So Many Dragons...{Open}

[hatori3070]

It had taken a good fifteen minutes of convincing for Talouse to even get on the searchdragon to come here. One could only imagine her terror when it took off and betweened. After the Pink had landed, she still sat on its back, frozen in place. "Come on now girl, we're here." The 'Rider was beginning to get annoyed. Why had he even agreed to this in the first place? The girl was obviously not 'Rider material. And a wher? The things were even more creepy than dragons. He didn't think she would last long.

Talouse, realizing that her hands were clamped around his waist in a vice-grip, let out a nervous sound that was meant to be a laugh. "Sorry," she mumbled, slipping hurriedly from the dragon's back. He unceremoniously dropped her bags off and took off after pointing out the candidates' barracks. Now she was alone, in the middle of the Bowl. In the middle of a Bowl full of dragons. They were all so big! They made her feel even smaller than her mere 5' of height. Normally, she would never venture out among so many dragons at all, let alone by herself. If she had been at home, she would've taken shelter in an unoccupied cavern. This was now her home though. She had to get used to it, find all the different places that were safe, aka too small for dragons. In her fright she had forgotten which direction the barracks were in. What was she supposed to do now? It wouldn't do to approach a 'Rider. They were all attached at the hip to their dragons. Anyone else was rushing about with things to do, apparently. So now what?

[Admin]

Pushing and jumping,
Jumping the mountain range,
And in a railroad,
Railroad from hell to Maine.

Random lost person? Of course Bri found it. Or she, as the case was, though the young wher candidate happily went about continuing to call the girl an it in her head as she prowled towards the poor, defenseless soul. Prowl might not have been the best word. Heedlessly run might have been a better one. A small canine ran at her heels, nimbly avoiding getting kicked while still making a mild nuisance of himself. Not that his master seemed to mind. She was intent on the lonely figure. She didn't slow in the slightest, even as she got closer and dangerously closer to the girl. Her arms waved widely at her sides, unrestrained and unused in her helter skelter mad race. She looked like she might simply run into the unarmed figure. She even considered it. Running into someone out of the blue would have been a great conversation starter!

But also possibly bruising. In the end, Bri skidded to a halt in front of Talouse and smiled wide. Her hair, a mixture of red and brown and blond all tumbled together in a natural mess, waved about her face. Soc ran about their feet, wiggling his butt eagerly. Taking a deep breath, the candidate settled herself a bit. In the brilliant light of the summer day, rashes across her forehead and on one of her arms, uncovered by the light, short-sleeved shirt she was wearing, were plainly obvious. She, of course, paid them no mind. She focused on the short girl in front of her. "I'm Bri. I'm a wher candidate;" she declared, as if a small child. She was quite proud at being a snazzy, official wher candidate. Dalibor had a real gold! Her excitement felt well founded to her. "That's Soc;" she added, indicating the excited little canine racing about them.

While she says she's on her own,
I'll be pacing on the phone,
Taking numbers,
Taking names.

[hatori3070]

Talouse had just been about to try wandering in a random direction, when she noticed a girl with dog at her feet running right for her. Why would someone at a place she had never been before be running at her? Was she standing in a bad place? Was a dragon about to land on her head? She quickly glanced up, but didn't see anything that could warrant a running tackle. Luckily, she heard the girls skid to a stop in front of her, meaning no tackle. She looked back at the girl, who identified herself as Bri. And a wher candidate! What luck! She let out a sigh of relief, and smiled. "Hi Bri. I'm Talouse, and I just got here." She winced inwardly, remembering that her bags were right next to her, so she had obviously just gotten there. "But I guess you can see that. I'm a wher candidate now too." A dragon landing just a few dozen feet from them made her jump and say nervously, "C-can you tell me where I can put my things?" A bit of desperation entered her voice. She was quickly reaching her limit for dragon proximity and needed to get inside somewhere, anywhere that a dragon couldn't fit.

[Admin]

I'm blinded by these,
Heroes and thieves at my door,
And I can't seem to tell them apart anymore,
Just when I figured it out.

Bri had noticed Talouse's bags. It had been something that has spurred her over to investigate. So, when the other girl mentioned that she was new, she only grinned and shook her head. She beamed nice and wide as Talouse mentioned that she was wher candidate too. She had been the only one, so the arrival of a new one was exciting for her. More sharply, she sized up the new face with which she had been presented. She didn't jump in the slightest as a dragon landed the length of another dragon from them. She frowned at the desperation that came into the short girl's voice. Why was she so nervous? Because of a dragon? That was stupid. A wher was scarier than any dragon, and she still liked whers just fine. Despite her lessening opinions of the fearful girl at her, she continued her grinning. It didn't put her in an off mood. Slowly forming judgment didn't change her. "The wher candidates get rooms in the back of the candidates' barrack. The dragon ones fill in from the front, we fill in from of the back;" she explained, taking her time. However, after she was done, she started to head across the bowl towards the barrack, walking backwards with Soc still running about her feet. "You can be my roommate! I don't think they'll much mind;" she suggested eagerly. The idea of some company in the night sounded good to her. While someone being there all the time didn't sound perfect to her, it was better than no one all the time. Soc wiggled happily. He very much liked people, more than owner.

Well I'm stubborn and wrong,
But at least I know it,
I keep movin' along,
And hope I can get through this.

[hatori3070]

The other girl's frown gave her slight pause, but Talouse was glad Bri didn't say anything about her nervousness. Back at Southern, all the other children used to laugh and make fun of her. No one here knew how bad her fear was yet, and she planned on keeping it that way for as long as possible. She couldn't help the relief that showed on her face when Bri started walking toward the barrack. Doubly so when she offered to share her room. It would be nice to have a friend who wasn't obsessed with dragons for once. Someone who liked whers just as much as she did. And someone who was a bit eccentric, if her backward walking was any judge.

Talouse grabbed her bags and hurried after her, trying hard not to adjust her path as dragons moved around the bowl. Once she was inside, things would be better. Their room would be far too small for a dragon to fit in. "That sounds good." he said with a smile. The closer they got to the barrack, the less dragons there were. Maybe things would be better here after all.

[Admin]

I got a sheet for my bed,
And a pillow for my head,
I got a pencil full of lead,
And some water for my throat.

Bri continued to walk backwards, even when Talouse caught up more with her after she grabbed her bags. Her feet slid across the ground, slipping up and over any little obstacle they reached. Her balance was good. She was solid, even when she grinned at the other girl in an almost maniacal fashion. She remained silent as she watched Talouse, seeming quite content to simply stare at the more nervous candidate as she walked at a quick clip. Soc ran over to the new girl a few times to give an interested sniff, but he mainly ran circles around his owner in excitement.

Finally, a shadow loomed over her and she whirled around. The block of a building that was the candidates' barrack faced her. She took a step forward that looked almost like a stumble, her feet fumbling oddly, but then her hand caught the latch of the door and she pulled it open. Soc raced forward, and she twirled along after him. With one hand, she beckoned over her shoulder to Talouse. She trundled right along at a good pace back towards her room. She had the last room on the girls' side. Soc was waiting for them, staring back like they were slow.

I got food in my belly,
And a license for my telly,
And nothing's going,
To bring me down.

[hatori3070]

It was strange how the other girl could walk backward without tripping or having to look where she was going. Of course, who knew how long she'd been at the weyr. From the looks of things, it had been a while since she seemed to know the place so well. And her dog, Soc, certainly seemed to be comfortable. She smiled at his antics as he circled his owner, sometimes wandering over to say hi. "Oh, careful." Talouse said when Bri seemed to trip, but managed to catch herself on the latch. Soc raced off down the hall, obviously knowing exactly where they were going, and Bri beckoned for her to follow while she twirled her way after him.

As soon as she walked in, Talouse felt instantly at ease. This building was far too small for a dragon to fit, and why would it be, since it was for candidates? She grinned, finally able to relax and be herself, and ran the rest of the way to the door where Soc was waiting for them. Exploration was next on her mind. She had seen doorways and passageways leading down under the weyr, plenty of them too small for dragons to fit. They would be the underbelly of the weyr, where the drudges worked and crafters visited. Maybe the wherhandlers' quarters would be down there. It would make sense, since whers were nocturnal and light-sensitive. Her eyes took on that dreamy look she favored when thinking as she imagined finding the whers deep beneath the main weyr, meeting the gold she'd heard of, and maybe even the bronze that had been mentioned before she left home. She hoped he would be as nice as the last one she'd met.

[Admin]

Wake up on your own,
And look around you cause you're not alone,
Release your high hopes and they'll survive,
Cause this is the future and you are alive.

Pleased by the quickening of Talouse's place, Bri broke out into an easy jog of her own. She slowed at the door, nudging a very much in the way Soc with her foot until he was in a place where he wouldn't get his brains knocked out of his head when she opened the door. With a click, she pulled it opened and stepped inside. Then she turned around and was faced with a very dreamy eyed Talouse. Shaking her head in an amused fashion, she raised one hand and snapped her fingers in front of the girl's face, creating a click that was far louder than that of the door opening. "Pay attention. Won't do to doze off! Risk may eat you;" she teased. The golden wher was candidate's current closest thing to an idol, even though she wasn't one to have idols and she hadn't even met the Queen. She tended to dislike people the more she knew them.

Turning away and stepping to the side, she moved so that she was out of Talouse's way. Soc had already wiggled in and hopped up onto the lower bunk. He appeared to be lazing contently as he watched them with his sharp brown eyes. With a grand flourish of one hand, attached to a rash dotted arm, and a big grin, Bri showed off the room. A few of her things were neatly tucked around her bed, the bottom one, which her loyal canine faithfully guarded, she duly noted, and some others sat on top of one of the chests. She seemed fairly organized and tidy, despite her odd and exorbitant nature. "It isn't exactly big, but it's home, ain't it? We're going to be wherhandlers! I mean, unless the whers really, really don't want us. Or one of them mauls us before we can blood it. Or something like that." She wasn't the most reassuring.

Dive in and swim away,
From your loneliness and miserable days,
And when you wake up on your own,
Look around you cause you're not alone.

[hatori3070]

She had just been picturing a hatching, lots of little whers finding theirs, when Bri snapped her fingers, bringing her back to reality. Talouse laughed at her comment about Risk, and brought her things into the room. She was right, it was small, but small was good. And it wasn't exactly tiny, just compact. "I suppose they need to be small, so they can fit as many of us in here as they can when a hatching's coming up." She laughed, picturing all the rooms full of candidates rushing about on a hatching day. People were running into each other, and walls, and doors in their hurry to get down to the sands. There was a Queen egg out there and all the girls were giggling in their excitement.

Just picturing all the chaos was making her excited. When would the next Run be, she wondered? Would the Gold be running, or would it be one of the other colors? And who would chase? What kind of whers were there here, anyway? The only ones she had specifically heard of were the Gold and the Bronze, but she knew there were more. "I can't wait. Do any of the female whers look like they're getting ready for a Run yet? Before leaving home, she had found out all she could about whers, and knew that there were signs when a female was going to run.

[Admin]

I'm on the verge of some great truth,
Where I'm finally in my place,
But I'm fumbling still for proof,
And it's cluttering my space.

As Talouse brought her stuff into the room, Bri went to flop on her bed next to Soc. He tried to lick her face but she pushed him off, so he went to momentarily sulk in the corner of the furs until he forgot what he was sulking about and resumed wiggling his butt in happiness and excitement like a madman. Listening to her new roommate go on about the size of their room, she rolled her eyes. She could have taken actual complaining about the cramped confines of the space, but the random chatter grew tiresome to her quickly. However, the question about if any of the girlie whers looked ready to run satiated her away from boredom.

"Not that I know about. Maybe one of the greens, but they usually don't produce healthy clutches anyway;" she drawled. She put her feet up and tucked her hands behind her head so she could stare up at the bunk above her that would be Talouse's bed from then until the hatching. She sounded like a fool, a jerk, the way she was talking about what she was talking about. She let out a thick sigh. "Risk will have to run eventually, though, or Siraunesk, the red;" she assured the other girl, sounding perfectly ready to wait. She had waited turns of her life to finally be able to get near a wher hatching. She could wait longer.

Cause everywhere I seem to be,
I am only passing through,
I dream these days about the sea,
Always wake up feeling blue.

[hatori3070]

"Oh. I wonder why that is?" Talouse sobered quickly, thinking about how sad it must be when the eggs hold a little life within that doesn't have a chance. For that reason, part of her hoped that her wher wouldn't be a Green. It would be so hard to gt excited for the new lives about to enter the world, and then be disappointed when some, if not all, of them didn't make it. But she wasn't one to remain melancholy, or still, for long. She climbed up to her bunk and flung her bags there. "Oops. Sorry about that." She said, peeking under the bunk with a grin on her face. "Won't happen again."

She was glad to hear that there was a sub-Queen at Dalibor along with the Gold. More possible clutches meant more opportunities to Impress. It was odd that just yesterday she had been driven to tears at the thought of coming here and Standing. But then, she had thought she would have to Stand for a dragon. She climbed the rest of the way onto her bunk and smiled to herself, remembering the bronzepair back at Southern who had found her in the underbelly of the weyr and cheered her up. Soon she was lost in her memories, thinking about how sweet they had both been. They knew her from around the weyr and had heard plenty of stories about her mishaps with dragons, so they understood why she was so distressed. And rather than make fun of her, the wher had snuggled up to her to try and comfort her. She could remember how good it felt to wrap her arms around his neck and just cry into his smooth hide without feeling silly or weak. Talouse sighed contentedly, eyes closed, going back to that moment.

[Admin]

The sky's blue, just us two,
Side by side, we'll see,
The world that surrounds us,
Hey, seize the day.

Bri blinked at the apology. She hated apologies. They were stupid and unneeded. If she was offended, she was going to do what she was going to do, whether she got a sorry or not. The slight rocking and thumping of the bunk as Talouse clambered up didn't offend her. She placidly sat in her bunk, not the least bit perturbed by it. She only reacted to the apology. In the end, she actually offered a rather toothy grin back to the head that poked out at her from above. Such a silly girl. Fully expecting more questions from her cheerful if sometimes timid seeming new friend, she lapsed into silence. Then nothing more came from Talouse. Her patience lasted for a time, but it soon wore thin. She always had thoughts, but they rarely amused her. She like thought and action, thought and speak, both together. She waited, but her boredom only grew.

"We should go eat;" she said, out of the blue. She made it sound more like an order than a suggestion. As she spoke, she rolled over and slipped off her bed. Rather, she fell off of it, and then caught her feet underneath herself and surged up so that she was standing. When she could, she rarely did anything in an exactly normal fashion. Wiggling his rump in excitement, Soc leaped off of the furs to join her. With her hands on her hips, she looked up at the other girl. "There isn't any point in hanging around here;" she explained. She wasn't going to waste away the day in her room with a silent roommate. She refused to let that happen. Truthfully, she generally preferred nights, after years of working to live on a nocturnal schedule. However, days could be used too. Not waiting, she headed for the door out into the barrack's female corridor.

Every mile's a photograph in motion,
To astound us, carry us away,
Into a beautiful life,
Cause it's a beautiful world.

[hatori3070]

With a start, Talouse realized she had drifted off again. [d]"Whoops. Looks like I zoned out again."[/b] She said to Bri with another smile. Food sounded great. She had been so nervous about the trip over that she had been unable to eat her breakfast, just picked at it and tried not to vomit from sheer nervousness. "Food would be wonderful. I'm starving." She climbed back down from the bunk and followed the other girl to the door. Bri seemed nice enough, but it appeared as though she always had to be doing something to entertain herself. That was fine, it wasn't like it was a problem or anything. It just might make things a little interesting in the future. She hoped they wouldn't get into any arguments. Fighting...ugh. She shuddered mentally at the thought of having a fight with the obviously much tougher girl that had claimed her as a roommate. Well, there was a way to make them both happy that she could think of. "Maybe after we eat, we can explore a bit. Back home I knew all the little nooks and crannies of the place, so I'm looking forward to figuring out someplace new." It seemed like that grin was going to be permanently stuck to her face for the time being.

[Admin]

Stop and listen, ever feel alive,
And you've nothing missing,
You don't need a reason,
Let the day go on and on.

Another apology. In between the tapping of her feet as she moved out, Bri let out a sigh under her breath. It whistled through her offset teeth. She didn't need apologies! She needed food, energy! However, the other girl agreed and moved, which satiated the energetic youth. Her stomach growled, clawing at itself, spurred into activity by thoughts of food. Before, food had been far from her mind, but it quickly tried to dominant. However, her thoughts were stronger than her hunger, clawing it away and spread their wings as she moved. Light steps and lighter feet, so quiet for their size and her build, carried her down the hall. Soc raced behind her, darting around her, sniffing at corners even as he continued along at a dead run. They didn't wait for Talouse, but they finally paused most of the way down the corridor. She glanced over her shoulder.

Bri beamed at Talouse when the other girl actually suggested a true thought. Oh, she was so proud of her little roommate! She'd actually said something truly useful. Somewhere in that little mite, there was a person, a person with true, intelligent, creative thoughts, and Bri was bent on finding that person. She would fix Talouse. Everyone needed fixing. No one could really argue with that, at least not with Bri, they couldn't. People were often not nice. People were often afraid. People were imperfect, but they could be made better. Was there something wrong with trying to change others? Bri didn't care if there was. "Exploring sounds wonderful;" she responded, grinning in a somewhat twisted, fierce manner. With that, she darted through the door, out into the bowl. She beckoned over her shoulder and headed for the kitchens.

What a day, what a day to take,
To what a way, what a way,
To make it through, what a day,
What a day to take to a wild child.

[hatori3070]

Talouse rather enjoyed the sprint down the corridor spurred by Bri, glad that she didn't seem annoyed by her request. She had been a bit nervous, thinking that maybe Bri didn't want to spend the day showing her around, but the other girl's reply quieted those fears. She seemed like the kind of person who always had to be doing something, and Talouse was glad that she had come up with something satisfactory. Things were going wonderfully. That is, until Bri set out right down the middle of the bowl. Shards. Of course they were going outside, why wouldn't they do outside to get to a different part of the weyr? Talouse knew that her hesitation would get on Bri's nerves, make her impatient, but she couldn't help herself. She had to take a few moments to collect herself before walking into the open air of the bowl. Her eyes instantly located every dragon within sight, quickly darting around the bowl and scanning the skies overhead. Her ears were straining for the tell-tale sound of rushing air that came with a landing dragon. This fear of hers was crippling in a lot of ways, her shivering a sign of that, but it would actually help one day when she was a handler. Being able to take in everything and be completely aware of her surroundings would be a useful skill when she was out on patrol with her wher. Or at least, she hoped it would.

[Admin]

Stoplights, breakdown, we cry, last try,
Worlds collide, time to decide,
Where you want to go in this great big world,
Where you want to go in this great big world.

Bri didn't slow for Talouse. She noted the lack of the girl's presence at first, but she continued to run. Fleet of foot and free as a bird, she wasn't weighed down with concern. Her lack of worry didn't make her callousness truly cold or mean though, as it simply meant that she didn't wait. Talouse would come in her own time, and Bri simply saw no reason to pause for her. There was no need for her to rush the other girl. When she ran, she didn't have any impatience. She couldn't be impatience, because there was no such thing as patience when she ran. Soc ran around her feet, dodging in and out on his quick paws. She spared one more glance back for Talouse and saw that the other girl was finally hurrying to join her. A faint smirk quirked across her delicate but shameless lips. She did not slow. She did not tarry. In fact, she urged herself a little faster.

Quick, quicker, quickest! Running was her own personal between. It was how she traveled. It was how she flew. It was how she was queen. It was how she knew. When she ran, it didn't matter if her muscles screamed. It didn't matter if all the oxygen fled her body. It didn't matter if she died. The petty minds that she twisted didn't matter. Running was her one utterly mad power rush. It was what kept her sane enough the rest of the time. A handful of yards from the kitchens, she finally started to slow. In two blinks of an eye, she went from a full on sprint to a casual walk. Her muscles screamed, but she ignored their cries. She ruled her body. It didn't work the other way around. Not with her. Not ever. Not when she refused to let the rashes scrawled across her body affect her. Still not waiting, Bri ducked into the kitchens.

Run, just as fast as you can,
Run, 'til you reach the end,
Where the fallen finally land and,
Your world starts over again, run.