Moonlight Sonata [Show]

[Kila]

Nadya stepped out into the Weyrbowl and raised her face to the sky. The moon lit her features in a soft, fragile glow and cast an inky shadow behind her. She breathed in deeply, letting the cold air grip her lungs and pound against her chest. It made her heart hurt- but not in a bad way. The pain was physical, and only slight at that. It made her feel wide awake and well aware of where she was in regards to the rest of the world, even though most of Pern was sleeping.

Another shadow, this one large and wide, joined hers on the grass at the mouth of one of the tunnels to the lower caverns. Pretty night; Nadysk said astutely, surveying the moonlight-drenched 'bowl. He too was enchanted by cold nights. Lowering his head, he puffed air out of his nostrils experimentally and was pleased to see that he could faintly see his breath in the air.

Yeah. Look how glassy yon lake is. Pretty picture, huh? I hope it snows here. If we get to see it in the early morning before it gets trampled it's worth hearing the weyrbrats shriek all day, Nadya mused, sticking her hands in her pockets and slouching backwards against the stone mouth of the tunnel. It'll be a nice walk tonight. We have a patrol partner tonight, though. We'll have to wait for them.

Nadysk rumbled in reply. It could be nice to have company... but he enjoyed the time alone with His. They didn't speak in words, per say, but they conversed a lot at nighttime. Nadya reserved her feelings on the situation, not concerned with having any reaction to the fact until she saw who it was. Nadysk and the stars were enough company for her, but who knew- maybe it would be interesting in the end.

[4horseshowgirl4]

As usual, Whinae was the first of the pair to wake up, roused by the scrapings of the benches in the dining hall and the soft thumps of the many dragons landing on their weyrledges for the night. Whisk, typically, was still fast asleep, curled up at the foot of Whinae's bed (an advantage of being so small-- her bowl in the corner of the room was only used on the hottest days, when the cool stone was more welcoming than Whinae's soft mattress). Whinae sat up in bed, touching Whisk's mind gently to try and ease her awake. As usual, Whisk stirred slightly but shut Whinae out, rolling over and trying to steal a few more minutes' of sleep. Whinae sighed, prodding Whisk's side, eliciting no response from the wher. Finally, she shoved her off of the cot roughly. Whisk landed with a thud and a yelp, and glared at Whinae, who just smiled affectionately.

After Whisk had sulked for a few minutes while Whinae got dressed, they padded up to the now-deserted dining hall, enjoying a leisurely breakfast. They weren't supposed to patrol until near dawn, so they went back to their quarters, and Whinae pulled out a jar of sweet oil for Whisk's hide. Just as she was about to put the first smear of oil on her, however, Whisk got a frantic message from another wher. NOMINE!

[/color] she hastily protested, leaping to her feet, Whinae lunging and grabbing the jar of oil before Whisk's flicking tail upset it. Red wher has cold! Needs rest! Whisk and WhiskMine fill in for patrol NOW![/color] she barked, charging out of the room. Whinae sighed, setting aside the oil and taking a moment to pull on a heavy jacket and a hat. It was cold tonight, especially if it was windy outside of the Weyr.

{We're not going alone tonight, are we?} Whinae asked a bit worriedly as she and Whisk wove through the underground tunnels, making their way towards the Weyrbowl. No no! Going with Nadysk and Nadysk's![/color] Whisk assured Whinae hurriedly. Whinae was relieved, even though she had only met Nadya once before. She had seemed sweet, and Nadysk was certainly big and strong enough that he and Whisk could handle anything nasty they ran into. Late! They waiting! Go![/color] Whisk said urgently, looking over her shoulder at Whinae, who obediently broke into a jog. The Brownpair had probably already been waiting a while, and she didn't want to annoy them by testing their patience.

They exited the warm, stuffy tunnels and broke into the Weyrbowl, filled with soft moonlight and crisp winter air-- a perfect night. Whinae shivered, but it would be fine once they got moving. It wasn't hard to spot the Nadya and her Brown, as they were the only other living creatures in the Weyrbowl at this time. "Hello, Nadya," Whinae greeted softly as they approached the Brownpair, smiling softly. Whisk trotted up to Nadysk immediately and began preening. She remembered Nadysk Chasing her when she had Run, and although he hadn't won, she hoped to see him around next time. He was a very handsome wher, and, after all, it was doubtful that her Meiusk would be incapable of giving chase soon.

Whinae said nothing more, waiting for Nadya to take the lead. The Red hadn't told Whisk where they were supposed to be patrolling that night, and even if she had known, politeness dictated that she let Nadya, who was there first and had a bigger color wher, take the lead. However, she did pull Whisk away from Nadysk mentally; while she was sure that Whisk would buckle down to work once they were outside of the safe confines of the Weyr, she also wanted to appear like a good patrol partner, and a distracted Green wasn't going to help that image any. [/right][/font]

[Kila]

Nadya looked lazily over her shoulder when their patrol partners exited the lower caverns at top speed. Nadysk had been alerted by their foot steps and had snapped his head attentively towards the mouth before the late arrivals had even emerged. And their partners were...

Whisk! Nadysk exclaimed, wagging his stubby tail happily. Hello. The Green seemed like a lot of fun, and he had had a lot of fun watching Dalibor's newest Wher, her only baby, hatch. He thought she had looked familiar. In fact, now that he was finally seeing her up close- Mine, Whisk I chased. When we lost, he realized.

Oh, I see. So this is the woman you left me for, Nadya teased, not as interested in the news as she was the human counterpart. "Whinae," she voiced with abated pleasure when she saw the woman. "Well hello indeed," she replied, returning Whinnae's soft smile with an easy one of her own. She hefted herself off the wall with a casual push of a hand and walked over to her. "You all rested up from that hatching? You looked like you were about to fall over right where you were standing after it was done with. Bet you didn't make it long after we left," she said kindly, looking Whinnae over. She had been cute when she was tired, but this timid, soft-spoken Whinnae was equally alluring. The shy, modest, and inexperienced were so fun to play with! A smile curved across Nadya's lips. Whinnae would be a joy to have.

"So you ready to go, then, kiddo? I didn't know we'd be with you tonight. The scheduling here is different from where I hail, and is a little haywire, if you don't mind my saying. Works well enough though, since there's always someone out on patrol. It's nice to have the company every once and a while, y'know?" she said as they began to walk. Her speech came naturally and she was perfectly at ease. Despite the fact that she did not know Whinnae, she put up no pretenses. Nadya did not pretend for anyone: she was simply a take it or leave it kind of gal. The thought that Nadya might opt to leave it never even crossed her mind; she just wasn't worried about it. It was harder not to like Nadya than to like her. Busybodies in constant motion were infuriated by her laid-back nature, and people whose feelings were easily injured or who didn't want to hear the truth were the people who found the most fault in her. Much to their annoyance, she didn't care.

Nadysk followed not far behind her, enjoying the night but alert to everything that was going on. He swept his head from left to right as they made their way across the Weyrbowl, occasionally stopping to sniff a suspicious clump of grass, stare at the sky, sneak a glance a Whisk, or see what His was doing. You and Yours are well tonight? he asked of Whisk, falling into step beside her. He was a good deal larger than the Green, and his moon shadow almost eclipsed her. He switched sides.

"We have the Weyrbowl and all of the main Halls to patrol tonight," Nadya informed Whinnae. Her languid pace made it impossible for Whinnae to trail behind, so they two walked side by side. Nadya was interested to see how much she could get Whinnae to speak. The other woman seemed more reserved, but it was beautiful out and Nadya's own air often put other people at ease. She's very petite, though. Hope she doesn't freeze out here.

[4horseshowgirl4]

Of course, it was Nadysk that spotted them first. To both the wherhandlers, that would come as no surprise. Whisk crooned happily when he greeted her, quite amused by his almost childish behavior. He was cute. Nadysk!

[/color] she called back to him, flaring her tiny wings as she did so. She knew him from somewhere, but couldn't really remember where. {He Chased you,} Whinae reminded her softly, quite glad that he hadn't won. Whisk being Caught by an ancient, unbonded wher suited her just fine; she was beyond happy not to have woken up with someone else in her furs, especially Nadya! Who knows what that might have done to their friendship? Somehow, Whinae wasn't confident that she would have been able to shake off an incident like that, but, fortunately, it hadn't happened.

Nadya's easy smile and casual tone instantly put Whinae at ease. The other woman seemed to simply exude confidence. Of course, the big, strong Brown at her side helped that, too. Very rarely did they actually encounter anything on these nightly patrols, so their actual safety was seldom an issue. However, Whinae felt safe with the Brownpair. It was too hard to think straight and all too easy to panic when she felt nervous, and undoubtedly Whisk would feed off of her mistakes and attack on the first moving thing they saw. Having an easygoing pair of partners helped that, obviously. Still, Whinae did not trust easily, and even in the safe concealment of the darkness, she was hardly planning on opening up to Nadysk. Anyways, they had a job to do.

"Oh! Oh, yes, thank you," Whinae said softly, content to make idle small talk for a moment or two before they left. "You're right, I did try to clean up some of Whisk's makeshift nest after everyone left and keeled over in the process," she said with a small smile, the closest thing to humor Whinae could manage. She appreciated the sympathy, though. She still had not quite forgiven Whisk for refusing to let her nod off into much-needed sleep for more than twenty-four candlemarks, and it had taken her a while to get their sleep cycles back in whack. She didn't think anything of the once-over Nadya was giving her. She was probably just making sure Whinae looked fit enough to do the patrol tonight.

Nadya's somewhat condescending pet name didn't faze Whinae. Small offenses like that were hardly enough to register with her, much less set her off. She only nodded, stepping off after Nadya. Whinae preened again, blinking her eyes sensuously at Nadysk, before seeing Hers start walking off. She shuffled her wings again before stalking off after the humans, seeming to settle into her work. Whinae was content to walk in silence for a moment before thinking that it would probably be politer to reply, and, anyways, as long as they were in the Weyrbowl, they didn't necessarily have to be perfectly silent. It was only beyond there, where the renegades roamed, that quiet was absolutely needed.

"Yes, even though it keeps us busy. I don't mind busy, though." She shrugged, pausing for a moment before continuing. "Whisk and I almost always go out with someone, though, unless the circumstances are strange, since Whisk's so small." She didn't add anything about how Whisk thought she was as big as a draybeast like Risk and would singlehandedly try to attack even Alizadehth.

"Wow," she breathed. They had a lot of ground to cover tonight, but you wouldn't know it from Nadya's almost lackadaisical pace. Whinae shoved her hands deep inside her coat pockets. The tips of her ears and nose were going numb. The winter air that had seemed refreshing and invigorating a few moments ago was now feeling frigid. Tonight really wasn't the night for an easygoing stroll. "Um," she said gently, trying to politely get Nadya's attention. "Do you, um, mind if we go a bit faster? I'd like to get my blood moving a bit," she said as sweetly as she could, attempting to suppress her shivers and clenching her jaw to keep her teeth from chattering. She moved a half step ahead of Nadya, hoping the Brownhandler would move a little more swiftly.

Whisk decided she liked Nadysk, a decision that was strengthened by him politely moving to her far side so the bright moon could bring out the soft yellowish sheen in her green hide. She was brilliant and gorgeous (and quite vain about it), and she was glad that Nadysk was courteous enough to allow her to show off. We very good![/color] she said enthusiastically, strutting by his side. And you and Y...?[/color] she said, cutting herself off abruptly to dash off and pounce on a very suspicious looking rock. She dug her claws into it, and it took her a moment to realize that, well, it was a rock. Nevermind! We safe now! Whisk killed it![/color][/right][/font]

[Kila]

Nadya chuckled softly when Whinae admitted to keeling over on Whisk’s makeshift nest. ” Didn’t think you’d make it very long. I wouldn’t be able to handle a broody female- no offense darling-“ she said over her shoulder to Whisk, ”I have enough estrogen for both me and Nadysk. Besides, if Nadysk threw off my sleep cycle over a couple off eggs I’d throttle him.”

“It’s probably for the best that you and Whisk don’t go out on patrol alone. Those renegades never bothered me n’ Nadysk when we were out there beating around in the wilderness, but everyone around here seems to think they’re pretty dangerous. Guess they either missed us or we weren’t worth bothering with.” She glanced behind her and grinned at Nadysk. ”Slim pickings. But yeah, Whisk is pretty small; I’m not sure how well she’d hold up against one of them. You’re not too big yourself, y’know.”

Not too big is perfect, Nadysk said quickly to Whisk, cutting of Nadya. Whisk and Hers are small and pretty, he said. One of the reasons she was so cute was because she was petite. The Brown had not missed Whisk making eyes at him or the way her hide shone brilliantly in the moonlight, either. He decided that he liked being on patrol with her and Hers. His seemed to be enjoying it too.

”Nadysk thinks you’re pretty,” Nadysk relayed mischievously. ”I would definitely have to agree. And who else do you and Whisk patrol with? I met Ridan and Risk at the hatching, but aren’t there some others? They’re all big enough to look after you, right? If you ever need a patrol partner you can always have Whisk call on Nadysk and we’ll be there in no time flat. We’ll protect you,” she said gallantly with a wide, chivalrous grin.

Nadya’s first suspicions proved right in little time at all. The Brownhandler was not bothered at all by the night’s cold, even at her easy pace. Whinnae, however, was small and easily affected by the cold. Even though she fought to keep her teeth from chattering when she gently prodded Nadya, Whinnae was clearly chilled. The meek Greenhandler was cold enough to even take the lead. Nadya smiled and shrugged off her jacket, speeding up her pace so she was even with Whinnae. ”Yes. Here you go,” she said, draping it carefully over her shoulders. ”Sorry, Whinny, my bad. I forget that other people get cold easily. I’ll keep you warm.” Nadya wrapped her arm around Whinnae’s back and shoulder and pulled the smaller girl up against her. She continued walking, faster now, with the smile lingering on her face.

Nadysk watched his bonded’s actions with amusement. She was beginning the process. Whisk’s was her main focus so far. He was started from these thoughts, though, when Whisk suddenly pounced on some imaginary evil. A rock? ….. Nadysk could overlook this. Whisk do good job! Nadysk feel very safe now, he crooned, fluttering his wings when she came back over to him. Whisk keep Dalibor very safe.