Azhdarchid
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Post by Azhdarchid on Jan 22, 2012 23:58:00 GMT -5
Unath woke up.
It was not a response to Q'sis waking. Her man was still asleep. She crawled over to the edge of her roost on the Rim, poking her head through a narrow cleft in the rocks ringing the sanctuary. She looked down. The whole Weyr was asleep. A hard cold bedded down with the post-midnight darkness, but Unath felt nothing of it. She could feel Q'sis turning over in his bed and pulling his furs over his bare shoulders though. When she tried to extract her head from the fissure, her headknobs stuck and she spent ten minutes or so tugging dully before she twisted to a different angle and popped herself loose.
The dragon poked her muzzle moonsward and greeted the sky with a rumbling yawn. She canted her head at big Belior, then stared down the tinier Timor. The thick strips of muscle down her hind legs tensed. Unath turned in circles a few times, trying to estimate the best launch angle, and then she jumped. She stuck her wings out and floated back down to the same spot. She eyed Belior again. Then she jumped, uttering a grunt of effort. She reached about the same height, then swirled back down on her spread wings. Her nostrils puffed out a defiant blast of wind. She looked around again, this time catching the wicked glimmer of the Red Star. It was lower in the sky than the moons. Unath stared at it for a time, then her lips pulled back and flashed her fangs at it. Bunching her legs beneath her, she hopped a couple more times, to the same fruitless effect.
What's wrong?
Q'sis had stirred. Things began clicking back into place within the dragon's mind, spare ideas coalesced by his consciousness till she could work out a reaction. And the first thing she thought was:
I woke you up. This was problematic for a few reasons. First, Unath understood that it was not normal for her rider to wake now. Second, she did not know how she had brought him out of sleep. Third...she forgot the third thing. Apologizing was not yet in her capacity, with the man that put her together still drowsy. When Q'sis did not answer, she proceeded to her next concern. I am thirsty.
There's the lake. Q'sis pulled her head around, making her look out a less hazardous break between the Rim rocks. He let her retain enough control to grasp what she saw herself. Unath could make out the precise glimmers of stars reflected in the water below. The Red Star. As Q'sis started to fall back asleep, Unath shook out her neck and glanced up. Red Star. Peered down. Red Star. The Tan rumbled, wordless as all but the notion of flying down to drink went back to sleep with the man she had bonded with. She opened her wings. Wait.
She did. He told her to descend to their ledge, and she did. I'll come with you, Q'sis said as he dressed in some thick leather and cloth, then stumbled out to her. Unath did not know why he wanted to come, but she was happy he did.
I think I am the moon, she whispered into Mith's weyr as she circled down to the lakebed, but did not bother any other dragons in her descent. She landed in the streaming mist off the Weyr's thin waterfall. Q'sis made a noise at her choice of landing spot, but he hadn't been watching carefully enough to correct her. He slipped down and went to sit himself on a distant, dry patch of shoreline.
After shaking off her moist diamond coating, Unath followed him and sat down beside where he sat, putting her nose to the water and drinking in the docile, quiet way he preferred. Q'sis really liked her to stay as still as possible when he did not have her body at his command. Unath tried to obey, each time she remembered.
But it could also feel alright to do what she wanted. She withdrew her muzzle from the lake and dabbed the tip against the shore to dry it. Then she pressed her snout to Q'sis' chest, humming to his heart. She nearly flattened him with the gesture, but he shifted one arm back to brace himself. His other arm wrapped along the side of her jaw, holding tight.
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Chek
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Post by Chek on Jan 24, 2012 17:40:23 GMT -5
On this night, Unath’s waking was Mith’s as well. She was aware of her twin on the Rim, of her rider sleeping in a pile of flitters nearby – what had caused this waking? Mith did not know – normally a cause for distress. But the touch of Valha’s mind on her own, the woman still all but asleep, calmed the tan, who settled herself back down, lids closing over blue whirling eyes.
Which opened again a few moments later as she watched her sister descend to the lake, a tiny whisper left in her wake and no more. Mith crept to the edge of her weyr ledge, tilting her head back to gaze up at the moons, the pale light from the celestial twins giving her pale hide a silvery glow. Her jaws clattered and she shrunk down close to the stone of her ledge.
I do not want to be the moon, she at last whispered back, her twin long since having reached the floor of the Weyr bowl. Mith inched her head over the edge, letting it hand over so she could watch, a low hoarse sound escaping her throat. Thirsty sounded right.
She did not wish to wake her rider, though. But she would not leave the weyr alone – even with herself already out there, it was far too much of a terrifying thought. Shuddering, wings rattling, she withdrew, until a minute weight settling upon the end of her nose distracted her.
Solemn Garm chirped sleepily.
Mith dropped off her ledge, wings opening to catch the air and drifting slowly down to join herself by the water’s edge. Landing beside her twin, she took a moment to rub her jaw along her distracted sister’s side with open affection, then turned and tipped her muzzle into the water, Garm skittering up to the base of her skull to avoid getting wet.
Sated after a moment, she withdrew, water trickling off her pale hide and dribbling onto the ground, until she blew the rest of the moisture off with a quiet sneeze. She looked back towards her weyr, then back at Unath, who now had her muzzle pressed into her man’s chest.
Mith whuffled quietly, then shoved her own head in alongside Unath’s to nose at Q’sis curiously. This was the not-a-table who was her not-hers; and whom as a result she rarely paid much mind too.
Hello.
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Azhdarchid
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Post by Azhdarchid on Jan 24, 2012 21:15:14 GMT -5
Unath might have had a witty retort for Mith's objection had she not forgotten the subject by the time the other Tan spoke. Q'sis raised his head and spotted Mith's pale head creeping over her ledge, lunar-pale. He smiled.
But all-too-soon distant beauty became a close inconvenience. At least that was what it looked like when, while he was already wrestling Unath, he saw the second twin come creeping towards him. Mith joining Unath at random points in the day (or night) and then fluttering off again was not unusual. Unath would do the same. But he could see the cream-colored twin's eyes, and by some specter of moonlight in the facets he could make out her fixation on him, not Unath. He had just gotten his own dragon to settle into a more sedate pace of snuggling, and now-- Q'sis flinched in anticipation.
Mith was tender from the start, and he looked over the round of her snout after a moment as she pushed. Then the second Tan from the single egg did something she had never done before, and Q'sis stiffened where he sat, trying to make sure he had not just mistaken Unath. Mith did not sound any different, or to put it precisely she did not feel different from his own dragon. After a second, the touch of minds washed out of him, and he could no longer tell why he had thought it was Mith in the first place.
Dragons did not operate by any human code. Q'sis had always known that. So there was no need to have an expectation of either twin to behave in a certain way. "New" was all they were. Their lives, their colors, their minds and their desires-- which they did possess, even if such things never made it out to the world. There was no tradition to dictate them, so there was no need to react with anything but wonder.
"Hello, Mith," he replied. He had thought hey might suffice at first, but then he recalled how unresponsive Naireth was to less-than-proper language, and nicknames. It might have been Naireth, or it might be that the Tans did not pin down the same meaning from different words as easily as other colors. He would take the safe route anyway.
Large as he was, there wasn't much room left at Q'sis' chest for Unath when Mith joined, so her darker muzzle traveled over his head-- she did love disturbing his hair --and down his shoulder. Q'sis kept one hand at her jaw to keep her somewhat in check, but it was Mith he watched. The dragon was already sniffing at him, so he didn't feel too bad about sneaking a hand up to the side of her snout. He felt over the top, as high as he could, then searched for one of the little stretches along the side that Unath always enjoyed being scratched at. He found what he thought was a similar patch on Mith, and with an arm around each twin, grinning, Q'sis pet Mith too.
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Boo
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Post by Boo on Jan 25, 2012 17:25:05 GMT -5
Blue firelizards scoured the lake as they had done for many days now. It wasn’t that she was worried about Hearty but she didn’t want her amber to disappear either. Yal was tired and had even missed a couple of her chores. It had been at the beginning of the season that Hearty had Run and disappeared into the depths of the lake and now she found that she rather missed the bug but not as much as the firelizards did. The two seemed to dote upon her and were lost without her. It was night and Yalenia sighed as she took a seat on a rock at the edge of the lake, watching out as Guybrush and Threepwood swooped about following one another rather closely.
A sound of leathery snapping wings caused the female to look skywards and breathe in sharply. The pale outline of the dragon almost shocked her into believing the dragon a ghost. She had not been at Dalibor to witness the birth of the twins but had since heard a lot about them. Not nearly enough though as she rose to her feet to watch the dragon’s landing and only noticed now the dark shapes in the moonlight near the lake. Of course, now with the pale tan there, she could see them a little easier in the moonlight, the pale tan stood out more.
A chirp brought her attention forth as Guybrush zoomed over to the others, apparently thinking they might just know to where Hearty had disappeared. Rather than let the blues frustrate the two dragons and the rider, Yalenia ran after them as quietly and quickly as her short, stout legs would allow. Threepwood flew closer to her, cheeping at his brother, trying to get his attention. The two seemed to like examining everything but Yal was worried they might just try to use the tans for some strange purpose. They were a little like that.
As she approached she thought she recognised the bulky form of the man. Well, who couldn’t when he was the first male Sub-Queen rider on Pern. Yalenia was, by no means, unfit but with her exhaustion over the past few days she found that she was barely able to speak.
“Good evening Weyrling Q’sis I- Guybrush leave off them!”
Yalenia swatted at and managed to grab the blue just as he was about to start flying around Unath’s head. Now he simply sat there staring into the tan’s eyes with apparent concentration. Just as she had grabbed this one, the other suddenly flew forwards to try to examine Mith’s headknobs. Yal grabbed at him too, managing to grab both and pull them into her arms, tightly.
“My apologies they’re looking for something and have strange ways of doing this.”
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Chek
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Post by Chek on Feb 7, 2012 13:44:46 GMT -5
Mith was tentative in her investigation of Q'sis – touching and withdrawing in turns, until she was confident that he was both not a threat, and also not fragile enough to break if she was careful. She crouched over him, her tail flicking over every so often to touch against her sister's side, and watched him.
She accepted the caress with only minor flinching away, snorting and washing the man with her warm breath as she regarded him in an odd thinking/unthinking manner – taking a long while to come to a decision regarding him. He was a thing that had/needed a name, much like Hati had a name, and Valha had a name. Her things had names. He was not her thing, but he was her thing. Her man? Yes.
The tan reached out with a wordless query to the sleeping mind of her rider, rousing the woman enough to get a sleepy answer.
Hello... she said again, and then said no more for a long, long while, content with nosing him over and letting him, in turn, investigate her.
Q'sis, she finally finished a few moments later, just time time to realize someone else was approaching. She recoiled, practically backing under her sister's belly as a blue flitter – not her flitter - swooped towards her head. Garm was on the end of her nose in an instant, wide awake and hissing to defend his TanLove from the threat, even though Threepwood had been withdrawn into Yalenia's arms.
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Azhdarchid
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Post by Azhdarchid on Feb 7, 2012 17:26:22 GMT -5
"That's my girl," the Tanrider said to a dragon not his own.
Q'sis let go of Mith's muzzle before he was pulled off the rock after her. Unath stayed under his other hand a little longer, then lifted her head away as she turned and laid down crosswise over Mith. The "X" of dark and pale bodies at the lakeside became haunted with a flock of blue firelizards. After a withering glance at the one seeking Unath's eye-- the Tan afforded only a blank westward stare after splaying herself over Mith --he ignored them, and looked over his shoulder at the voice calling his name. And his rank.
At first the Tideturner pursed his lips into a disagreeable wrinkle, but then his caller neared and he recognized her. "Good evening Dance Partner Yalenia," he oozed back, then pushed himself from the boulder and landed gamely upon the earth. His focus dropped to the squirming bundles she'd finally managed to clutch in against her chest. A little less warm about the words, he said, "I did not realize you had firelizards."
But flits, even two, could not break his appreciation of this particular Candidate. "There's no music here," Q'sis observed with a hint of lament. He approached her, silhouette rising to block out the moons as he neared, though their light still ran soft and silvery over the mound of dragon-flesh nearby. "Tough to search for things at night," the shadow-faced man suggested. "You might recruit a wher, rather than flits." He held out his arms, almost supplicating to the wrinkly masters of the night. "But Unath is fair enough. What are you looking for?"
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Boo
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Shirath: THOSE aren't spirit fingers... THESE ARE SPIRIT FINGERS!!!
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Post by Boo on Feb 16, 2012 23:33:52 GMT -5
Yalenia bit her lip as the lighter tan, Mith she thought it was, pulled her head back from the chirping firelizards. At least she had them contained in her arms now… Not that that didn’t stop another firelizard hissing at her own from the nose of the dragon. As much as she trusted the riders, it wouldn’t have honestly surprised her if Mith had taken a snap at Threepwood. Probably would have just about served him right and perhaps taught him to be better behaved.
“Sorry… Mith…?”
Truthfully, she’d never really been around dragons like this. Most of her time was spent out and about at night so even in spite of her near two turns of being a wher candidate at Dalibor. Even in the time she’d been at Telgar she’d never been too close to a tan let alone two…
When she was recognised, the candidate grinned a little and almost released the firelizards as she made to fold her arms. He had been quite the charmer at the gather too. Yalenia wasn’t the type to be drawn in by pick up lines and pretty words but she could appreciate the joke at least.
At the statement about her firelizards, Yalenia looked at them and sighed softly with something of a chuckle. As he made a suggestion about recruiting a wher, she pursed her lips. Well, it hadn’t been without trying she supposed but it should be any season now that Kalesk or Risk or even one of the greens might Run and clutch. Hopefully it would happen soon enough.
“Ah… Not my decision in all truth. I’d say they’re mine but sometimes I’m not so sure. They seem to answer more to the pillie than anything else. She was the one who found their eggs. Not sure what she was planning on doing with them before I turned up. That’s who we’re looking for, Hearty.”
Or what they were looking for anyway. She finished it a little lamely but shrugged. All of her impressions so far had been an accident, not planned by her in the slightest. Hopefully by the time there was a wher hatching that would be reversed and she would finally have an Impression she had planned.
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Chek
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Post by Chek on Feb 17, 2012 16:35:38 GMT -5
Garm, content enough that his TanLove was safe, retreated back to the tan’s headknobs, settling into a tight, hidden coil – he was fully aware that theOther had a certain distaste for the fair, and was more than happy to return that distaste in equal measure, and add avoidance along with it. Especially when the TanLove insisted on visiting with theOther and OtherTan.
Mith curved her head around and tucking the end of her nose under Unath’s forearm, sneezing in the dust lightly before subsiding. On the other side of the tan ‘X’, she curled her tail up as well, effectively getting as much of her body safely tucked under that of her twin as was feasibly possible.
She sneezed again at the apology, actually lifting her head to look side-eyed at the woman (though she didn’t bother to remove her nose out from under Unath’s limb for the maneuver) before tucking herself down again, one gleaming eye locked on the humans. She didn’t say anything, at least not to either human, but the whirling slowed and the green faded back almost to blue.
Though seeming inattentive, she was still at least partially listening. At the word ‘eggs’ she lifted her head and glanced all around herself, rooting about under the edges of Unath’s body, checking for eggs, and more importantly, accidentally smushed eggs. Eggs were even more fragile than tables, though they were much prettier.
She reached out, brushing the tip of her nose over Q’sis’s elbow as lightly as she could – wanting attention, but to shy to insist with a stranger in the vicinity, There are no eggs. What is a pillie. Though her question lacked any signifier of it actually being an active question, Mith waited patiently regardless, waiting for an answer.
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Azhdarchid
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Post by Azhdarchid on Feb 18, 2012 14:49:09 GMT -5
"I meant that you should ask one of the Handlers. That is sort of their purpose." Q'sis smiled. "But as I said, Unath will do." He turned to the twins. Unath's head was held straight up, her jaws twitching apart in soft meeps of surprise as Mith rummaged under her soft belly and forelegs. Her sounds died out as soon as the sensation did, but she looked at Q'sis with eyes wide, scandalized. "Unath, go get the pillie," the Weyrling ordered, completely unphased by his dragon's state.
He provided a memorized image of one of the insects, which Unath passed along to Mith as a matter of course before she waddled off her sister and into the shallows. "What color is yours?" Q'sis asked. "How big is it?"
Got! Unath said, almost before he had finished speaking. Q'sis' eyebrows lifted, and he turned toward the lake. Unath sat down in the shallows and held up a pillie she had caught, its shell pinched between two of her claws.
OoaahhhHHHHSSSSS! the pillie shrieked frantically, as if they had just caught him in the middle of something. He was waving all his legs at the water in desperation, and continued bawling till he had tired himself out and hung from Unath's talon limply instead. ...sssss..ss...s....aah. Q'sis motioned Unath closer, and she held out the giant bug to Yalenia.
"Is this your pillie?" Q'sis muttered, tone raggedly neutral, but mouth set in distaste.
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Boo
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booct[M:-425]
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Post by Boo on Feb 28, 2012 17:43:55 GMT -5
At the mention of ‘eggs’ Mith seemed to suddenly perk up a little. Well, in Yalenia’s opinion anyway. The tan started nosing about under her twin sister prompting a smile from the wher candidate as she watched. It was somewhat disconcerting to see these two dragons so close to one another and seemingly connected. Yal didn’t rightly know for what the tan was searching but figured it must have something to do with eggs.
“Well I figure they’re busy enough without having to come out here to look for a mutinous pillie.” Yal responded with a grin.
Her hands would have been on her hips had she not been concentrating on trying to keep the blues under control. Honestly, she hadn’t truly wanted firelizards but wouldn’t have put it past Hearty to try to Impress some simply because she’d seen how others seemed to obey their masters.
“That’s kind of you though, thank you.”
It seemed like such a bother for her to ask this of a Weyrling. Ever since she had gone to the Weyr she had noticed the subtle or not so subtle hierarchy. Usually, those with dragons were rather more respected than those without. Even as a Journeyman smith here she was an unbonded candidate, waiting on the next wher hatching. Yal watched as Unath wandered over to the water Impressed by the intellect of the dragon. Yes, she’d heard Tans were not the brightest of dragons but that didn’t necessarily mean they couldn’t be taught.
As the pillie was brought out of the water, Yalenia recognised it as the one Hearty had disappeared with into the depths of the lake.
“No. But I believe she may have had a… Well Run I guess and he was there. She’s an Amber and,” she held her arms out releasing the firelizards, “She’s about this large.”
As soon as they were freed, the blues darted their way over to the squirming pillie to investigate and then, after seemingly making a decision, shot out over the lake in search of their captain.
“I don’t rightly know what happens with pillies… It looked like a Run but wasn't quite like any Run I'd ever seen before.” [/blockquote] |
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Chek
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Post by Chek on Mar 6, 2012 12:37:31 GMT -5
Her search for eggs completed, leaving her content that there were, in fact, no eggs anywhere, broken or not, Mith was just getting settled back down under the safe bulk of her sister when said bulk lifted away. The image of a pillie, passed along to her as it was, brought nothing but confusion, her own question forgotten already.
As soon as Unath lifted away from her, she’d frozen and planted her nose firmly in Q’sis’s back, shifting minutely so he would serve as a shield between her and the wher candidate. The effectiveness of a six and some foot tall human being able to hide a forty foot dragon was questionable, but Mith either didn’t mind, or didn’t care. Or, honestly, likely didn’t realize.
Unath’s retrieval of the pillie was interesting, though. The hissing and flailing was intimidating, but when the brassy creature started to tire, she abandoned Q’sis, slinking to her sister and pressing up along side her, nose stretched out to examine her twin’s catch.
She even snuck out a daring taste, tongue flicking out and touching the shell lightly, prompting a low, thoughtful hum, This does not taste good. I should never eat it.
She flinched away somewhat from the blue flitters when they winged by, but Garm’s light croon, heard only by her, was more than enough to soothe her, and she returned her attention to the pillie, tongue sneaking out for another taste, regardless of her prior statement.
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Azhdarchid
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Post by Azhdarchid on Mar 7, 2012 20:27:53 GMT -5
Q'sis did not respond to her gratitude. He watched her, listening to the curious details provided, then flinched back when the firelizards sprang free of her. Mith was right there, behind him, and he put one elbow up on her snout, leaning on her for second before his hand descended and he rubbed the side of her upper lip.
"That's bigger than what Unath pulled out, and that was the biggest I have ever seen. Are you sure you're not exaggerating?" The image he constructed had to be very precise if the dragons were going to be of any use. Though Unath's unwilling assistant had been dispensed, he at least had the body type and movement to go off from it. He grinned suddenly. "You watch a lot of Runs?" Both elbows went back on Mith now, as long as she was supplying herself. Q'sis utilized her as a large, warm, breathy wall. "I don't doubt that a bug fails to compare to a wher."
Mith did not stay, so he had to stand on his own again. He did so with another smile at Yalenia. Unath lowered her limp insectoid burden to the other tan's tongue, sniffing sharply when Mith sampled its taste.
Then I will not eat it unless it asks me to, she agreed. She tilted her head as Mith's snout probed back in against the pillie, which was beginning to hiss in its own defense. Q'sis' smile faltered when his own dragon started to extend her bright blue tongue, and suddenly Unath flicked her captive backwards; the pillie-bug went sailing out over the lake with a shriek. A bubbly white turbulence marked where it darted away to safety after landing. Unath used her already-extended tongue to lap at Mith's head when her twin winced.
Seek this in the lake, Q'sis ordered, impressing a new pillie portrait onto Unath's brain. It took her a minute, but she came to an understanding. The rider did not try the same trick with Mith, though Unath's thoughts flowed easily to her sister's brain: the order, the image, the conclusion. It was a synergy her rider did not yet detect, though he could hazard its presence from how the two behaved together.
Unath jumped, twisted, and dove underwater, the movements not tight, but well-staged. "We wait," Q'sis announced. "Why are you a Wher Candidate?"
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Boo
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Shirath: THOSE aren't spirit fingers... THESE ARE SPIRIT FINGERS!!!
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Post by Boo on Mar 14, 2012 17:55:45 GMT -5
Yalenia watched as the firelizards darted out of sight. She was certain they would be quite safe and she did have enough control over them to recall them if she needed. For the moment she was more interested in how the tans seemed to be interacting. Yal was a woman whe enjoyed observing interesting situations and beings. This was definitely an experience and if nothing else came of her time at Dalibor she would at least be able to tell people about the twin tans who tried to help her find her pillie. Well, a pillie would probably be evidence enough of the uniqueness of Dalibor.
“You would think she was smaller but… No, she’s truly about the size of a small wher.”
What in the world would she actually do if the moment came when she did Impress and Hearty did not take kindly to their newest addition. Yalenia supposed Hearty would probably simply attempt to make the wher a part of their crew as she had done with the blues but either way, Yalenia had heard the stories of some of the other pillies in the Weyr.
As she watched Q’sis give another image to Unath, she was curious about whether she would as easily bond with a wher when the time came. Dragons were the intended of a candidate. Whers could go to anyone and in some cases, no one. There were times when if there were too many whers to candidates then people culled the numbers. It was sad but there was no other choice.
Yalenia took a seat as the Tanrider suggested they wait. It wasn’t long before he asked a question and Yalenia smiled.
"Why not?"
It was somewhat cheeky and she didn't mind it, even going so far as to laugh heartily as she was wont to do. However, after a moment she decided to answer him. It was somewhat important in her mind to let people know the truth...
“I became a wher candidate because I had always dreamed of dragons. In my mind, when I volunteered, this was the closest I could come. Now, the more whers I meet, the more I realise how much I want to be a part of their world. Smithing was interesting but I always felt I could serve people better elsewhere.”
She spoke freely and heartily.
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Chek
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Post by Chek on Mar 21, 2012 14:05:49 GMT -5
Mith accepted her sister’s soggy affection as her due, turning over the order/information that had trickled over into her mind from herself’s man. More of the not particularly edible things? She had a quick conference with Garm, still tucked against her headknob, and then applied to the sleepy mind of her rider for confirmation of certain suspicions of hers.
The reply, though from a barely awake mind, came quickly, Pillies are not tables, my love.
They had legs. Many legs. They had a flat(ish) top. They did not taste good. Mith wasn’t so certain.
Bugs, my dear, not tables.
Well.
Pillies are not tables. But they could be tables, if they wanted to. They are flat on top. she gravely informed Unath, before ducking her head under water to look for another.
Oh. She was to look for a big one, yes? She asked herself, to confirm, and then submerged herself with a resounding whump of displaced water, diving deep in search of the tablebugs.
Up in her weyr, Valha stumbled out of bed in a pile of blankets and displaced, sleepy and complaining flitters. Heavy-eyed, she stumbled out onto her weyrledge and flopped down on the stone, still warm from the heat of Mith’s body, pulling her blankets back around herself as her flits, still grumbling, regained their places tucked in around her. If Mith was going to be up to nonsense in the middle of the night, then Valha needed to be at least somewhat on hand in case of emergencies.
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Azhdarchid
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Post by Azhdarchid on Mar 21, 2012 23:20:37 GMT -5
The twinrider only stared at Yalenia for her jest and subsequent mirth. His dark eyebrows twitched momentarily upward as she filled the silence with a more honest answer, then he found his way to one of the larger lakeshore rocks beside her.
"Neither Smith nor Wherhandler are ideal occupations for you," he replied. "Wanting a wher for its own sake is the worst thing you could do." If Sam was not going to press this woman on his behalf, Q'sis had no qualms about laying out the facts himself. His tone was moderated to advisory only, warmth keyed in as easily as it used to be, back when the skill of his voice had meant everything. "What function you provide in this Weyr should be your primary concern. Right now it needs good women to succeed those lost in the creche, the kitchens, the stores...not girls dreaming for Turns on end of a replacement dragon."
Something about how she had phrased her desire reminded him of other would-be Wherhandlers, those whose bond had already been proven. "You were one of Kalenna's competitors," he concluded. No wonder Yalenia had proven so resourceful in that fire, and why she struck him so favorably now despite her whimsy. "You failed. You should have taken the advice of the experience. Queens are even harder to come by than even a normal healthy egg. If you continue to Stand, you would more likely be taken by one of the 'little' whers." Q'sis snorted. "None of which are so little as your insect." He was thinking, of course, of the average green, a musclebound six feet from snout to haunch.
He frowned. "That would be unacceptable. You cannot think patrols and ground crew are the things you are best at. You are a strong woman. Those sorts of activities are for fodder." He waved his hand through a couple dismissive arcs by his face. "For men."
Q'sis was already preparing further negotiations, for a Gold Candidate could not be talked down in the same manner as any girl. But his attention suddenly broke off from Yalenia as the dim silhouette of Unath rose from the shallows, marching out of the water. While he had been speaking to Yalenia, Q'sis had also been covertly checking each of his dragon's catches for the proper specifications that might match them to Hearty.
But his tan had been unsuccessful on the hunt. And pillies did not really appreciate being plucked from their homes in the dead of night. Several large ones had attached to various parts of the dragon, and fruitlessly attempted to reprimand her with their segmented muzzles. The dragonrider abandoned the conversation and strode over to grab a pillie straddled over Unath's blunt snout.
He broke the creature's grip readily and threw it into the water. He could have leapt aboard and launched Unath Between to the Eye Stone, freezing off the pillie infection as if it were Thread. But it was possible some of these were bonded to other Weyrfolk. If the connection was anything like that between firelizards and men...that solution was too drastic. The pillies could not even dent Unath's hide. She hosted no anxiety, and simply shifted her limbs as he needed to cleanse them.
Mith, get out of the water. Come to me. He spared no time in clenching onto his dragon's mentality to broadcast the demand. Unath's purified head arched away from him, tilting at the ledge where Valha had just emerged.
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Boo
Jr. Weyrwoman
booct[M:-425]
Shirath: THOSE aren't spirit fingers... THESE ARE SPIRIT FINGERS!!!
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Post by Boo on Mar 22, 2012 2:47:20 GMT -5
As Q’sis spoke, Yalenia’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly opinion of the tanrider slowly, very slowly diminishing.
“A new-born grey is not so large, Q’sis. Even a new-born black is quite small.”
Which was of course what she had thought of when considering a ‘small’ wher. Yalenia thought in chronology. Rarely ever did she plan in the instance of an adult wher for it was when hers was an infant that it would be most vulnerable. Enough infant creatures had been killed by things larger than it to give her some indication of what she would need to prepare herself for.
There was a moment of calm, cold quiet as she regarded him.
“I will be the first to admit that as a young woman when I came to volunteer for wher candidacy it was for selfish reasons. Since coming to this Weyr and in the turns that have passed I have learned.” Yalenia gestured to her own face, “I am already cannon fodder Q’sis and to call me anything less is shameful and discourteous. It is what I have chosen and I will not watch as men younger and more whole than I fly and fight Thread-”
But she was broken off before she could show her true displeasure with his statements. She would be speaking with him about this though.
ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!
A form of a rather large pillie went flying through the air and landed back in the water as she was thrown from Unath’s snout. Hearty took great displeasure in this moment, being snatched from her natural habitat egg heavy and frustrated. She hissed once more and watched from the shallows as her fellows attacked the beast.
Yalenia rushed forwards and started to push some of the crawling pillies back into the water when she was sure that they were being issued commands by her own amber.
“Hearty you sharding villain!”
It was one of the first times she had cursed and as she did so she flung a brown pillie at the amber queen.
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