Absorbing light [OPEN!]

[turkoizdog]

Summer in Dalibor was always hot, but today seemed to be one of those days that just wanted to get under everyone's skin. The sun beat down, heat waves blurring the horizon, and Meena silently cursed her black hair for soaking it all in. She had tied it up to keep it off the back of her neck, and yet she found herself jealous of the bald and pale, not thinking of her immunity to sun burns.

Meena walked in the shade of Tredecimth -- who was finally large enough to provide her with shade at all -- as they approached the lake. A bag she carried had meatrolls, and while Tredecimth had already eaten, she felt it was far too nice a day to eat lunch indoors. And yet, halfway done with their trek, she had begun to regret her label of the current weather as 'nice'. She also regretted not just flying over, though Tredecimth was still uncertain about his flying abilities. Unmanned flights he had all but mastered, but having Meena on his back was still fairly new, and fear of his curse made him nervous he might drop her. So they were left to walk.

As they arrived, Meena noted a lone large tree by the lake, far away from the others, but casting a sizeable shadow. The perfect spot to stretch out in. Tredecimth it seemed had noticed it as well, for his pace picked up, heading straight for it. The gray approached the tree and quickly found a spot to curl up in its shade. Lucky, who had been riding on his back, lept to the ground before scurrying toward the lake, disappearing into the water.

Meena sat, resting her back on Tredecimth and closing her eyes as she caught her breath. Her bag slid off her shoulder, dropping beside her, and she removed a bottle of cool water to empty into her thirsty mouth.

'MeenaMine, the shade feels so nice. I may just curl up here and rest while you swim.'

'I probably won't go swimming just yet. I have to eat first, and I don't like swimming on a full stomach.'

Meena pulled a meatroll out of her bag and lazily took a bite of it. She would have offered some to Lucky, who hadn't yet had lunch, but she figured he was swimming after a particularly tasty looking fish. Oh well, more for her.

[Boo]

The calm albeit hot day was suddenly disturbed by a bugling call and a shadow passing over Meena as Shirath came to a splash landing in the lake. C’ian had spotted the Weyrling heading out to the bowl and on a day free from Threadfall, he’d made it his mission to track her down and follow her. Perhaps it was a little strange but he had done it all the same. As Shirath floated in the lake, C’ian jumped to his feet, quickly unstrapping himself from the straps as he pointed a stick at Meena. His head was covered with a cloth bandana and this also covered one of his eyes as he looked at the Weyrling with a slight frown.

“AVAST! Who dares take the tree of Captian C’ian the leader of the lake?!”
And… Oh mine really?
C’ian rapped the purple on the neck lightly as the dragon sighed and then looked over at Meena.
And Steed Shirath of the Seven Seas… Arr…
C’ian brandished the stick at Meena for a little while longer before grinning and laughing.

Who said that when you got older you had to grow up? He could keep doing this until he was gray bearded for if it got to that point then he could be an awesome wizard and it would simply be the most fun! Meena had been a lot of fun to hang around with and what was more, he hadn’t been caught playing a prank. Yet had had not really seen her since she had Impressed given the plague and everything plus he had never met the only male gray in the entire Weyr.

“Will you surrender your meatroll as a tithe?!”
C’ian whipped the stick back and forth, jumping on Shirath’s back as the purple turned his head to look at the younger dragon appraisal passing briefly over his features.

[/blockquote]

[turkoizdog]

As the purple's shadow fell over her, Meena looked up. Oh, she recognized that purple! Of course, it had to be Shirath and C'ian. She hadn't seen either since she was a candidate, and neither had met Tredecimth, she realized. 'Treddy, look! My friends!'

'But mine, you're friends with everyone.'

'Yes, but this is Captain C'ian, my pranking buddy! Oh, but I haven't seen him since I was a candidate. He hasn't met you yet!'
Finishing off her meatroll, she grabbed another and stood, watching as C'ian, comically dressed, jumped down from Shirath. He was still Captain C'ian, but this time he had somehow convinced Shirath to introduce himself as Steed Shirath of the Seven Seas. Meena giggled.

"It is I, Meena the Magnificent, with Tremendous Treddy!"
'Hi. I'm Tremendous Treddy, I guess.'
She grinned when he asked for her to surrender a meatroll. Just one? She had so many! "I have plenty of meatrolls!" she declared, holding up her bag full of them. "We can feast, for days, even!" Well maybe they didn't have enough to eat for days, but it made her little picnic sound much more epic.

[Boo]

When she indicated that she remembered him, C’ian could not stop the almost smug grin that passed across his features as he jumped off Shirath’s back and splashed his way to shore, stick still in hand even as he swam. That was not exactly an easy task but it was important to stay armed just in case some foul creature attacked. As if summoned, FlittFace poked his head over Shirath’s head knobs and looked around surreptitiously no doubt plotting something nefarious. Cirrus, for his part, soared through the air and clung onto Sir Lazybutt’s back who was bounding after them having followed the dragon as he flew through the air, barking loudly to gain their attention. Yes, Captain C’ian’s crew was out in full force today.

“That is most appropriate! Yes, it will be a feast for the ages and harpers will write ballads of this moment.”
Probably not him even though he had been a harper once upon a time. Unfortunately, his skills were not quite what they used to be which was, of course, very talented. He had not been nearly kicked out of apprenticeship oh no. He really needed to write E’kiel another letter about all this! Their first male gray! E’kiel would have been so excited to be at that hatching.

Hello Tremendous Teddy, might I say the sun on your hide looks particularly luminous as it glances off, sending shame to even the skies themselves.
Shirath gave out compliments like they were free cookies. Then again, he always saved the best compliments for himself for he was the most fantastic dragon it’s just that there were some other dragons who were nice enough he supposed.

As C’ian reached out to take a meat roll, FlittFace swooped in and stole it right from his hand. C’ian brandished his stick even as Sir Lazybutt came to a halt before him, Cirrus jumping off the canine’s back to chase after the black firelizard.
“Fiend! Ruining our feast how very dare he?!”
By that point FlittFace had taken to hiding in the very tops of the tree, nibbling at the meat roll with a satisfied croon.
“We will have to keep an eye out for that one Meena the Magnificent.”

[/blockquote]

[turkoizdog]

Meena grinned at C'ian's words regarding their impending feast. "Indeed, they will. Let us feast like there is no tomorrow!" she cried. Sure, it was only meatrolls, nothing extraordinary, but so many meatrolls... and besides, who didn't love meatrolls? They were one of Meena's favorite foods, and surely she was not alone in this.

As she handed him a meatroll, C'ian's flit swooped down and snatched it. Meena jumped back a foot in surprise. She hadn't even noticed him! C'ian shook his stick at the flit, and Meena giggled. "Indeed, we shall have to be extra careful with our fare, can't have our feast stolen from under us." she said. Honestly, she didn't mind FlittFace stealing a meatroll or two; she had plenty. Yes, there would be no food shortage, not tonight.

Meanwhile, Treddy was stuck with a response to Shirath's compliment. He was used to compliments from Meena, and certain other dragons like Dementiath, who understood his curse. But Shirath's poetry had a certain lightness to it that opposed the darkness Treddy was use to. Not a bad light, and the words he found would be fitting of His's smile, or the hide of Shirath himself. But him? Surely not...

'Thanks, I guess...' he responded sheepishly, head bowed, shifting slightly. As a human he would have blushed heavily, but even if dragons could, his grey hide would prevent it from being evident in anything other than his rather obvious body language. Dealing with compliments was far from Treddy's forte. 'Your markings are stunningly bold.' he responded, trying to return the compliment without sounding repetitive. Sometimes he envied dragons with markings, rather than monochromatic hides like his. But then, did it really matter? Not for him, it didn't. Only bold dragons got bold markings.

[Boo]

As the black firelizard ate his spoils, the food fell to the ground, landing crumbs in the fur of Sir Lazybutt. The canine didn’t seem to notice much other than shaking himself when a particularly large crumb landed on his head. Cirrus landed on the ground beside the canine and began collecting the pieces together and placing them in his little bag before soaring off to join his bondbrother in the tree.

“He will be set to the worst imaginable duties aboard the steed.”
He dropped to the ground and took another roll, tearing into it with relish. They had been performing some other duties that morning and hadn’t quite had time to grab more than a quick bite from the Dining Hall. He did miss the times as a candidate when he would be able to sneak into the kitchens and steal a whole pile of Benden Baklava. Now people seemed to recognise him more easily simply because of how long he had been at the Weyr. He had now earned himself a slight reputation.

“Scrubbing the deck, yes that will be his new duty.”

Shirath rumbled, pleased that his words had so visibly affected the tiny dragon. If there was one other thing Shirath liked seeing out of the dragons he spoke to, it was their reaction to his comments and what that did to them. This was just part of what made Shirath a very strange dragon indeed.

You are quite welcome Tremendous Treddy.
The compliment that followed caused the purple to lift his head high and tilt it slightly with pleasure. Yes, they were rather fabulous.
Well yes they are. He turned his body slightly and then hummed again, What about this one? This one is my favourite stripe.
Of course, it was the same as all the others but try telling Shirath that and you were in for a magnificent sulk.

[/blockquote]

[turkoizdog]

Worst imaginable duties... Meena wondered to herself what that would be. "Dishes?" she thought aloud. "No, no... toilets?" she pondered. But when C'ian suggested scrubbing the deck, she smiled. "Ahh yes, truly the worst of chores..." She thought back to scrubbing floors as a candidate and shuddered. Definitely the worst of chores.

She giggled as she watched him tear into the meatroll. "Hungry, Captain?" she teased him. Sure she wasn't the daintiest of eaters, but she was hardly messy either. Meena tore large bites from her meatrolls, and was generally the definition of biting off more than you could chew.

Tredecimth analyzed Shirath's striples when he pointed out which one was his favorites. Of course, he saw little difference, but maybe that was only because he didn't have stripes. "It's a nice stripe. Wish I had cool stripes too." he said. While his response seemed lackluster, that was of course only because his tone generally didn't have much luster to begin with.

[Boo]

Of course, they were all very good suggestions from the Magnificent Meena but somehow he thought that FlittFace wouldn’t be quite capable enough to do any of that. No, he would have to scrub the decks for sure. Perhaps those punishments could come in to play if the firelizard didn’t learn his lesson. Cirrus was even beginning to be swayed by the influence of the other firelizard. Sir Lazybutt had dropped to the ground, yawning and just about falling asleep where he sat as he was prone to do.

“Famished! I find that after a long while at sea there’s nothing better than a proper meal.”
Plus it distracted him from Threadfall quite nicely. He was always pleased when they touched the ground again relatively unscathed not to mention seeing the rest of his Wing land safely. Yet it was always nice to go back to the times when things were so much easier. Tredecimth would never know a Pern without Threadfall and that thought rather chilled C’ian.

Pushing the thought from his mind he smiled again in his lopsided way.
“So, Magnificent Meena, how fares your quest?”

You are instead unique in your kind, Tremendous Treddy, none could even match you so they have not tried. The first male gray to be born in my home. Truly a perfectly aaaamaaaaaaaaazing thing. How could we not notice your perfection?
His stripes were amazing it was true and he knew that every dragon wished they had stripes like his. They were like the waves on a stormy night, jagged and sharp just like his wit. Yes, Shirath was absolutely amazing. Tredecimth was also fairly awesome but Shirath was, as always, the best.

[/blockquote]

[turkoizdog]

"My quest?" Meena had to think about that for a moment. "It is odd, when you have been on a quest for so long, to see it reaching its end." she stated simply. Indeed, she was excited, though a bit afraid, of actually fighting thread. But yet, wasn't that why she became a dragon rider in the first place? To protect and defend the people of Pern against thread? Every child's dream, and she was living it. Not to mention an amazing dragon like Treddy, despite how insistent he was on his assumption that he wasn't that amazing.

Meanwhile, Shirath was doing a pretty decent job of making Treddy feel a little better about himself. And of course, that made Treddy like Shirath more than he had on first impression. Most purples, it seemed, were too much fun and games for Treddy's liking. But Shirath was kind. Shirath saw beyond his curse, and Treddy could appreciate him for it.

"I guess... thanks." Treddy responded simply. One could hardly say he knew how to take a compliment, but when it came to Shirath, Treddy just had to take it. He'd feel too bad otherwise.

[Boo]

Underneath the characters C’ian liked to play, there was understanding for Meena’s comment. He understood how it felt to finally Impress after waiting so long. When he hadn’t impressed at Kalith’s hatching, he’d had to wait a rather long time before he had been able to stand at a hatching again. Now, however, there were a great many more dragons who were capable of clutching around the Weyr. There had been three in the last hatching, a copper a red and an orange.
“I know what you mean, sometimes when there’s a quest you have been working on for so long, it is hard to see it coming to an end.”

So they just had to develop a new goal. C’ian still hadn’t managed to get around to that part. Some other purpleriders or riders of subkings strove to become Weyrlingmasters, candidatemasters or wingleaders. C’ian had no such goal in mind for responsibility was not at all on his mind. No, he wanted to have fun for a while longer before he considered taking on extra responsibilities. After all, he had a whole crew to think about before considering other things! He took a bite out of the roll in his hand to distract himself from those thoughts. He’d have plenty of time to think about things like that!

Shirath settled himself, pleased with the reaction he was getting from the gray. The poor younger dragon probably didn’t know that Shirath thought Tredecimth loved him! Indeed, the purple was now baring a toothy grin at the gray in what he evidently thought was a flirtatious manner.
You’ll scare him if you come on too strong.
No one could eeeeever be scared of me! They all love me too much. Or they should. Do you think he loves me?

The dragon didn’t wait for a response from his rider and instead shuffling a little closer to the smaller dragon.
How could anyone not love you, do you love me?
A little… Blunt there Shirath.
“I believe my steed is annoying Tremendous Treddy over there! Shirath, cease and desist this instant!”
But I must know!!

[/blockquote]

[turkoizdog]

Meena nodded at C'ian's reply. Here was one place where they could understand one other. Like him, she just wanted to have fun and enjoy her youth. She had achieved what she wanted (to become a dragonrider) but she never sought to become a Wingleader or anything, and was content with the position of a simple Wingrider. "Many spend their lives on quests for power or knowledge... I seek neither of these things. It makes me wonder what my next quest will be."

Meena had considered other positions in the weyr. Perhaps taking up a craft on the side, looking into how to become a Weyrlingmaster, or even do Searches! Though she doubted Treddy's nature would be very reassuring to new recruits, perhaps Searching would help his self esteem a bit. Meena had begun to wonder if in this sense, her dragon was her quest. He was a wonderfully sweet dragon, that much she knew. She just needed to be able to prove it to him.

Meanwhile, Treddy wasn't sure how to respond to Shirath's nature. He was used to the other dragons either giving him pity or thinking him too weak to be of worth, with an occasional dragon thinking it was cool how he was brooding or whatever. But it seemed Shirath needed love and attention, though unfortunately Treddy was hardly very good at providing this.

"Well, you haven't given me any reason not to." Treddy responded in his normal gloomy tone. Which was really about as affectionate as he got with anyone other than Meena. Like Meena, Treddy generally liked new friends. Unlike Meena, however, he was awful at showing it.

Meena giggled at C'ian's declaration. "I think he just doesn't know how to respond to your steed's brilliant smile." she told him. "It's hardly difficult to make him speechless."

[Boo]

Some would have called him listless. The last time his parents had spoken directly to him about his direction in life, they had chastised him for not having tried to take on a role of responsibility. At first they had reasoned that it was because Shirath wasn’t old enough but now they wondered why he had not made more of an effort. Shirath was now old enough that he could take his place amongst the Weyr. His sister didn’t care. She still just loved spending time with the purple dragon.

When he wrote letters to E’kiel about what was happening at the Weyr, the blackrider always wrote a reply to lift his spirits. Perhaps it was just one of the friendships that kept C’ian from totally slipping away. Maintaining a childish happiness and optimism was one way for him to deal with the horrors they faced every day.

“Well, my steed takes a lot of time to make his smile utterly dazzling. He was the winner of the most charming smile award. He could dazzle the wits out of any living creature!”
Even though C’ian was the first to tease Shirath, he was also always the first one to compliment him so proud he was of his dragon.

Well, yes I suppose that is true indeed. Oh I am soooo happy that you feel that way about me.
Shirath shuffled a little closer. Treddy reminded him of another dragon… Aldebarath, his smaller black brother. He was not able to speak with him anymore but C’ian sometimes read him letters. Treddy was nervous too but he, Shirath, was so encouraging and wonderful. He would take the gray under his wing.

[/blockquote]

[turkoizdog]

Well, my steed takes a lot of time to make his smile utterly dazzling. He was the winner of the most charming smile award. He could dazzle the wits out of any living creature!

Meena grinned. "I don't doubt that one bit, Captain." she responded. "It would take a thousand men a thousand days to craft such a smile, were he not so naturally dazzling." Meena loved complimenting Shirath in this way. Purples were always so cute when they were so proud, and Shirath was no doubt Meena's favorite purple at Dalibor.

Well, yes I suppose that is true indeed. Oh I am soooo happy that you feel that way about me.
Treddy almost smiled. Of course, he was not one to smile, not really, but he almost did."And I am glad to make you so happy, Shirath." he responded. Seeing how happy simple compliments made Shirath feel gave Treddy a longing for that kind of happiness. If he hadn't been cursed at birth, perhaps he would be as happy to receive compliments. Instead, he was doomed to his gloom.

[Boo]

Did ya hear that Shirath?
Ooooh yes my dear C’ian, they are so lovely. They will love us forever no doubt!
C’ian smiled at the purple’s words, watching as the sub-king puffed himself up proudly. No doubt Shirath would be talking of this for a seven day after and demand more compliments from Meena.

“Watch out we don’t compliment him too much or he might float away on the breeze with how much he has puffed himself up.”
There had to be a little bit of a fall or else Shirath would be utterly insufferable… Well, it was enough to keep him from gloating even more but it didn’t stop the purple from looking particularly proud of himself.

One day, Tremendous Treddy, we will fly out yonder together and show all our glory.
Shirath flared his wings enthusiastically at these words and directed his gaze skyward. He would take the gray under his wing (literally) and together the would become the marvels of Pern!

[/blockquote]

[turkoizdog]

Meena grinned watching Shirath puff up even more from pride, resisting the urge to squeal at how sharding adorable he looked. Granted, it was written all over her face how much she wanted to squeal -- she didn't even have to vocalize it.

She giggled at C'ian's remark. "Oh but I can't help myself. I give out compliments like meatrolls, especially to those who would accept them." Treddy had a hard time accepting compliments, so the fact that Shirath took them to heart made Meena very happy to give them out.

Tredecimth found himself ever so slightly moved by Shirath's words... somehow, Shirath, like Meena, seemed to believe in him more than he did in himself. Which was an odd feeling. It wasn't the same kind of attention he got from Goff Club, where fellow dragons were so fascinated with his curse... here it was as if they denied its existence, and Treddy wasn't sure how to feel about that. Sure, it would be nice not to be cursed... and it was definitely nice to have those who would still be nice to him despite it.