Dim Glow (A'tra)

[carolin]

She didn't know how it was that she did it, but like every morning Carolin pulled herself out of bed despite wanting to roll over and curl back up in her blankets. Slowly she slung her legs over the edge of her stiff bed and stood up. A yawn punctured the silence of the dark room as she reached for a glow basket and flipped the shade, letting the light fill the room. She rubbed her eyes and reached for her clean clothes and got changed without much of a worry that someone might run in on her.

She racked her fingers through her hair. It didn't take much to get her hair untangled and presently since it was rather short to begin with. She slipped on her boots and made her way up towards the kitchens. She sighed slightly as she drifted off into a day dream about her life here. It hadn't been to eventful for her personally. She wondered, at times, if that would change. She just hoped that what ever event might happen wouldn't be a tragic one. She had to many of them in her life.

Her steps turned into an almost shuffle as she walked down the hall way, which turned into a sort of dance as she started to hum a song to herself. She could always find a way to entertain herself, she just hoped she didn't run into anyone as she did it. She smiled and stopped her little dance as she got closer to the kitchen. She didn't want anyone to spot her, not wanting them to think she was a little dim.

The familiar sounds of the kitchen met her ears as she arrived to help out for the day. She was set to work on breakfast. She kept to herself as she usually did. There was no reason to really make a big seen, especially since she was still starting to wake up. After she had finished and ate she would go and watch the dragons for a while. She loved watching the young ones learning how to fly, or watching a dragon lazily spiral down to a weyr.

The thought lifted her spirits as she continued the dull work. Luckily her day dreaming had passed some time. She was able to get away from the kitchens to sweep up the dinning hall a little before to many of the riders and other inhabitants came to get their food. She knew it was such a futile thing to do. It would only get dirty again, but it needed to be done.

[arratra]

A young man walked into the dining area; nothing was immediately apparent that set him apart, beyond the sea-blue fire lizard that had taken a place on one of the leather-padded shoulders of his tunic, but on closer inspection, it would reveal that rather long, wild hair was controlled by a pair of riding goggles, designed for dragonriders.

A'tra made it a habit to wear his newly-made protective goggles as much as he could, partly as a fashion statement, although they were sometimes around his neck, rather than his forehead.
His boot heels clicked on the stone floor as he walked over to the girl. "Need any help?" he asked, Margras waving his wings as if in agreement.

[carolin]

Carolin was so deep in thought that she did not hear the boot heals on the stone floor. She wondered what she could explore today. She didn't want to be cooped up in the lower caverns all day. That would not be very fun. If she had a choice she would go run off and do something for herself. Then again she didn't want to upset anyone by not getting her work done first.

She jumped when the voice broke through her thoughts. She looked at the young man. She smiled kindly at his request. "I am alright, thank you." She looked at the flitter on his shoulder. She had not seen him around before. "Thank you for asking though." She looked back at A'tra. It was nice to see some one that was up this early. She could never really sleep to late, and usually was always up around this time.

"It's only a little sweeping, nothing I can't handle." Then she remembered that she wanted to get out of the lover caverns today. "But if you really do want to help there is another broom in the corner." She pointed to the far corner near the entrance to the kitchen.

[arratra]

A'tra smiled. "My name's A'tra. A'tra of black Avartiath. This here's Margras. Be careful! He keeps playing around with glows."
Without waiting for an answer, he went over to the broom and picked it up, and started sweeping as well. Margras, complaining, flew up to the glow basket overhead, and stayed there, looking down at the two humans.

A'tra suddenly bent down to pick up a small item on the floor. It was a curio of his that had vanished some time before, when Margras had hatched. "I was wondering where this had gone," he said, tucking it into a pocket, "Glad I found it again."

[carolin]

"It is nice to meet you A'tra of Black Avartiath. I am Carolin." She was rather happy to have help from someone else. It made it easier to pass the time when there was someone else working with you. At least now she could talk to him, if she could think of anything to say that is. She wasn't very good at coming up with things. She looked over at him when he heard him say he had found something. "You see, if you clean you sometimes find things." She smiled.

She swept up the dirt into a pile and got a pan to brush the dirt into. She disposed of the dirt that she had managed to get off the floor and turned to look over at the Dragon rider. She walked over to him to check on his progress. "Thank you again for helping me. This means I can go do something other then being in this gloomy area all day."

She went into kitchen and grabbed two mugs of klah and a large plate of meat rolls and fruit and set it on the table. "Care to join me?" She hoped that he would. It was all she could really do to thank him for the help.

[arratra]

"Sounds great," A'tra said, smiling. Margras flew back down, and landed on the table, clutching a glow between his claws. He started to play with it, rolling it to one side, and then the other.

"So how did you come to be here?" A'tra asked, after taking a sip of his klah, "And don't worry. I ask that to everyone I haven't seen around here before. It often results in hearing some interesting stories."

[carolin]

"My story really isn't that interesting." She sipped her klah as she watched the flitter play with the glow. She smiled as she watched it's antics. She looked back up at A'tra. "Just don't fall asleep if you get bored." She had meant it as a joke, and wondered if the other had a sense of humor. Some of the dragon riders did not, so it made it a little difficult to joke around.

"It started out with my mom and father at High reaches Weyr. My mother was a Lower caverns worker and my father was rider of a blue dragon. I was the result of one night together." She took a pause to eat a meatroll before she continued. "When I was ten my father and mother died, so I started to work at the Weyr so I wasn't a burden. Then I found out that they needed help here, So I got on the first ship here and here I am. As I said nothing really that fancy or interesting."

[arratra]

Arratra smiled. "Well, you've got a kind heart," he said, "That's what counts. I was a Trader, myself. I got searched at Fourteen, and I ended up getting bounced around the Weyrs for two years, before I came here for the second time, and Impressed Avartiath. Not that Avartiath is entirely what I expected... He's a rather odd dragon."

Margras stole a meatroll from the plate, and started to eat it, tearing off small chunks with his claws before placing them in his mouth.

[carolin]

"I haven't traveled around that much. The only time I ever traveled was when I was on my way here." She almost wanted to travel around more, but she didn't think she would find home any place other then the Weyr. This was her home and where she belonged. She laughed when she heard that he thought his dragon was odd. "Not all people are what we expect them to be, so why should dragons?"

She looked down at Margras as he stole a meatroll. "Eat as much as you want, little one." She loved the little creatures, almost wanting one of her own, but she had to many things that she needed to do in a day. She looked over at A'tra. "If you wouldn't mind, I would really like to meet your Avartiath."

[arratra]

Half the meatroll proved to be enough for the fire-lizard.
"I'm only a weyrling," A'tra warned, "So I can't take you into the barracks. I think W'al would take that the wrong way. And Avartiath has a habit of collecting things. He's taken to shiny stones best."

He placed a finger on his temple as he called out to Avartiath; it was a habit he had that none of the other dragonriders he'd seen had.
Av? Someone wants to meet you. Come to the entrance to the dining area.
Coming! Avartiath replied immediately. There was a scampering noise a moment later, and a small black nose poke in. Margras immediately took off and dissappeared around the door, apparently landing on the black dragon's back.

[carolin]

"That would not be a good thing. I don't want to get you in trouble. Especially if they took it the wrong way." She wasn't that type of girl anyways. She wouldn't just sleep with someone like some of the other girls she had met in her life. "So you have this one that likes glows, and a Dragon that likes Shiny things." She smiled. It was rather cute. "At least it's only things they can find around, and not something that would get them into trouble, like taking Marks, or something like that."

She looked at the other when he touched his temple, a little confused, but maybe it was just his way of calling to his dragon. When she heard the scampering noise she looked over to the door. She smiled and stood up and walked over to the door. "Why, Hello there Avartiath." She reached out, a little worried, and scratched his eye ridge. She hoped that the dragon liked it.

[arratra]

Avartiath lidded his eyes and hummed in pleasure.
"I think he likes you," A'tra said, chuckling, "And I understand."

Avartiath nuzzled Carolin, asking for more.
Chuckling, A'tra said, "Perhaps you will be Searched? Kalith seems ready to Rise."

[carolin]

"I would prefer not to be searched. I am not deserving enough." She smiled as she continued to scratch the dragon's eyeridge. She knew she was needed in the lower caverns more then she as needed as a Candidate. "We do have a lot of Candidates already. I prefer to work in the lower caverns."

She looked back over at A'tra. "Plus, Who will scratch Avartiath's eye ridges while your eating." She smiled. She really did like the black dragon. She turned back to the dragon. He sure was a cutie. "I can not wait to watch the hatching though."

[arratra]

A'tra shrugged. "You'd still come down here for breakfast," he said, stepping up beside Avartiath and starting to inspect his hide for flaking, "And you can't tell me you've never dreamed of soaring through the sky on a dragon of your own."

Avartiath lifted one of his over-large wings to allow His to check his side; he almost batted A'tra in the face by accident, but instantly realised his error, and he turned to looked at His, looking contrite.
Sorry.
You're forgiven, Av.

[carolin]

"Oh, I have dreamed of it, but I think now that I don't have my head up in the clouds, I know that it's best that I continue to stay here. I am needed to help here. There are plenty of girls and boys out there that would make better riders, ones that are in better shape then me."

"Shall we go out someplace that's more open?" She was a little worried about the cramped doorway. It was hard to do anything, much less check out a dragon in a door way. "Lets go outside, it's much nicer out there, and warmer." She stood up. "That is if the three of you want to."

[arratra]

A'tra shrugged. "We can only go just outside the door," he said, "I don't want to take up too much of your time. And it's the dragons who decide, not us humans. The blue that Searched me happened across our camp during what was apparently a leisure flight."

Avartiath moved backwards, so that A'tra and Carolin could move out, and A'tra continued his inspection of the black dragon.
"I don't really understand how Searching happens," A'tra said, "But I do know that keeping your head down is a sure-fire way to get noticed by a dragon if you've got the special gift they seem to look for."