Cloudy Days - And Pushy Dragons [Aika]

[Sakoru]

Grey, heavy clouds hung over the Bowl, promising rain in an hour or two. The day, however, was just pleasantly cool, inviting everyone out for a stroll. Alatira was one of these people, striding along a small path near the river. Above her, a black dragon soared, dipping, diving and generally showing himself off for no reason at all. Smiling, his rider watched, and shook her head. Even Shiragath was happy today, fond as he was of the rain, and that made her happy, too. You don't usually show off. What's your deal today?

I am happy because you are happy. You're always so lonely, Tira. It makes me sad. Spiraling high into the sky, the young dragon was silent outwardly, but he was being unusually talkative. He had a point, though - despite her general lack of interest in other people, Alatira did find herself kind of wanting company. Shiragath, however, was a better companion than any human, or at least she'd always thought so up to this point. What, then, was wrong with her?

All the other riders have human friends, TiraMine. I am not going to leave you, not ever. You should make some friends. Gliding down to land on the path just ahead of his rider, the black sat back on his haunches, regarding her with softly yellow eyes. She could see that he was concerned for her, and shook her head with a small laugh, approaching her dragon and bidding him to walk with her. This 'walking' turned out to be something more like hopping, since his hind legs were shorter than his forelegs, but for her sake he did not complain. We must fly together, Mine. But I will not carry you until you say hello to someone.

That made Alatira stop and stare at her dragon, and she lifted a black brow in astonishment. He gazed back at her, eyes yellower than ever, and at last she relented with a nervous smile. "All right. I'll say hi to somebody, if you think that's what's best."

Nodding in approval, Shiragath resumed his hopping, undignified as it was. Good. TiraMine needs a friend, though Shiragath loves her much. With that, and tiring of the weird gait he had adopted, the black dragon launched himself into the sky, whipping up a downdraft where Alatira stood. Confused by his words and actions, the wingrider shrugged and continued down the path, now on an active lookout to see if she could find someone to say hello to. It was, after all, a long way back to her weyr on foot.

[aikastarr]

It wasn’t often that one saw Rethalt in the daytime. In fact, it was nigh impossible to leave his cot besides at night or special occasions. Today, though, just seemed like a good day to take a stroll. He bid farewell to his furs and sauntered out on his way to the Bowl. The crisp air felt good on his skin, and a soft smile penetrated his features. A lot has happened in recent history, particularly the advancement in his social life. It’s not often that people actually understand him and can empathize with him, let alone talk to him. Besides, today seemed a bit lighter than most other days.

As he strolled, he thought about his life as a Wher Candidate. Having a strange sleeping schedule didn’t faze him, though some of the other Candidates were quite loud…. His wandering mind came to a halt as he saw a small girl with a black dragon. Curiosity gnawed on his insides, but he really wanted to relish this daylight alone. Unfortunately, curiosity didn’t want that, so the boy ended up jogging towards the Weyrling. He stopped a dragonlength away as the black took off to lazily glide overhead, then proceeded to jog the remaining distance with ease. Rethalt tried to match stride lengths, but she was almost a foot shorter than him, hence making his matching off. He decided to give up on that and try to make small talk. ”Hey, I’m Rethalt. Who might you be?” he queried, hoping she wasn’t the quiet type. He doesn’t like talking to the human equivalent of a rock. He should know.

[Sakoru]

Shiragath had hardly issued his decree when a new figure appeared around a bend in the path. You knew he was coming, didn't you? Alatira's thoughts were accusing, but her dragon sent only a smug Yes back to her. Rolling her eyes at him, the wingrider smiled to herself and strode along next to the tall boy. Well, he really wasn't that tall - but being only five feet in height, everyone looked tall to her. A smile appeared on her face at the sight of him, and she nodded in acknowledgment at his introduction. "Hi, Rethalt. I'm Alatira. And my dragon up there is Shiragath." Flicking her gaze up at the dark, gliding shape by way of indication, the short girl stretched slightly, turning and looking up to meet Rethalt's gaze.

Conniving, plotting little dragon, you are. Making me meet people like that! Receiving only a self-assured, wordless reply, she snorted and shook her head, tempted to throw up her hands. Instead, she tried to match the boy's longer stride, and failed as he had, resorting to her own short steps and using more of them to keep up. Perhaps it was her dragon's stubborn insistence that she make a friend that made her chattier than usual, but whatever the reason, she spoke of her own volition after introducing herself. "I can't wait until it rains...haven't had a good downpour in ages. Do you like the rain?"

Okay, so it was extremely small talk. Most of her chatter was, at least until she decided she liked someone. At that point, she might say more meaningful things. You always say meaningful things. Some people just don't understand them.

Chatty today, aren't you? And thank you for the compliment, but saying I like rain is not meaningful. Finding herself falling behind, the wingrider sped up, moving about twice as fast as she normally went at a walk. Being fit, apparently, had its uses - if she had been out of shape, Rethalt would have had to slow down to her speed (if he wanted to talk to her) and that would have been very slow indeed.

Lifting her head to the skies, Alatira noticed Shiragath doing a quick roll, but ignored him and scanned the air for dragons. Finding none, she blinked in mild puzzlement, and returned her gaze to Rethalt, secretly amazed that he had said hello to her of his own volition. That was a rare occurrence, or had been in her two sevendays at Dalibor. "I don't see another dragon anywhere...do you have one?"

[aikastarr]

Rethalt nodded his acknowledgment and watched her dragon. ”It’s a pleasure to meet you, Alatira and Shiragath,” he replied, then added for good measure, ”It’s an honor to walk with you.” Sure, he wasn’t of the dragon variety, but one should always be courteous to their superiors, even if they are shorter. Nobody likes being eaten by a dragon. Of course, he’s never actually been eaten; if he was, would he have been walking with this girl right now? He thought not.

He chuckled, watching as they both fumbled about, trying to match strides with one another. He decided to just slow to her pace to relieve any strain. He nodded slowly as she brought up her devotion to rain. When asked, he shrugged. ”It’s a wonderful distraction from the day’s stresses, that’s for sure. Though, me and my sister prefer snow and other cold weather,” he replied. She reminds me of Krys. Almost as if she’s one of us.

Rethalt hadn’t been noting Alatira gazing about, but slightly jumped when she asked about the lack of dragon. He cocked his head; why would he? It’s not as if he was a Rider or anything! ”Well, I’m not a Rider. In fact, I’m not even a Candidate for a dragon. I’m a Wher Candidate,” he explained, then cocked his head. ”Why? Is there a problem? I can leave you to your business, if you want.”

Maybe she’s just nervous. I’ve never seen her before, so she’s probably new. I shouldn’t be criticizing or anything. Am I criticizing? It’s hard to tell. Rethalt had decided to converse with his conscious, trying to figure out his situation. He ran his fingers through his auburn hair, giving her a toothy grin. Hopefully, this meeting would go smoothly.

[Sakoru]

Alatira smiled, her own gaze following Rethalt's to rest upon the dark shape in the sky. Her dragon, realizing he was being watched, swept low over their heads and then shot back up into the air, wind hissing over his wings. An affectionate laugh escaped the short rider, and her gaze drifted back to the boy next to her. "You too. Though there's no need to be honoured; I'm not really very high-ranking. Or formal, for that matter." Laughing good-naturedly as he slowed to her pace, she finally managed to settle into a pace that they could both maintain. Though not moving in sync, at least they were going more or less the same speed now.

Green eyes brightened at the mention of snow, and she nodded, correcting her former statement. "I love snow, too. It's better than rain, you're right." Running a hand through her hair in an attempt to keep it out of her eyes, she focused on the path ahead for a few moments, and managed to step over a large rock without breaking her stride too much.

"Wher Candidate? That's great!" Alatira ducked to avoid a branch that would otherwise have caught her in the face, then straightened with a smile, turning her attention back to her new companion. "What colour are you hoping for, if any?"

Whers cannot compare to dragons, Shiragath loftily informed her, and she rolled her eyes, stifling a laugh. I know, but it's still good that he's a Candidate. Be nice, Shiragath! You're the one who said I had to meet someone new before you'd take me riding. With that she caught up to Rethalt again, having fallen a pace or two behind, and settled back to the speed they had been travelling before. Puzzled by his question, she tilted her head, cocking a brow in bafflement. "Problem? No, no. I suppose it's being one of the dragonfolk that makes me expect you to ride one." Laughing, she returned the grin, hoping she hadn't been unintentionally rude with that comment. Dragonrider or not, she had no right to think everyone had a dragon. Besides, whers were just as good, she told herself, though they couldn't fly. She had heard that they made as loyal companions as dragons, and that made them equal in her eyes. Your eyes are blind, TiraMine. Whers aren't nearly as intelligent as dragons.

I don't care. Quit with the mean comments; whers are good too. I'll always love you best, so don't you be jealous, retorted the blackrider, and then retreated to her own private thoughts, letting Shiragath hear some of them but telling him not to respond if he had nothing helpful to say. Maybe Shiragath was right to make me say hello. I hope he was, anyway...if not, this will go badly. But Rethalt seems kind enough to me.

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[aikastarr]

Rethalt let a slight chuckle escape him at her remark. ”Well, you rank higher than me, but I guess I make that up by height,” he joked, playfully giving her shoulder a nudge. He looked up and smiled warmly at her dragon, watching as he dipped and twirled in the sky. She should be proud of him, even if he was a bit energetic. In the boy’s eyes, energetic was good. If anything, being a slacker was the worst thing in the world to be. Who would want to spend their lives sitting around getting fat when they could be out on an adventure?

He was baffled by the striking resemblance personality-wise that Alatira held with his sister, and made to vocalize it. ”You know, you remind me of my twin in more ways than one,” he chuckled, and stepped over the large rock with ease. For once, his long legs were being put to good use! Maybe, if the two met, they would call each other related, he thought, and his too-broad smile softened to a kind grin. He ran his fingers though his mass of ruby hair to clear his vision and his mind.

Rethalt waved off her compliments about being a wher Candidate as if it was nothing, but his eyes twinkled in amusement. ”It’s nothing really, just a different curfew schedule. And color, I don’t care much for. As long as they utilize their abilities to the fullest extent, I wouldn’t mind if it was a Pink!” he responded, before getting smacked in the face with a branch. He backed up, ducked under said branch, and returned to stand next to Alatira. ”It’s all right. If I was in your position, I probably would too,” he laughed, trying to ease any tension if there was any present. If they were going to start a friendship, he wouldn’t want it to be ruined by a false assumption.

[Sakoru]

Alatira reached back and pushed Rethalt's arm in retaliation, though her eyes danced with humour. "Always the height. Tall people..." Muttering to herself in a stage whisper, she put plenty of sarcasm into her remark about tall people. Clearly she didn't mean it, since she was still grinning. This could have been caused, in part, by the wher Candidate's smile at Shiragath, but mostly it was because she was beginning to enjoy Rethalt's company. I told you so, Shiragath cut in smugly, swinging his gaze down to the boy and dipping a wing in acknowledgement. Darting ahead out of sight over the trees, the black sent back images of himself flipping and rolling in the sky, only to be physically reinforced when he came back.

Shaking her head in feigned exasperation, the short girl made a face as her companion stepped easily over the rock. A tilt of the head and puzzled eyes met his announcement, though. "I do? Who's your twin?" As the boy's grin changed itself into a normal smile, though, her own face unconsciously mimicked it. Ducking under the same branch that was to foil Rethalt, she wondered who this twin was. Have I met her? Probably not...I hardly know anyone here except Shiragath. And encountering someone with a similar personality to mine...wouldn't THAT be interesting?

Realizing that Rethalt was speaking, she paused and turned to pay attention, chortling at his remark about Pinks and working. "Workaholic, are you? And pinks are - AHA - fine!" Bursting into laughter as the branch struck the wher Candidate in the face, Alatira couldn't help but toss his own words back at him, giggling helplessly. "Make up for - ahaha - rank in height, do you...? Branches...pff..don't seem to notice that." Trying to stifle her giggles - and failing - the blackrider smirked up at her potential new friend. Still, her eyes held no trace of actual malice, just hilarity at his situation.

At last, however, she managed to stop laughing, bright pink in the face but in high spirits. "Well, that's good...I did hope I didn't sound arrogant about it or anything...'cause I'm not really. But I've been known to say stupid things by accident, on occasion." Shrugging, she smiled, and resumed forward motion, adopting the pace she had before when they were actually moving at roughly the same speed. Stopped was the same speed too, but, well...it was boring.

[aikastarr]

Rethalt chuckled as Alatira grumbled about tall people. It was quite entertaining to watch people shorter than him complain about height, even though that was cruel to do. It wasn’t his fault! It was his father’s genes that made him and Krysthanine grow to such heights. I’m surprised; she’s taking it much better than other people I’ve spoken with, he praised her mentally. His gaze caught Shiragath dipping a wing in acknowledgement, and a spark lit in his spirit. Today was turning out better than he had planned!

His laugh intensified at his friend’s bewildered expression at his comparison to his sister. ”Yes, you do. Her name’s Krysthanine, though I call her Krys. She’s a dragon Candidate,” he explained. ”You’d like her, I’m sure. Sure, she’s a bit energetic, but she’s also a sweetheart. Almost nothing puts her off her mood. Though, if you ask me, her face is like an open book when it comes to her emotions,” he added. Hopefully, Alatira doesn’t mimic her in that way.

Rethalt gave the girl an exasperated look as she laughed at his blunder. ”Yes, I guess you could call me a workaholic, and let me see you be this tall and not hit a branch!” he countered, giving the girl a shove. It wasn’t nice to laugh at a person’s physical advantages, or disadvantages. He then laughed again and shrugged. ”Anyways, you didn’t sound arrogant. Just… Uninformed.” he uttered. It wasn’t her fault. It wasn’t as if they knew each other since their births.

[Sakoru]

Grinning, the blackrider listened to Rethalt's description of his sister. Nodding, she grabbed her hair and ran her hands through it, eliminating the annoying static. Tossing the long strands back over her shoulder, she smiled, wandering down the path next to her new friend. "I can see why...Krysthanine's a long name. Pretty, though...I like it," she commented, and tilted her head at that last bit. "Energetic...you seem to share that with her, from what I've seen. Though maybe in a calmer way." Pausing a moment, Alatira thought for a moment before responding to the comment about Krys' face being like an open book. "Well...if the book's a good one, why not? Assuming the reader's literate."

Making a face, Alatira shoved Rethalt back, though she didn't try very hard. Springing ahead of him on the path, she turned in the air and landed facing him, laughing. "I can hit branches without being tall. They just have to be close to the ground! Crazy workaholic." Shaking her head in feigned exasperation, she walked backwards ahead of Rethalt, only to be hit in the back of the head with another branch. Rolling her eyes, she pushed it up out of the way and grinned. "See? ...Of course, I wasn't facing it, but still. As for uninformed, I am that."

About lots of things. Wonder what he'll say when I haven't got an answer to something? Letting that dark thought trail briefly across her mind, Alatira turned around and moved backward until she was once again next to Rethalt. Walking next to him, she ducked under the branch when she encountered it again, looking up and over at him with a broad grin. "Uninformed as to why Shiragath seems to like you so much, for one thing. He doesn't usually acknowledge anyone but me."

He is interesting. And nice, I think. You should invite him to our weyr sometime. Shiragath informed her, circling back over the pair and diving low before pulling up into the sky once more. His suggestion caused the wingrider to blush violently, cheeks suddenly flaming with colour. Shiragath! That would sound not only unusual, but creepy.

The dragon tossed his head as he flew, sending his thoughts back with a mild air of disdain. I meant he should visit us for a meal or something. You humans assume the worst far too much, was his annoyed reply, and Alatira shook her head, hoping her face would go back to normal soon. Strange dragon. You're usually so possessive of me that you don't want to share.

That is usually. This is now. Invite him to visit us later.

Wincing at the order, the blackrider stalled as long as possible, not wanting to relay her dragon's offer for fear of sounding weird. Blushing still, she grinned at Rethalt, wondering if Shiragath would simply speak to her new friend of his own volition. She'd never known him to actually say anything to anyone, but perhaps he would...and if he did, things would get rather embarrassing, rather quickly. "He's such a strange dragon..."

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[aikastarr]

The Wher Candidate nodded in agreement as his companion concurred to his earlier statement. ”She gets that a lot. But, she doesn’t mind being showered with praise, not to mention being given the privilege to interrupt because of a mispronunciation. In fact,” and here the boy gave a hearty chuckle, ”you should have seen our parents bickering about the length of it. Our father kept on complaining that it was too long, while Mother would coolly reply that it was what made her unique! While they fought, we would take that chance to sneak out of the house and play with the other kids and their pets.”

Rethalt shrugged at Alatira’s comment about his comparison with his twin. ”Well, considering we’re twins, I don’t see why we wouldn’t share traits, he replied, but not before letting a quiet whistle pierce any silence between the two. He then nodded, allowing her words of wisdom to sink into his memory. Who knows; maybe I could tell Krys that, he realized, but the thought was scattered off by the small shove from the blackrider. He let his head loll to the side as she skittered forward, managing to thwack the back of her head against a lower tree limb.

A small spot on the back of his own head throbbed slightly before ebbing away to nothingness as the painful memory swam back to the front of the boy’s mind. Rethalt shook his head to both shove the thought away and to get his crimson hair out of his face. She waltzed back to stand beside him, and he gave a face of genuine interest as she almost grumbled about how Shiragath took a fancy to him. ”Well, I’m honored to be the first person next to you to share his attention,” he said courteously, giving a slight bow for respect and, coincidentally, narrowly avoiding yet another branch.

A laugh bubbled up within the Candidate as a fiery crimson flashed across the wingrider’s face, acting much like a flag to announce that her dragon or thoughts brought quite the unnerving image. He cocked his head at her, trying to discern why she blushed so. Her wincing only confirmed that something was up. She suddenly turned to him and grinned, though the grin looked just a tad forced. She was hiding something, and if his family lines had anything to be notorious about, it was to be night birds, and to hate being out of the loop. ”Why? What did your fabulous black say? I can’t hear him, you know,” he commented, not quite sure what was so embarrassing that she couldn’t tell him.

[Sakoru]

A broad grin appeared on Alatira's face (they seemed to be doing that a lot lately) as Rethalt explained about Krysthanine's love of correcting mispronunciations. "Well, who does? Everyone likes to be praised, as far as I know," the blackrider replied with a shrug. "You know, I'm a bit glad I don't share that with her. The long name, I mean."

Her laughter joined in the candidate's as he told the story of the bickering, and she tossed her hair back, face a bit flushed with amusement. "Sounds like a great solution to me! I'd rather go play, too." Truthfully, she'd never really done the same thing, but it didn't matter. Sharing in the enjoyment of the story was good enough for Alatira. Come to think of it, having a friend was great fun - why hadn't she sought them out before?

I told you so.

Shut up, you, the wingrider shot back, and proceeded with her theatrics regarding the tree. Returning to Rethalt's side, the cheery grin still on her face, she flicked her gaze up to the dark shape wheeling in the sky. Apparently Shiragath had heard what the red-haired boy said, for he did a great dive, spun back up, and plunged to land on the path ahead. Circling back, the dragon hopped to the pair and sat with wings half-open behind Alatira, looking very much like an annoyed statue. His rider turned, lifted a brow in surprise, and then swung her gaze back to Rethalt, laughing and blushing. "Well, I guess maybe you should be. I'm not really sure, myself," she remarked. As the candidate laughed, she tilted her head slightly, cheeks flaming, and gave a genuine, slightly exaggerated wince as he asked what her dragon had said. Turning to face the creature in question, she grabbed Shiragath's nose and pulled his face down to hers, holding it there by the cheeks. I'd smack you if you were a person, you know.

But I'm not a person; I'm a dragon. Now tell him; he asked you a question, Shiragath ordered, and pushed on her chest with his muzzle. Sighing and leaning her head against her dragon's, Alatira tried to fan away the blush, and smiled wryly at Rethalt. "My 'fabulous black' wants me to ask you to visit our weyr sometime. So, here goes: do you want to come join us for dinner or something?"

And tell him that we will fly him up if he's afraid of getting lost, Shiragath added. Alatira rolled her eyes and relayed the message, smacking him affectionately on the nose. He snorted, pulling his head out of her arms, and stared down at his rider loftily. It was apparent from his very demeanour that he wanted Rethalt to visit, particularly when he stared at the candidate with softly whirling green eyes. Arching his neck and fanning his wings, the dragon watched the boy silently. His rider paused a moment, then spoke as he asked her to, brows lifting in confusion. "And he says that Krysthanine can come too. He wants to meet her, if she's so much like me."

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[aikastarr]

Rethalt ruffled the Blackrider’s hair affectionately while she babbled about the praise. ”I guess the real question is who would loathe the praise with every fiber of their body?” he replied and let his face fall into a smaller smile. His face was starting to hurt from all the smiles! He just gave a nod to what she said next, so that she knew he heard.

The Candidate noticed Alatira’s steady change in demeanor and grinned slightly as she agreed to the solution. Though, by how she reacted, it didn’t seem as though she’s ever done that before. Then again, I doubt she had to, considering her non-exotic name, he concluded.

He was actually quite surprised when Shigarath made his initial appearance back onto the ground, and decided to sit down and watch as Alatira grabbed the black’s nose and bring his face close to hers. He let the silence blanket himself; considering the fact she wasn’t speaking, it was probably just a small disagreement between the bonded. He proceeded to get distracted by Whiting popping from between and biting his ear before settling on his lap, demanding attention. Well, the little Blue is starting to break from his shell, but only a little bit. By the time Rethalt’s previous company turned back to him, the tiny flitter had burrowed his way under his hands, slightly quivering.

”Well, I’d be delighted, Allie! And I’m sure that Krys would enjoy meeting a Rider as much as I did,” he replied cheerily. He scooped up Whiting (receiving a startled screech in protest) and stared at the small creature in his hands. ”Be sure to relay a picture of Alatira, Shigarath, and I to your Mine soon, okay?” he told the Blue while turning the bundle to look at the Rider pair. Whiting gave a small squeak in affirmation before popping between once again. ”I’m sure I’ll find it once I get a general feel of where it is,” Rethalt claimed. It only took a matter of seconds for Krys to find Avalle’s Weyr. How hard could it be?

[Sakoru]

Alatira couldn't help but laugh at both the hair-ruffling and the mildly cynical comment. She lifted an elegant dark brow, shrugging humourously. "Hopefully no one I know. It'd be pretty hard to be friends with someone if they hated praise," she commented brightly. Stretching idly, she turned to hug her dragon's head when he landed, and then turned back to Rethalt, blushing at the requests and questions she was forced to make.

You, she informed her black decisively, are the strangest creature I have ever known. I hope you're pleased with yourself. Rolling her eyes expressively, the rider leaned against her bonded's face, receiving a wave of smugness from him at her comment. He protested her verdict with waves of boring brown and green colours, subtly emphasizing his normality. Alatira ignored him, losing interest in favour of the blue flit that had just appeared in the candidate's lap.

"Whose flitter?" she inquired mildly, lifting her brows. A little smirk appeared on her face too as she noted that her new friend was sitting in the dust, but it didn't last too long because she was obliged to ask him to her weyr. Oh, that dragon... he made her shake her head quite a lot these days. Still, Alatira was pleased by the redhead's acceptance of her request, and she grinned. "Allie, am I? Never been called that before. And I'd like to meet my supposed double, too!" Laughing, she petted Shiragath's dark head, at least until he lifted it away, and smiled. "I must say, it was nice to meet you too! Even," she turned to narrow her eyes at Shiragath, "it was a forced meeting."

Watching Rethalt handle the little blue, the wingrider grinned. Even when the flitter popped out of existence into between, she laughed, having by now made a good guess as to whose he was. Krysthanine, she thought. Who else? I mean, it was her that Shiragath wanted to meet. Shaking her dark hair back over her shoulders, Alatira smiled. "Oh, good. I shouldn't like to have to come find you. You see, I'd have to laugh... a little like I did when you hit that branch." Sweeping into a dramatic, if teasing bow, the blackrider shifted backward to stand next to her dragon, and grinned. "I take my leave of you, branch-striker Rethalt!" Swinging herself up onto Shiragath's strong neck, she waved, grinning, at her new friend, and sat back on the ridged shoulders, smiling. "Don't forget to come to my weyr sometime!" And with that they were airborne, Shiragath's huge wings churning the air as he lifted off. In seconds they had wheeled and were dashing back towards the aforementioned weyr, seeking to avoid the coming rain.

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