Reflections - [Nia]

[purnip]

Something about a large body of water always attracted Lyam. For one, it always had a certain threshold of its own that he could appreciate. But why would a boy that despised loneliness find himself at the edge of a lake on his lonesome?

Perhaps it was homesickness. Actually settling in. So peculiar that feeling; it wasn't as if Lyam hadn't had to spend nights in other Holds when delivering packages to others from Fort. Whenever it was too heavy for a flitter or too unimportant for a postal carrier to take along, Lyam was the man that made sure he was called upon for deliveries. It helped him publicize himself, however little. It had been a little over a sevenday however and he knew that he wasn't going back home any time soon. Lyam was just letting it settle and grimly looked to the benches that lined the lake ever so perfectly. He tried hard to forget the past and keep thinking ahead as usual, but the feelings of homesickness were hard to shake. He had never been away from Fort for longer than our standard week.

Kneeling down by the water, he checked himself in the reflection and dipped his hands into the water. Using the moisture left in his hands, he attempted to pat down his hair a little. Those curls were becoming a little too unruly. They must be cut soon, or he would have a proper nest on his head for a Firelizard to mistake as a comfortable bed to spend a lazy afternoon resting in. Lyam scowled when his hair reluctantly bounced back to its unruly state. Tonight he'd cut it all down for sure. No mistaking it. His homesickness faded as he made desperate attempts to crowd his mind with other miscellaneous thoughts.

Why would he be homesick anyways? What did Lyam have there that he didn't have here? Parents? His mother and father were people he was prepared to leave behind. Same went for the hold itself. Was it the environment? No. This hectic place was to him as a field of herdbeasts were to dragons. A feeding ground. Here Lyam could truly make something of himself. It didn't matter who birthed him or what his ancestors had done. All that mattered was his will. So what did Lyam miss?

Familiarity. The ease of knowing everyone. Lyam wasn't making enough of an effort. So far he knew most of the drudges, a few Candidates, and only enough Weyrlings for him to count on one hand, including Dragonriders. Just the thought of being so unacquainted caused him to jerk away from his reflection and stare out at the entrance to the lake as if expected someone to enter. He flicked the water off of his hands, rubbed them together, and came up with a plan to change matters a bit and make things more...comfortable. After he got a flitt, which he was very confident about succeeding to, he would start getting to know more of the Dragonriders. He knew when they stopped by to grab grub and he knew they came to this spot, empty for now, to clean their dragons. He would intercept them. Maybe even now. Standing, frozen for but a moment, a passed a faint glance over his head to the sky, wondering if a dragon would be swooping down any time soon.

[Nia]

It was a nice day out, and Engrye was somewhat bored, sitting alone in her room. She was reading some records she'd found, trying to keep herself distracted. Finally, she stood up, growing far too bored to stay inside all day. Besides, it was nice out, and it probably wasn't going to stay that way for long. She should probably go outside and enjoy it, right? Or at least explore the Weyr a little more, to get a feel for it. Deciding that would at least give her something to do, she grabbed the records and walked out of her room. Halfway out of the Barracks she figured that she just wanted to go read by the lake, which would be a nice change of scenery, so she headed there after exiting the Barracks.

Engrye was actually smiling for once. She was enjoying listening to the conversations her... "friends" made in the back of her mind. She knew it was really herself speaking for, er, them, but it helped her feel like she actually had friends all the same. It was kind of, well, it was really pathetic, but Engrye didn't care. No one could hear her thoughts and no one could see them, so she was fine. The red-haired girl laughed lightly as she walked towards the Weyr Lake. It would probably be empty around this time, as it usually was, and she could sit and read a few of the records she'd brought with her. It would just be a nice, relaxing day to sit, read and daydream.

Except it wasn't going to turn out that way, because she soon noticed that there was another person near her spot. This got Engrye rather angry. She hadn't been at this Weyr for a long time, but she was a very territorial person. He appeared to be... washing his hair in the lake. Well, that was normal she supposed. Engrye didn't recognize him, but she barely recognized anyone. She just didn't care to keep names or faces in her mind, they weren't worth it to her. She liked being alone. And she liked her spot to be empty, so she could sit and read by herself.

"Um...." while some of the good mood from earlier lingered, Engrye still was not a social person and she still was not going to smile in front of someone she didn't know. Or anyone at all, really. Her expression had changed as soon as she saw Lyam to a cold scowl. She didn't know what to say to him. It wasn't really her spot, and she couldn't, in all honesty, kick someone out of a place she didn't actually own. It wasn't right. So she stood their awkwardly, clutching the records she was going to read under one arm, making herself known with that awkward sounding "um" instead of doing the smart thing and walking away.

[purnip]

A tiny noise got his attention, but not enough to startle him. Lyam had been encountered by so many people in the past that he couldn't be easily spooky by company. This was peculiar. Judging by the knots, this one was also a Candidate like himself. Why in the world did he not know her by now? He needed to be a little more thorough next time when rounding the rooms. Or maybe this was one of the shy ones. Judging by the awkward 'Um' that had broken his state of pause, he was right. Barely casting eyes over this person and already he was dissecting her like a science experiment. What made this shy girl tick and how could it ever become of use to him? The shy ones seldom become important politically, but they tend to become valuable assets in knowledge and skill. Being somewhat lacking in the technical department, Lyam could use any contacts that he made, including the possible reluctants like Engrye was likely to become. She appeared discontented by his being here.

"Well?" He didn't sound defensive at all. In fact, it was a very light sort of question, bordering on the figurative. Almost like an incomplete greeting with the same lack of formality as the other Candidate's. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and let his gaze fall upon the records, his brows raised in faint interest. "Getting some afternoon reading done?" His eyes met hers, his expression gone friendly. He had plenty of confidence in dealing with these sorts. About eighty percent of Hold was shy. You had to be passive-aggressive. Show interest and watch your energy level, or you could frighten them away. Something this ones eyes told him however, that she was not exactly easy to scare. "Not a bad idea at all..." he let himself trail off as he looked towards the lake, pretending to be lost in the thought. He couldn't care either way. He simply wanted to make this exchange a pleasant one.

"You can go ahead. About your business. I won't be bothering you if it's peace you want," Lyam continued. "You didn't seem to expect anyone to be here. I was hoping to find a Dragonrider." He was still looking away, still pretending to be distracted, but he looked back to Engrye with that charming smile of his, upon what was otherwise a most average face.

Not to confuse his actions with fancy. Lyam and women were never quite established. Sure, boys will be boys, but he wasn't in the state of mind to flirt with others at the time being. He had goals to accomplish and females just muddy things. His interest was in Engrye's assets alone for the time being. No sense in fancying a pure stranger.

[Nia]

Well, at least Lyam hadn't freaked out and overreacted from Engrye's quiet noise. People who were easily scared and surprised bothered Engrye, but being surprised bothered her even more. She disliked having to break her cold expression into a more shocked one, it showed weakness and emotion. The boy appeared to be looking her over, he had a rather pensive look on his face, though perhaps he had just been thinking very deeply before her interuption. He didn't seem all that upset by her intruding on him, which was another good thing, because after meeting that other Candidate she didn't want to get off on the wrong foot with someone else. It might kill her to actually be nice to someone, but she could try it.

The boy had a friendly expression that made Engrye want to trust him, but she wasn't going to just yet. He could easily just be leading her on, couldn't he? He didn't seem like the type that would just random start tricking someone, but Engrye wasn't just about to randomly start trusing anyone. But being nice? Maybe she could work on that. "Ah... yes, I was. Just some old records. This Weyr's history is pretty interesting," she commented, her voice sounding airy and somewhat distant. At least she didn't sound harsh and cold, and at least she hadn't told him off for being in "her" spot. That was a start, at least.

He had a very charming smile, Engrye noticed. It was the type of smile that made her want to, well, smile with him. But she didn't, managing to control her facial expressions, though she did soften her original harsh look. It was as good enough as a smile from her, though Lyam probably wouldn't be able to tell. She was a rather subtle girl, except when insulting, of course. "No... it's okay," was Engrye speak for 'I'd rather talk to someone than read by myself', "Dragonriders don't usually come by at this time, they're usually here later," Engrye said, she knew the times of this place by heart. Usually she'd have a good hour or so to herself before the Dragonriders came by, which was usually when she'd leave. She found it awkward to read when other people were around, even if they weren't paying any attention to her.

Even if Lyam had been attempting to flirt with her Engrye wouldn't have noticed. She was very oblivious to any attempts made to flirt with her, and was not easily "charmed". She scoffed in the face of pick-up lines and general human relationships of that sort, seeing the people who flirted as lesser human beings and looked down on them. She was perfectly fine by herself, she didn't need the help of anyone.

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[purnip]

Lyam chuckled to himself just a bit. "Guess I should have known. Haven't had much luck so far. Only met one aside from the Search dragons; can you believe it? At a Weyr like this, nonetheless!" His mood became a little brighter. So he hadn't been turned down on the spot; that paved a road for possibilities. What could someone like Engrye bring to the table? His mind was already reeling. This was the first female Candidate he had spoken to since his arrival. Say he Impressed, as did she. If she Impressed something with power, like a Gold, Copper, or sub-Queen, then it would be quite valuable to know one like that. Of course, his appearance wouldn't give that away. She was scrutinizing him just as he had done to her, but there's no harm in that. She wasn't about to learn anything he didn't want her to know. Not like Engrye could read minds.

But why would someone like Lyam want to be connected to someone with power? So simple. Being connected to power is a stable comfort. If something bothers you about the system, you're likely to change it. If you don't like a certain set of orders, you can override them. Not that Lyam had any problem with authority at the moment; this was all about preparation. It was all about being able to tackle a problem before it has a chance to incubate.

And here he was, a Candidate with all these things on his mind.

Lyam looked to the lake and then, as he just remembered what Engrye spoke of before informing him about the riders, he looked to her with a spark of interest in his eyes. "Is it? The Weyr's history? I hate to admit it but I know little of it. I've been nosing through records on Firelizard and Dragon care." Desperate to secure all he could on schedule, Lyam wanted to make sure he knew all that he needed to know about the creatures he planned to impress.