Sakoru
Drudge
THE FEARSOME FIERY BEAST
Posts: 11
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Post by Sakoru on Aug 21, 2011 18:07:40 GMT -5
Unlike many new transfers, she was sure, Charleron was having no trouble settling into Dalibor. She had been keeping to herself for the most part, not out of any desire to be really solitary but because to leave Serasrigoth alone and awake was inviting death unto the Weyr. Fortunately, the chaotic red was sleeping now, gorged on her first Daliborian herdbeasts, and was not likely to wake up anytime soon. Only when her dragon was out cold like this did Charleron dare abandon her -- true, she had flawless control over the beast, and true, Sera was independent enough that she could function on her own -- but she was not trustworthy. Not at all.
Pleased to have time to herself no matter how much she enjoyed the rather nasty company of her red, Dalibor's newest redrider headed straight for the kitchens. She had heard about the fire, of course, but it had been sevendays ago and by now most of the damage was bound to be repaired. Besides, the place was functional again and she would have to check it out sometime. Up to this point, Charleron had simply been hitting the dining hall along with most of the Weyr's population, and had not taken a look at the kitchen itself. Therefore, it was time to acquaint herself fully with the underbelly of the Weyr.
However, she was not going to let the underbelly of the Weyr acquaint itself with her status instead of her. Well used to the sideways glances people tended to throw at redriders (their dragons were broken!), Charleron had quite deliberately left her riding leathers and shoulder knots behind, since she had no need of them when her only goals were to get food and possibly meet people. Not advertising her vicious dragon was an excellent way to do that, so she had replaced her usual wherhide attire with simple, dark brown trousers, boots (because she didn't own anything less durable), and a pale cream tunic. Fancy she was not, but she was clean and well-groomed, and that served her purposes just fine.
She strode on in with the long, dauntless strides characteristic of someone who has the utmost faith in themselves, and it must have looked natural because none of the drudges spared her much attention except to affirm that someone had indeed entered the room. Not caring to bother them, Charleron paused off to one side, partway to the trays of food laid out for midday visitors like herself. There were a few people here, but not many -- she had apparently arrived between both standard snack- and mealtimes. Well, that was fine -- it gave her an opportunity to look around the place, quickly and efficiently scanning the condition of these recently destroyed chambers.
Any and all damage had been repaired, and though the redrider could see where many things had been replaced, it had all been done so neatly that the whole place looked as it should: clean and functioning. Satisfied, she moved forward again and plucked a tray neatly off the stack, moving down the tables lined with food in search of items she wanted, moreso than ones she liked -- Charleron was not a picky eater. |
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Azhdarchid
Jr. Weyrwoman 
azhct[M:-1490]
Totes.
Posts: 1,627
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Post by Azhdarchid on Aug 21, 2011 21:36:09 GMT -5
Simply laying out plates of tidbits discouraged a great many kitchen scavengers. Many were relieved to see the trays return, signifying a resumption of normal kitchen activity-- as well as a chance to get extra food. Among the most destitute and starving of the sufferers was Q'sis, whose massive height and muscular bulk necessitated dragon-like portions that had not been readily available at late. He could content himself on snacking though. He targeted little roast gobbets of steak meat impaled on plant stems in particular. They were oily, hot, and sometimes dabbed with cheese. Vegetables were next, and they also were better hot and cheese-drizzled. Getting his necessary diet was now simply a matter of feeding in the allotted time. Weyrlings had very little of the commodity.
He did not begrudge anyone else a food plate they had already claimed. But one he was working over was not to be touched till he had collected all the choicest snacks for himself. Of course he had a tendency toward standing in the line and eating as he pleased, giving others no choice but to challenge him. When the top of brown-haired head entered the corner of his eye at a distance not too far below his own height, he turned on Charleron and got so far as to open his mouth to yell her out of his way.
But though muscular and wide in the shoulder, certain features betrayed the challenger's femininity, and Q'sis pressed his lips shut. With the descent of his gaze, his mouth broadened its smile, till at last he was grinning and lifting his head to meet her eye. Pulling his tray away, he stepped out of the line and headed swiftly to one of the vacant side tables in the small, cleansed room. Once he sat down he did not even bother to eat,. Instead he waited there, tapping his fingers along the tabletop.
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Sakoru
Drudge
THE FEARSOME FIERY BEAST
Posts: 11
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Post by Sakoru on Aug 21, 2011 22:10:56 GMT -5
Even selecting bits of food to pile on her plate -- Charleron ate a monstrous amount for a woman, perhaps even for her size, and those who objected could go between -- the redrider was not oblivious to her surroundings. Long Turns of dragonriding and drills had taught her always to be alert, always to pay attention, and when some man's massive form squared towards her, she reacted instinctively, lifting her head and leveling him with a flat dark stare. Yes, she was in fact here to get food, and she was not the sort of person who would be scared away by sheer bulk. Or by the searching look he gave her. He did not receive the same: Charleron's gaze flicked to his shoulder and identified his shoulder knots, but mostly ignored his face except to return his grinning stare with a patently unamused look.
Used to being stared at, the redrider turned back to her task, decisively plucking the best-looking skewer out from in front of him. Snarky? Maybe, but she was older than he, and though he didn't know it, she outranked him by a mile. Not that rank really mattered to her, but it was a sign of good sense to show at least some respect to anyone you met... whether or not they were wearing shoulder knots. Respect did not include ogling women, whether or not you were interested, so if the insolent weyrling was hoping for obedience to his obvious summons, he was going to be disappointed. Charleron took her time, moving at a steady but unhurried pace along the line of food trays until she had a little bit of everything. At the end of the line she paused to survey her plate, and then decided that she had enough for now. She plucked up a badly-made fork (it was going to be used for eating; why should it look pretty?) and set it deftly on her tray.
Only then did she glance around for a place to sit while she ate. To get to the nearest truly empty table, she had to go past the staring weyrling and his overly interested grin. No help for it. Before turning around, Charleron rolled her eyes, and then she set off on her mission to get to the empty table, face perfectly neutral. Tact, yes: she had it, and she would use it, because her suspicions were that the man would come chasing after her regardless of whether she stopped to talk to him or not. Men tended to do things like that, annoying as it could be, and she'd known women who did it too.
Whatever. The redrider paused in front of the giant-occupied table, tray balanced in her hands. Now she did take the opportunity to study his face: broad, strong-featured, bearded. And, of course, he was huge, taller even than she was. Charleron made no favourable or unfavourable judgments based solely on his appearance. She did raise a brow, ever so slightly, at the impatient finger-tapping. So she did have him pegged right. "You're an arrogant one, tanweyrling." |
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Azhdarchid
Jr. Weyrwoman
azhct[M:-1490]
Totes.
Posts: 1,627
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Post by Azhdarchid on Aug 21, 2011 22:59:23 GMT -5
As Q'sis had been about to depart the line, the skewer grab did not seem to him like much of a conduct breach. He did not follow Charleron with his eyes, maintaining that critical distance in demeanor, looking right at her only when she stopped before his table. Not just bearded, not just decisive in the angles of his face and the quality of his muscle. Q'sis clipped his beard and brows to sharp order, letting the strong lines flow without losing control and turning bushy. His mane of lighter brown hair sported only a few loose ends. Today he dressed in the thick brown leather that suited winter, but the scarlet of the underlying shirt lay visible at his throat.
"People do tell me that," Q'sis answered, leaning the heel of his hand against his bearded chin as he tilted his head toward the remaining empty table in mock thought. Others from the line filled it in the same moment. Charleron's hesitation had cost her. "But I get results, and I think they mistake my confidence for otherwise." The Tideturner's narrow eyes turned back on the incognito Redrider. His gaze ran a muddy green, like lichen at the bottom of a dirty river. "You should sit with me. I do not bite, unless you are one of these." He lifted a small skewer, then stuck it in his mouth and stripped all the meat and vegetables in a single bite.
The Tanrider laid the skewer back down on his tray, picking up a hand-cloth and wiping it once over his lips. "Don't you want to eat? Sit. My name is Q'sis."
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Sakoru
Drudge
THE FEARSOME FIERY BEAST
Posts: 11
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Post by Sakoru on Aug 21, 2011 23:33:42 GMT -5
Rarely inaccurate in her observations of people after spending so many Turns guessing their temperaments, Charleron certainly did not fall flat when it came to labeling this particular weyrling. Arrogant was definitely the word for him. If she knew a stronger term, it was escaping her at the moment. Her face did not betray her exasperation with this entire situation. Men. They were so convinced they were amazing that they generally overlooked the fact that utter arrogance was not considered to be an attractive trait. Not to anyone with a brain, at least.
The redrider's gaze flicked to follow the tanweyrling's, and her brows twitched ever so slightly as people filed over to fill the seats at the table she'd been looking at. She'd known it was a bad move to stop and make her comment, but it had just been so tempting. Charleron liked stating her opinion, and unfortunately this sometimes cost her the opportunities she might like. Tragically for this young man and his ogling ways, the same was about to apply to him.
Deprived of anywhere else to sit, the wingrider did pull out a chair with her toe, neatly maneuvering it in a fashion that said she'd carried many a loaded tray and refused to set it down before she could follow it. She set down her tray and slid into her seat with an ease that her height had belied, and then raised a brow at the weyrling. "Your results are undoubtedly mixed," she said in a conversational tone, and politely skewered a few bits of meat from her plate. For all her learned manners, Charleron had still been born a fisherwoman, and she did not take dainty little bites like many Holder women would. It was a waste of time and food to do so and she was hardly looking to impress this man.
"So I gathered." He wasn't exactly difficult to recognize, what with his knots and all. Pern only had one male subqueen rider, and he was it. Little did he know that he was sitting right across from the rider of another brand of subqueen, entirely different from Dalibor's infamous tans. Q'sis had no idea who he was talking to... and he wasn't about to, either. "So, tell me, do you always confirm a woman's gender by other than her face?" Tactful? No. Charleron was no longer interested in being tactful -- frank and brutal honesty and inquiry was more her style. If he didn't like it, well... he'd invited it to sit down with him. And he was going to be trapped in the same wing with it in a couple of Turns. Charleron was not looking forward to the day, not if her first impressions of him held up. |
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Azhdarchid
Jr. Weyrwoman
azhct[M:-1490]
Totes.
Posts: 1,627
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Post by Azhdarchid on Aug 22, 2011 16:09:39 GMT -5
Q'sis' sculpted eyebrows wrinkled momentarily at the woman's rejection of his abilities, even if her tone was skewed polite.
"On the contrary," he answered slowly, watching her click into her seat opposite him through a series of sharp maneuvers. "I always get what I want eventually, and by my own hand." The Tanrider pursed his lips, on the verge of saying more, but sampled another of his skewers instead. He had to wonder if those that thought him famous-- infamous rather --by his old name made the connection when they heard his new one. He supposed his physical description let no recollection escape the link.
This stranger was from outside Dalibor. He would have witnessed her stalwart feminine frame soon otherwise, and acted much earlier. He had an eye for those as unusual as himself. The Tideturner was drinking from a cup of ice water when the woman fired on him again. He did not don an appropriate impishness, but he did answer promptly: "Of course. There are many effeminate men and boyish girls. Sadly Dalibor is overstocked on both. It's a necessity then." He raised his cup to her. "You on the other hand are most fair to your sex." Q'sis smiled, resettling himself, sipping from the lip of his impromptu toasting chalice. "Does such a notion offend you?"
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Sakoru
Drudge
THE FEARSOME FIERY BEAST
Posts: 11
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Post by Sakoru on Aug 22, 2011 16:47:38 GMT -5
Arrogant, arrogant, arrogant. Charleron quirked a brow and lifted another forkful of food to her mouth, letting Q'sis contemplate whatever thoughts he might have before she responded. "I will give you a tip, weyrling." She leaned back in her chair, lifting her mug of chilled juice to her lips and sipping it leisurely before she went on. "It is unwise to make assumptions about what you cannot know." The man thought he knew everything about how to win her, didn't he? Tricks that worked on silly, stupid girls would not work on Charleron, especially not with the way Q'sis was going about it. Though she could tolerate him (she'd endured far worse), the redrider was not interested. Not at all. He'd have to do better than that if he wanted anything more than a passing interest from someone like her.
It was just as well that Q'sis did not adopt an impish tone, because Charleron was not the sort of woman who would be in the least appeased by it. Watching him drink from his cup of water, the rider munched quietly on her own meal, waiting for the inevitable answer. She knew what it was going to be, of course. A man like him could hardly deny that he stared at every woman he encountered regardless of what her face looked like. Or rather, he was apt to survey the rest of her features as well as those present on her face. It was one of the reasons Charleron rarely bothered with his kind -- or anyone's kind, really. If she felt like being ogled she would don provocative clothes and place herself in the center of attention, not go incognito. Not that it was ever possible to avoid detection, with her remarkable height, but she was free to try.
"What I consider offensive is none of your concern," she stated lightly, and raised her own mug in a matching toast. "However, I know my attributes well enough. You need not point them out to me with either eyes or the spoken word, tanweyrling Q'sis." Left unspoken was the fact that Charleron also knew she was not 'fair.' While she considered her face to be reasonably attractive, she knew very well that her broad shoulders and lean strength were not considered becoming to a woman. Those who agreed with that particular viewpoint could keep their opinions to themselves... and so could men like Q'sis.
Another forkful of edibles found its way to the redrider's mouth, and she chewed thoughtfully, considering the man across the table from her. The blue gaze was expressionless, betraying none of her impressions whether favourable or unfavourable. Her mind was not his to know, and over the Turns she had become a veritable master of concealing her thoughts when she wished. This ability was employed now, even as she sipped from her mug of juice again and smiled. "I heard about the fire." Obviously he was going to have figured out by now that she wasn't from Dalibor, judging by the way he had immediately hit on her. Had she arrived sooner, she undoubtedly would have met this charming individual long ago. "It's good to see that the Weyr has recovered so well after such misfortune befalling it." |
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Azhdarchid
Jr. Weyrwoman
azhct[M:-1490]
Totes.
Posts: 1,627
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Post by Azhdarchid on Aug 22, 2011 18:43:40 GMT -5
"But always wiser to try than to not," the Weyrling replied, not quite as amused as he sounded with her continued objections. "And better to speak if you are offended than suffer silently and treat punitively without explanation." He wondered if this woman was related to Kalenna of Igen. The meat supply on his tray dwindled precipitously, leaving him with a bowl of raw greens to nibble at. "Your constant referencing of rank does not do well by your lack of knots, drudge." He indulged in spinach leaves, fixing the stem between his fingers so he could tear patches of them away in the unhurried manner of a grazing bull herdbeast. Q'sis even had a half-lidded bovine dismissal in his eyes when he looked at her.
Mention of the fire earned two dismissive upward flicks of the leaf-holding hand. "It's all done now," he muttered. "Why even bother to speak of it, lest there's some new information clarifying the number and sort of people at fault?" He ate a spinach leaf whole twice in a row, gnawing the leathery plant-flesh with one side of his jaw, then the other. The seeming absence of alertness disappeared from his gaze. "What is your name?" he demanded. "Don't be childish about it, washwoman."
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Sakoru
Drudge
THE FEARSOME FIERY BEAST
Posts: 11
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Post by Sakoru on Aug 22, 2011 19:32:17 GMT -5
"I speak when I deem it necessary, not when others believe I should," Charleron replied mildly, and bit into a spice roll. Apparently unruffled, and wiser than to remain offended over mere staring regardless of how annoying it was, the redrider went on eating, as serene as if no inflammatory comments had ever been spoken. Her gaze flicked up at the title he assigned to her, and she smiled blandly, but that was all. So her simple disguise hadn't necessarily deceived him -- but he didn't yet know the truth of her. This suited her purposes well, and Charleron did not rise to his bait, instead opting to sip more juice and continue with her meal.
Amusing. He was interested in knowing her -- or more likely, knowing her body -- but not in the catastrophe that had befallen his own Weyr not so very long ago. The redrider lifted a shoulder at his comment, and snapped down her second and last spiceroll, then moved on to the skewers she had saved. "Speculation rarely hurts. Occasionally new eyes provide fresh light. Often they do not, but it hardly pays to dismiss them." For a few moments there was a pause while they both ate, and most of a skewer disappeared in that time. Charleron was nothing if not a fast eater.
She certainly wasn't a washwoman. Contrary to what Q'sis probably expected of her, however, Charleron grinned and popped the last piece of meat from the skewer into her mouth, chewing for a moment before she swallowed and responded. If he expected her to answer the demands of mere weyrlings, he was utterly mistaken. "Your demands bespeak your age. It is my choice to remain unnamed, and I will do so as long as I see fit." Her expression sobered, but there was little anger there. If she was irritated at all, the redrider hid it well. Turns of minding a murderess were paying off, and not for the first time. Unfazed by his demand for a name, for she had dealt with it from other people many times before, Charleron lifted her cup and drank deeply, watching Q'sis with amused dark eyes over the rim of her glass. |
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Azhdarchid
Jr. Weyrwoman
azhct[M:-1490]
Totes.
Posts: 1,627
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Post by Azhdarchid on Aug 22, 2011 20:40:53 GMT -5
"Asking a name bespeaks..." Q'sis started in a growling paraphrase. If it was Charleron's aim to empty the table with discord-- and it may very well have been --she would succeed. Not before he finished eating of course: he rifled through the last clumps of spinach in the vegetable bowl, eating them all, but managing a rather displeased scowl at her the whole time. He finished his water cup and gathered all the remains of the snack over the tray, then laid his hands flat at either side of it.
The Tanrider rose, not completely straight but bent with his palms still resting on the table, staring her in the eye. "You will remain unnamed only as long as it takes for me to bespeak the Watchdragon, fool," he snapped with softened, atmosphere-appropriate anger as he did the deed. It turned out this woman had not arrived today, but her description was known. And more importantly, her dragon. Q'sis raised his head as if giving special ear to the telepathic message. Then he straightened, lifting his tray off the table. He watched her, disappointed as he was irate. There was even a regretful pull in his cheek before he said "How expected," and stepped around his chair to leave.
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Sakoru
Drudge
THE FEARSOME FIERY BEAST
Posts: 11
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Post by Sakoru on Aug 22, 2011 21:29:25 GMT -5
"No," Charleron corrected curtly, "your tone bespeaks your age. Your tone, and your impatience to know what is not freely given." Her voice was cool, not outwardly stinging but tinged with a note of reprimand that was all but impossible to miss. It did not take her long to finish eating, either, and she polished off the last skewer with a flourish, setting it back on her plate. Shame she ate as fast as men did, or she could have been left in peace for a minute here at this soon-to-be-vacated table.
Her words were proven true at the tanweyrling's announcement -- or perhaps threat. Regardless of what his words actually were, the suffix he tacked onto them utterly proved that he was not worth her time. Well, she would be seeing him again in the queens' wing when he graduated. What an unpleasant experience that was likely to be... and she could only imagine how things would go once Sera learned about this tanrider. The man had no idea what he was bringing on himself by flying off the handle. Charleron, however, did, and she rose as he stared at her, meeting his gaze calmly and levelly.
"Meeting expectations has never been a fear of mine," she replied lightly, and plucked her own tray from the table. While she wasn't fond of alienating people so quickly, Charleron understood that in some cases, such as this one, it was rather inevitable. Inevitable or not, she caught the regretful pull of the tanrider's cheek, and nodded ever so slightly to him before turning away. Immediately before she left, she spoke over her shoulder. "Good day, Q'sis." And with that, the redrider was gone, weaving her way through the lines of tables and chairs to drop off her tray and return, no doubt, to her dragon. |
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