carcass. Upon reaching the dead beast she sat down in front of it, blinking. She peered over at Q'sis while lifting her back foot to scratch under one of her nubby headknobs. Then she tipped her head far enough back that she could look upside-down at Valha-- eschewing the safer method of simply turning her head to the side.
The hatchling spotted a slither of motion much closer to her than Valha and jumped up, scampering around in a half-circle so she could face the intruder. It was Mith. Unath stared at her. ...oh-h! With a breathy squawk of excitement she fumbled her way back to the hanging leg and grabbed the shin. She turned the ankle and foot out to Mith. A shadow fell over her and she looked up. Q'sis! She bobbed her head just as eagerly at him.
Q'sis reached over and checked the hook's placement in the top of the beast, then held the top of the hide himself to provide some extra tension. He lifted his chin at Mith and then jerked it at the foot Unath was holding out. Unath eyed her rider, then squeaked a muffled entreaty to her pale counterpart. Don't worry about him, she said of Q'sis. She pointed her head toward Valha as best she could with the leg in her mouth. He's just like that one. The Tan's eyes whirled as she examined both humans. They look funny.
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Chek
Weyrlingmaster
chekct[M:-15]
I'm so magical I vomit rainbows
Posts: 1,091
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Post by Chek on Jul 19, 2011 11:25:45 GMT -5
Valha bit back a comment about exactly what she thought of his family's methods, visibly having to stop herself from speaking her mind. There was bluntness, and then there was nastiness, and Valha was able to tell the difference. She calmed slowly, reaching to Mith (who turned back towards her, utterly puzzled – which further helped to calm Valha) until she centered herself once again.
For their part, the fair had swirled into the air at her last display of temped, trilling an angry conversation amongst themselves and making diving passes that were starting to get awfully close to Q'sis. Valha now worked to spread her feelings to them, and Hati landed on her shoulder hard, eyes swirling orange in agitation and scolding at Q'sis in a low tone.
“Neither I or Mith are in any danger – we in fact have more of a safety net than you may think in case there IS an issue. Until my methods are proven one way or the other, please keep your...opinions to yourself. There is more than one way to be right, you know.”
Hati did NOT like Q'sis. She, being the closest to Hers by virtue of being with her the longest, was able to pull more out of the senseless human squawking that Hers had engaged in than her littlepets could. Hati was pretty sure that there was the implication that Hers was not a good Hers – but that was a blatant untruth! Hers had cheese! And got Hati lots of pets, even if they were terrible pets like LazyBlack. Even a BigPet to ride on and eat with!
Yeah, Hati was pretty sure Q'sis was crazy.
Hati was just starting to explain this to her fair, Valha 'listening' in on the explanation with a sense of growing bemusement as she began to clean up her butchering area, when Mith hesitantly made it to the side of Unath's herdbeast. While her sister sat and looked around, Mith has slunk closer, eyes on Q'sis at all times, wondering why she was going over towards him, away from Hers...until Unath jumped suddenly and turned to her.
Mith started back in shock, startled by the other tan seemingly appearing out of nowhere, OH! Hello? She shifted from side to side nervously as Unath grabbed at the leg, ignoring the offered ankle and foot as she crouched lower, staring up at the now-above-her Q'sis as he did...things.
Not like my Valha. Hati says that one is broken. Valha clapped a hand to her face and projected mild disgust at her very proud little green as Mith continued, He doesn't look broken. I broke a table – he is not a table. Is he? Mith started sinking lower, still watching Q'sis, when Skadi dropped onto her back abruptly.
Mith's head swung around to look at the little pink sitting primly on her back between her wings. Oh! Skadi chirped pointedly, causing Mith to try and twist her head further to look at Unath, and, after a few seconds of trying to figure out where her head and neck went, only now took the offered leg, starting to pull hesitantly. That is my Valha's Skadi. She is pink. I am not pink. Mith informed her sister solemnly, She says I need to help myself pull this.
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Azhdarchid
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Post by Azhdarchid on Jul 23, 2011 11:30:21 GMT -5
"They are not opinions," Q'sis answered without missing a beat, watching Valha's fair cycle jarringly close to his head. He never flinched.
He is not broken, Unath said with a very like firmness to her rider's. As she tugged on the herdbeast leg, she considered the man holding the carcass' other end for them a few moments before adding, more speculatively, He is not a table. The dragonet's head turned as far to one side as the grip of her jaw allowed to get a peek at Skadi.
As when she evaluated Q'sis' table-like properties, she took some time to squint at both flit and Mith, then announced: I am not pink. I am...Q'sis, what is lighter than brown? Unath pulled harder at the leg, but as she and Mith seemed to be alternating their tugging there was no chance yet that their strength might combine and rip the meat free. Her rider did not answer her immediately, and soon Unath looked back up at him uncertainly. Q'sis? The man stared back at her.
"...tan."
Tan what? Unath blinked her inner and outer lid sets one after the other. The herdbeast skin frayed at the top edge Q'sis was holding tight, but did not break. He was starting to frown. Unath gurgled helplessly around her hold on the leg, not understanding what she had done to earn that expression. I love you, she bleated desperately. Her inner lids blinked hard again. Always. The frown turned into a small smile.
"You both have to pull at the same time."
I am pulling. Unath was wary now of speaking too much, and summoning back that disapproving scowl. But Q'sis remained pleasant of face, and she relaxed. She tipped her head toward Mith. Both of me, pulling, she confirmed. After that she went back to tugging in earnest, and by chance synched her movements with Mith's. The leg tore off and thumped down atop the baby dragons. I did it! Unath squealed as she wriggled her head out from under the thick femur and thigh.
"You did," Q'sis murmured as he detached the hollowed-out hide from the hook and bore it over to the refuse heap. That final act of butchery had sent a spray of blood over the dragonets-- and his shirt. Dressing down in these early days was one of the better tricks a man learned outside the official lessons. Returning and slipping the knife he'd lodged on the fence back into its sheath, Q'sis folded his arms and watched the hatchlings navigate the remainder of breakfast with an unreserved grin.
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Chek
Weyrlingmaster
chekct[M:-15]
I'm so magical I vomit rainbows
Posts: 1,091
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Post by Chek on Jul 26, 2011 12:25:51 GMT -5
Not a table, not a table, notatable... Mith murmured quietly to herself as she haphazardly pulled on the leg, wondering why the other her was talking about colors. I am a color that is not pink, she added thoughtfully.
Valha had to admit to herself that she found Q'sis irritating. Incredible irritating. But, she was also firmly behind the plan to let the twins have time together, so she had to figure out some way of working around this. At least he didn't seem the sort to get all upset over her comments.
As she watched the byplay of the the dragonets as they worked to free the leg, a slight grin forming even as she silently got Mith into her own little pulling system, having the little tan pull every time she counted to three. Admittedly, there was a moment of confusion when she explained the concept of numbers and made sure Mith knew which number that she was supposed to pull on, but ultimately, they were all rewarded when Unath abruptly synced up with Mith's pulling cycle and the leg finally pulled loose.
Hati, who had been chittering constant complaints at Q'sis the entire time from Valha's shoulder, stilled, loosing interest in Q'sis abruptly as Mith squealed when then leg finally ripped free and fell across the tan's backs. Skadi had popped away between in time to avoid being squished, and the sudden loss of her guard combined with UNKNOWN DANGER WHAT WAS ON HER caused Mith to scuttle backwards with all speed, getting loose and then turning to plow straight into Valha's legs, covering them both with even more gore.
Not a table got me, Mine! What do I do? Valha struggled to treat Mith's wails of fear with the solemnity they deserved. It was hard, because Valha was forever going to associate Q'sis with not being a table from now on, and the mere thought was amusing. Still, Mith was upset...
The fair descended at an unspoken command, and landed in their places on Mith. The tan started, twisting her head around to look, and softly crooned at Hati, uncertain. Hati chittered back, and Mith straightened up in shocked amazement, Mine, they are protecting me!
Having heard this several times today already, Valha only nodded, Yes, yes they are. And this time, aloud, “Finish breakfast, Mith, and we'll get you a bath and oiled.” She nudged the dragonet towards the still good-sized pile of meat on her hide.
Is it all mine, Mine? She asked, staring at the remains of the pile. Valha just nudged her forward again. Is it safe, Mine? Valha sighed – this meant that Mith couldn't remember her doing the butchering, and they had to feed her the long way. She turned to start cleaning her knife and getting ready to haul the skeletal remains of the carcass to the refuse pile as she gave a mental nudge the entire group.
That was Hati and Skol's cue to flit over to the pile, driving Mith towards it, and landed. One would take a bite of meat, swallow it, and, if it was 'safe', push the rest to Mith while the other repeated the procedure. After a while, Skadi and Fenis would take over, since Mith ate enough that even nibbles on all her food was more than enough for the flitter quartet. For her part, Mith refused to eat something that wasn't checked by a flit or straight out of Valha's hands, but she gobbled down everything Hati and Skol pushed to her happily enough.
“Picky eater, my Mith,” Valha said, half to herself, half to Q'sis. She was still trying to figure out how to break Mith of this habit before she got big enough to be eating herdbeasts whole...
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Azhdarchid
Jr. Weyrwoman
azhct[M:-1490]
Totes.
Posts: 1,627
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Post by Azhdarchid on Jul 27, 2011 16:32:40 GMT -5
Q'sis grunted acknowledgment at his fellow Tanrider. He had swiftly become preoccupied. In Mith's absence, Unath found the entire herdbeast leg lying on the ground and, left to her own devices, tried to eat the whole thing hoof-first. Because the lower half of the leg was narrow, she had actually swallowed up to the knee in just the few seconds it took Mith to scuttle away. At the knee Unath reached an impasse: the rest of the leg was too big to fit down to her gut, but her fangs had all lashed into the meat and hooked to prevent it from sliding out.
So her rider, who had just looked away after Mith for a moment, was now on his knees wrestling with Unath's jaws and her perfectly natural instinct to try and keep what she ate down. The dragonet was producing the most unusual warble, an indication that at the very least this was a gullet problem only and she was not choking on the meal. When Q'sis tried to force her jaws open further she growled and thrashed her head.
"Unath!" the rider snapped, and the hatchling stilled herself, growl petering out into a whine. Q'sis watched his Tan's oversized eyes for a few seconds, then wrenched her upper jaw up another inch while holding the lower in place. He began picked her teeth from the meat of the thigh, pink juices gushing out and coating his fingers. When he had Unath's fangs free he grabbed the sides of the dismembered leg, digits biting into the wounds his dragon had scraped. Q'sis stood up and yanked the leg out, Unath's features crinkling up in disgust as the half-digested aftertaste left much to be desired.
Q'sis threw the leg aside, then went back to retrieve his knife so he could pare the meat up correctly. On his way to the fence, he stooped and seized Unath's tail right before its forks. "Unlike being shy, being picky might have its uses," he snorted. Unath shook her head a couple times, then trilled at her freedom from her own gluttony. She spotted the drool-slathered leg nearby and lurched toward it, planning to eat it hoof-first. Only a couple steps toward it however and her tail went taut, caught between her forward impetus and Q'sis' strength. Unath fell on her stomach, eyes wide.
Eventually she did get to eat the whole limb. She just had to wait on Q'sis: he cut and fed her appropriately-sized slivers of meat. When she was stuffed as far as common sense dictated-- though obviously hatchling hunger never really subsided --he deftly slipped out the femur and tossed it to her to chew on. Unath carried the picked-white prize as she toddled after Q'sis. He approached Valha, positively dripping with the excesses of breakfast and not in the least deterred by it. "Unath is ready for a bath if Mith is," he said, extending his soaked arm toward the lake.
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Chek
Weyrlingmaster
chekct[M:-15]
I'm so magical I vomit rainbows
Posts: 1,091
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Post by Chek on Jul 27, 2011 20:56:51 GMT -5
Having left the feeding of the remainders of Mith's lunch in the capable paws of her flitter fair, Valha was able to stand back and watch the increasingly bizarre display put on my Unath and Q'sis. She couldn't help but be grateful for her shy, picky little tan, when faced with…with…with something Hati would do, only in large scale. Watching Unath attempt a maneuver better suited to a tunnelsnake, Valha experienced something like a flashback to the memory of Hati attempting to eat the pink baby flit of one of her fellow Candidates so many months ago, and was incredibly grateful that Mith was so picky about her food.
Behind her, unnoticed at first, Mith paused, looked at her rider, then at Hati, and finally to little Skadi. Skadi, having just pushed the final piece of meat towards the BigPet, sat down and heaved a little sigh, stuffed as she was. She looked up in time to see Mith's mouth descending on her, and only had time for one resigned squeal before she found herself engulfed in the BigPet's mouth. She lodged herself against Mith's jaw so she couldn't be swallowed, and then proceeded to wait patiently for freedom, having also caught the memory from her Theirs, and knowing it was only a matter of time.
The rest of the fair stared at Mith, and Mith, not sure what she was doing, stared back. Hati trilled at Skol, amused, then chittered at Mith, attempting to explain that BigPet could only eat flitts that were being dumb, and doing things like eating Hati's food and not being Hati's pets. Mith though, was only further confused by this explanation, and instead turned to creep to her Valha's side.
What do I do now, Mine? Mith asked, looking up and leaning her head against Valha's thigh, her mouth bulging weirdly where Skadi had wedged herself against the skin.
Valha looked down, "What?" She stared blankly at Mith for a moment, until Hati provided her with the memory of Mith eating the tiny pink flit, and Skadi chirped informatively from inside Mith's mouth, the sound muffled but clear. Valha smacked herself in the face with one hand, silently reminding herself that she needed to watch her mind better, and then waved her other hand, "Open, Mith, let her out. No eating the flitts, no matter what Hati does or tells you."
Oh. The tan opened her mouth and tilted her head down, allowing the saliva-covered Skadi to crawl free just as Q'sis distracted Valha by asking if Mith was ready. Bath? I like the water, Mine! Can we go too?
Valha nodded, both to her dragon, now wearing the slobbery Skadi like a tiny pink hat, and to Q'sis, motioning for her fellow tanrider to proceed her, "She's ready - shall we?"
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