Insights and Expressions - [Jack]

[purnip]

{I'm pulling a Bre for the intro. xD}

The future poised with the splendour just begun,
The light we were as one,
And crowded through the curtains of liquid into sun...

The draft was nearly finished. Rhysia abandoned her last project a short time ago in need of the fresh air of the outdoors. Her eyes betrayed her lack of full senses; lost in daydreams of other worlds spiraling out in the blinking recesses of her imagination. The only safe place. This world she saw fit as one giant abrasion waiting to score her at every turn. It wasn't her fault, but she would not complain. It did nothing for her then and nothing for her now.

In all honesty to herself, she only wanted to Impress to make a true friend. A friend that would always understand that she wasn't a bad person and that she was only cursed with idle hands and a thirst to make what she found into something brilliant and new. In her mind she saw various crafts that could do things people here considered impossible; cloaks that could make people invisible or people made from things instead of people making things. The kind of stuff that could never happen and that all on Pern lacked the proper scientific knowledge to create. Some ideas she had were ideas other people lacked imagination to have. No one understood her or liked her. Too lofty, her parents complained. Too troublesome, the fellow Holders would scoff. Too strange...that's how the people here probably felt. But a dragon would understand, she just knew it. A dragon that was truly meant for her, and she for it, would understand and relate. That was all Rhysia needed. Forget people. People were mean, unforgiving, and selfish. People don't tend to like her. Even the ever social Lyam was avoiding her a lot. It made her both angry and disappointed. She was a fool to think he could change. Why was Rhysia always willing to give undeserving people second chances?

Upon the drafting skin she had chosen to sketch on was a graphite drawing of a dragon that had been flying overhead for some time. The sketch however, was odd. The dragon in the sketch had a cartoonish quality to it with feathers around his body like a plucked chicken, glancing curiously at an equally cartoon-styled version of herself dressing him with more feathers. It made her laugh, which in turn made the picture well-worth drawing. In her imagination she conjured a world with humor and delight, and yes, its share of trouble and toil. But her hero, a girl a lot like her known only as The Bandit, always manages to pull through and put a smile on people's faces. The hero was a Dragonrider. She rode a lithe White that caused mischief sometimes but was always by her side. Rhysia daydreamed about her when she built and drew. It made her happy when she would have otherwise been sad or bored.

"So The Bandit shows Garnreth how the poor feathered beast feels," Rhysia muttered to herself, adding a few finishing touches to the picture. "He is not amused, but the White cannot shake the feathers off his hide. No matter. When his rider bathes him, Garnreth will properly soak The Bandit in return." She smirked and wrote her name at the bottom of it, thought about it for a moment, then tried to smudge the name with her thumb and replace the signature with 'The Bandit'. That would be intriguing, yes, if anyone ever finds it. Likely that she will hide it where no one could, where she kept all the 'lost' things.

She sat back and stared at the lake for a while, then slowly casting her gaze to the sky. The dragon she used for reference was gone. She imagined Garnreth flying in that empty space with The Bandit on his back, waving at her. A smile crept back upon her face.

And for a moment when our world had filled the skies,
Magic turned our eyes,
To feast on the treasure set for our strange device.

[jack]

High in the sky--long before Rhysia's gaze went skyward a second time--something undeniably purple flashed into the sky, twirling there like a flower's lost petal before disappearing into nothing, only to reappear closer, much closer.

The dragon danced easily through the air, his wings spread wide and his legs tucked against his belly as he dipped and dove, showing off his agility and grace in the sky. Like a ballet dancer he twisted and twirled, falling into tumbles and spins as effortlessly as a dragonfly darting after a mosquito. Perched as familiarly on his back as one of his scales was an even smaller individual, whose long tail of black hair was almost as easily recognizable as the bright hide of his partner. But just as the duo set to really moving--the dragon flexing and stretching himself out--they betweened again, leaving no trace behind.

Several long moments passed, bleeding easily into minutes, and just as Rhysia lifted her gaze to the sky, another gaze fell to the image in her lap. "Oh wow! That's really amazing, did you draw that?" Eyes lit with the eternal life that was F'let, the blackette gave a brimming smile, leaning in a little closer to further investigate.

As per usual, the strange dancer was decked in the thinner pants of a performer, although a long-sleeved, v-necked shirt of a see-through material was over his usually bare chest. His usual jewelry was in place nonetheless, however, including a set of gold earrings that looked fairly new. Flight jacket in hand, the blackette tilted his head to the side, blinking as he concentrated on the feathered dragon. "Are those feathers? Why's it got feathers?"
Maybe he ate too many wherries, Mine!

Cheerful and happy as always, Doppelith thrust his head into the scene, his wings fluttering slightly as his bright blue eyes whirled merrily. With a laugh F'let nodded his agreement, reaching up to run his fingers gently over the Purple's eyeridges. "Maybe you're ri--Oh! S'cuse my manners! F'let of Purple Doppelith--" He fell into an extravagant bow, Doppelith giving a draconic version, and offered a hand to the girl, "--at your service!"

[purnip]

Rhysia just about jumped out of her skin. Though she had beheld great shadows on the grass around her earlier, she had not processed them. The voice behind her was completely unexpected. Still, it was strange she'd be surprised; the Candidate wasn't the most alert sort.

Her first instinct was to attempt to hide the drawing, but the comment after all, was about the drawing she intended to hide from human eyes. She didn't know how to answer really, aside from give a mumble of a thanks. Barely audible at all if she meant for F'let to hear it. Not that she wasn't thankful! No, it wasn't like that. She was simply becoming so shy of everyone here in fear of ruining her own future. The one she daydreamed about in the form of another girl and another dragon. In no time the accusations would start. That was all she could think about when other people were around. Hardly relaxing.

But she was cringing, just until she looked up. Someone she hadn't seen before. Right away she made the deduction that he was a rider, judging by the jacket in his hand. Had she...done something wrong? Oh right, the drawing. He liked it. She had at first feared he'd find it in bad taste. "Thanks," she said a little louder, which still came off as a mumble in our books. "Yeah...just did." She glanced down at it again as if she was looking at the whole thing for the first time. Aside from one error, which her busy graphite wielding hand corrected at that moment, it was decent even to her own standards. She wasn't a stellar artist, really. Only above average, but that was simply due to years of practice on the corners of notes, records, and on the soft soil itself.

Was he really interested though? Though feathers on a dragon wasn't a breakthrough idea in her imagination, Rhysia often forgot that other people didn't seem to understand it. Wherries had feathers, of course, and they too were winged. Still, the explanation was no mutation of the sort that she traditionally had in mind. "Well, this one's covered her dragon in feathers," she explained, pointing from Rhysia/Bandit to the dragon. "Because her dragon chased a wherry down and played with it 'till it lost most of its feathers. The girl thought it was only fair for the dragon to feel the same humiliation." Rhysia smirked. "But they're always playing around like that. They really do this kind of thing for fun."

She expected him not to understand. In fact, hearing herself repeat the thought process aloud made it sound cruel and full of misunderstanding. Well it wasn't her fault! She didn't know anything about dragons aside from what she could read and even then, records only tell you so much. Even though he hadn't done a thing to deserve it yet, Rhysia was already sure he'd find her weird like everyone else did. More the better then. She wouldn't have to worry about stealing anything from them and really getting them angry.

He seemed to throw and answer to the wind. Was he talking to his dragon? Even now? Rhysia blinked in wonderment. Maybe he was.

"Rhysia! Um..." Titles...titles... "Yeah, just Rhysia." She gave a short nod, which was her customary way of greeting a stranger. "Were you just talking to your dragon? Just then?" One track minded was the only way to be, for her. She wouldn't mask her interest!

[jack]

A wide grin spread onto the dancer's lips and he swung his hips idly, the usual hip-scarves giving a cheerful jingle as he gave a squeak of merriness. "You really did draw that? That's really incredible! I can't draw at all, you know." With a laugh, he spun into a circle, showing off playfully before plopping cross-legged in the grass besides her, his hands in his lap as he leaned over, peering at the picture. "Where'd ya learn to do that?"

Just as F'let got settled, listening with wide-eyed intrigue at Rhysia's explanation, Doppelith too laid down, curled around both humans with his neck curved around his Mine, bright-eyed head staring cheerfully up at the girl from F'let's side. "Makes sense to me." The blackette chirped, reaching out to fiddle with Doppelith's muzzle, "Sounds like something Pratyba and Oorth would get up to, doesn't it Doppelith?" The dragon gave a quick hum of agreement, rustling his wings to make sure the message was heard. Laughing, F'let turned his attention again to Rhysia, nodding eagerly at her introduction and question. "Pleasure to meet ya, Rhysia! And yup! We talk all the time. I mean, how much fun would it be if they were silent?"

Hello, Rhysia! I'm sorry for not talking loud enough for you to hear! F'letMine has good ears, I guess I thought everyone could hear me! Laughing very much like his partner, the dragon's eyes closed into a whirling smile, his tail flicking catlike behind him.
"You're a Candidate, aren't you?" The Purplerider chirped after a moment, lifting his stare from the picture to the girl's face, "For Kalith's Clutching? I bet you'll Impress! Then your dragon'll be related to mine! We can be cousins! Er...well..technically siblings, wouldn't it? Hahaha!"

[purnip]

There was so much energy in this one guy that Rhysia could hardly believe. She expected, as she did with every rider, for him to be the sort that didn't want to waste time with people like herself. She was nothing but a Candidate who didn't really stand out in any special way, mostly due to the constant effort of trying to remain obscure. His energy charged her a bit in return; she couldn't help it. Good moods were very contagious.

"I just draw a lot," she replied, considering whether to roll the drawing up or carry it loosely folded. She didn't want the graphite to smudge. "Mostly like that though. I don't like drawing things like they really are. That's sorta boring." Her sentence wavered off a bit when the great Purple rested behind her and F'let beside her. He seemed so kind. Too good to be true, really. She wondered for a while what he could possibly be getting at, as if it were impossible for someone to be nice without expecting something in return. With an old friend like Lyam though, how couldn't she?

She grew shy again for a moment as she waited. Surely he would see her for what everyone else saw her. The thief, the freak, or the daydreaming airhead. Everyone gave her a title like those eventually.

But that didn't happen either. In fact, there was a dragon and a rider he was able to relate her story to. "Pratyba and Oorth? I have to meet them someday!" Rhysia grinned. What she said she meant. Maybe she can get some ideas, yes, for more scenes and schemes from a real-live rider and dragon duo! Maybe, if she didn't Impress {which she sincerely doubted she would} she could make more drawings and perhaps turn The Bandit and her White into a story. Something kids like her could read under dim glow light when they're supposed to be going to bed. Something that would make her more of a hero than a drifting idle-handed bandit with no clear-cut purpose. Her fall back plan...should she ever get the courage required to implement it.

Then a voice entered her mind, not that she didn't welcome it, but it came through so unexpected. So inexplicably...PURPLE! Rhysia had been staring at Doppelith's tail with deeply rooted fascination. Purple and Cyan dragons were still her favorites, only for the color of their hides. Not at all in a ranking sense; the colors were just beautifully peculiar. Now knowing that Cyans were uncommon and Purples impressed boys, Rhysia didn't get her hopes high on Impressing either color. She didn't get her hopes high on Impressing anything. But the voice in her head made her just a little bubbly. So purple indeed. A cheerful, mysterious, playful purple. It brought a wide grin to her face. "Amazing! Wow, ha! I love it! I can hear him!" She leaned back a little, supporting herself with her sturdy but scrawny arms. If she could be likened to anything on mood alone, she was much like a canine with the attention span of your average wher. "I thought only dragons only spoke to their riders!" Truly astonished she was, for she certainly believed what she said.

F'let was funny, no question about that. Sort of like the P'nay fellow she met that one time, but a lot more bouncy and fun. It was more contagious than plague but not nearly as ghastly, mind you. Rhysia's shady demeanor was shedding like tunnelsnake skin. This was usually what marked the time for something to go missing, but she was already unconsciously exercising efforts to sway her terrible habit. Her weight was on her arms. She would be aware when her hands were free, but as for the moment, they were certainly tied.

But funny...believing that Rhysia stood a chance at Impression. "Me? Nah I don't...don't really think so..." Her excitement fluttered a bit. She didn't want to sound modest in any way and she knew it was going to come off as that. Lets avoid it then! "I've got as much of a chance as the next lass but I'd probably have my head in the clouds or something. Maybe get trampled 'cos I tried to take an egg shell off the Sands 'cos the color caught my eye." She glanced up and thought about it. That would just ruin things, wouldn't it? If her errant hands decided to snatch up something in dangerous territory. Nearly tragic, Rhysia supposed. Hey, she'd rather go in an unforgettable fashion than die of old age.

[jack]

With a chuckle, F'let nodded in agreement to her statement, his gaze wandering to the sky for a moment--a flash of green attracted him, but it wasn't the Green he wanted to see--before landing again on Rhysia. "Its very good. Especially for havin' just been a drawer forever. I love to dance, but I guess I cheated! I was taught." Snickering, he laid back slightly, the Purple's body keeping him upright as he hummed, "But you're right. Real life can be kinda boring sometimes. But.." He grinned and his eyes softened, "..sometimes reality's more amazing than fantasy."

He stared off with that same look for a long moment--his memories drifting from his time with P'nay, to Impressing, to spending time with the guy of his dreams--but as quick as a whip he was back to grinning, sharing her impromptu excitement over the Pinkpair. "You really should! They're quite the duo. A bit crazy though, not that that's a bad thing! Maybe I could introduce you to them--they can be a bit hard to pin down if you can't catch 'em and you don't have your wings yet!" Nodding sharply--and innerly quite proud of his phrasing--he relaxed again against Doppelith's hide, offering the same to her as he watched her put her weight on her arms.

You can? Mine-Mine! She can hear me! With a merry laugh Doppelith squirmed his body slightly, clearly quite pleased. F'let laughed just as merrily and hugged the dragon's nose, grinning ear to ear.
"A deaf wherry could hear ya, Doppelith! But that's the great part about you--no one has trouble hearing you, if they can't see you first!" Ever cheerful and ever happy, F'let turned his eyes again on Rhysia, nodding. "Oh they can really talk to whoever they want. Some of them will only talk to their riders, some won't stop talking to anyone! There's actually a new Greenpair that arrived not long ago. The Green barges up to anyone to say hi. Its rather funny!" He snickered and looked up to the sky again, watching a Blue glide past, "They're amazing creatures...and their personalities are as diverse as humans's!"

Merrily he set to fiddling with his hip scarves, untangling the long threads of a tassel that had twined itself around several coins. As he worked, listening to Rhysia, a tiny Green betweened with a squeak, launching herself into F'let's lap. "Well hi there, Queen! I wondered where you were." With a wide grin the rider scooped up the chattering thing, scratching her eyeridges before he was forced to release her, letting her scramble up to the top of his head where she could observe. F'let laughed and pointed up at her, grinning at Rhysia, "This is Queen! She's my youngest flit. Isn't she pretty?" Chuckling, he reached up again to her, rubbing his fingers softly over the wing offered to him. Queen gave a chirp of approval, then set to investigating Rhysia..from a safe distance, of course.

"Well...I wouldn't advice trying to steal an eggshell--at least not until after the Hatching!" F'let chortled after a moment, giving her a lop-sided grin, "But I really think that you'll Impress. I really do! Doppel agrees too." He smiled and tilted his head to the side, "Besides. I don't know who Searched you, but whoever it was, they were confident in you too."

[purnip]

Rhysia couldn't bring herself to agree. Life was hardly ever any fun. First of all, she couldn't bring herself to be motivated without being around the right people, but lately she was having trouble trusting others. Back at the Hold life was so basic. Everyday was one chore after the next. Here at the weyr there were a few more liberties to be had, but nonetheless there was work for Candidates to do and in order to even ensure a spot on the Sands she did those chores wholeheartedly. Whether or not she thought she could Impress anything, she still wanted to have the chance to give it a go. Honestly though, she didn't want to get her hopes up. That sets one up for great disappointment. So far, she had been nothing but disappointed merely thinking that weyrlife would immediately become more exciting. "I don't see how," she admitted with a sigh. Then she kept in mind that she was having a pleasant time now, for a change. "I mean, sometimes it's fun, but most of the time it's just the same old thing but a different day." She gave a small yawn and covered her mouth, then hiding the scowl on her face because her hands had moved from a safety position. She leaned her weight on them once again; she'd check her pockets before F'let left to make sure she didn't snatch anything.

The more the Purplerider talked about the duo, the more interested Rhysia was becoming. Now that sounded like the life for her! She wondered what color Patyba's dragon was, because that sounded like the sort she could probably impress. But even so, perhaps they could be friends too, if F'let could find the pair. "Tell me if you see them though," Rhysia insisted. "I might draw some more pictures and I could use them as reference." She flashed a friendly smile and then gazed off again, her attention span not all that long.

She laughed at the bit about Doppelith and deaf wherries. She didn't think he was loud at all, but what she was being told next she found rather fascinating. Dragons were more like people than she imagined, and she imagined on a constant basis. "So they're a bit like us in that sense," she said, but she couldn't help but smirk at a thought. "But they're better at keeping secrets I bet." Not that she really had any. Rhysia simply had too many trust issues to feel comfortable enough talking to others about herself. "And..." the smile began to fade as her thoughts were dwindling on the subject. "They won't judge you and accept you for who you are. Most animals are like that. Most of the time I'd rather visit runnerbeasts, canines, and whers rather than other people. Back at home." Yeah...back at home. It wasn't home to her though. Her mom wasn't there. Now it was just a place.

The green flit had finally caught Rhysia's attention, and indeed she was beautiful. Smaller than Suede, the Blue that followed her around for the first couple of weeks, she must have been from the same clutch. Likely, since there had been one that she just missed when she was Searched. A Copper that belonged to the Weyrwoman herself had clutched them. Whichever way you diced it, in Rhysia's eyes, the two flits were as good as son and daughter of royalty. "She is," she said, careful not to exclaim despite her rebuild-up of energy. "She's daintier than the Blue that used to follow me around. Like a beautiful miniature dragon." She eyed the little Green with curiosity. She didn't read up on these creatures all that much, but what she did know was that generally firelizards possessed higher energy and less loyalty than dragons. She learned through some experience however that flits were just as varied as anything else. Though some flits dislike strangers, she knew that Suede went out of his way all the time to make friends with people, mostly those who needed a friend. Nothing but a little Blue with a big heart. She wondered what Queen was like and watched her with an open mind. Hopefully she wouldn't offend her somehow or anything.

The subject on Impression filtered the play from her mood, only because Rhysia didn't really want to think about it too much. She simply didn't want her hopes up. Still...she knew it'd be polite to thank him. "Thanks...maybe I just might." She gave a small nod. "I mean, I really hope so. The person who Searched me seemed to want me out of his hands the moment he arrived here. I think he might have just felt obligated to take a Candidate from Fort at the time."