home sweet home (Bre)

[Reky]

It was noontime when a bluepair sprang from between above the weyr. The winter disc of Rukbat shone white and cold through a layer of whispy gray clouds. The air was chilled, nipping at the rider's face. It looked as though a dragon-shaped cutout had been made from the night sky, and stuck rather out-of-place in the monochromatic middle of the day. Lazily, the blue spiraled downward into the bowl, and came to a graceful, backwinging landing by the lake.

R'fus dismounted. He looked around at the Weyr. It was odd, to be so cold here, to see this unfamiliar Weyr. They had been here for nigh a sevenday now, sure, but he still expected to see Frontier Weyr around him, with its warm Southern weather. Instead, here they were, in Dalibor Weyr. He breathed in the cool air, taking off his riding helmet. He had a back case of helmet hair underneath.

Eondith didn't seem to mind the cold at all. For a dragon who'd spent his entire life on the Southern Continent, he didn't seem at all like a fish out of water in the chilly winter air of Dalibor. Natural, he slipped into the lack, eager to feel the icy water. It definitely woke him up. R'fus watched the blue dip beneath and above the surface. Then he peered at his rider, eyes just above the water.

You're happy, mine, Eondith pointed out.

S'a lotta marks, Eon, R'fus shrugged.

Eondith snorted, and went back to swimming.

R'fus shoved his hands into his pockets, feeling the significant amount of marks in them, and the significant lack of bottles of fellis extract. He smiled at Eondith, though, as the blue swam further out into the lake. He was tired - he'd admit that. It was only the middle of the day, and he was tired already. The marks in his pocket didn't really matter to him. Sure, it was a lot, but it wasn't on his priorities list. He just happened to be in a tired, lazy, happy sort of state right now. He sat himself down on a rock, stripping off his riding leathers and gloves.

He yawned, and called out, "Don' freeze yerself out there, Eon."

[/blockquote]

[Admin]

There's a city filth that lingers,
All over my naked hands,
Deep into the weave of the clothes I wear,
And every step brings another.

With a chorus of trills, six firelizards descended upon the lake, ignorant to the season and the chill of the water. The gold and bronze in their number settled on the shore. The blue remained in the air, nearly a dragon's length above the water. The green, the pink, and the white darted across the surface, skimming it with their claws. Behind them, a short, young woman followed. For once, her hair was pulled back. The lake was often the only place one could see discrepancies in the persona of a drudge that was Sonia. Curled around her neck, a seventh firelizard perched, a second green, much smaller than the other of her color that darted about the water. To match the oddity of her hair, she had abandoned her usual patched dresses for a pair of well-worn, short breeches far too big for her even cut and a long tunic tied with rope, also too big for her waifish body.

Chattering away, the white, Olya, led the green not attached to their bonded, bigger but light colored Ife, towards the nearest company he could find. The unfamiliar blue and man provided themselves as the perfect targets for the trickster and his flirty companion. However, as usual, the girl picking her way across the shore towards the water ruined his fun. "Olya, Ife;" she called, voice soft but commanding enough to carry out across the water with the roll of the waves. Giving Eondith one last chatter, the pair scurried to answer the call.

In response to the mental signal that the two spoken names carried, all of the firelizards rose up to descend upon Sonia, joining Ife and Olya. When the golden Queen amongst them, Eulo, found herself caught in the hubbub, she was quick to excrete her own will on the others. By the end of a minute, seven firelizards hung off the candidate in various fashions. She stood perfectly still, allowing them to find their places with the faintest traces of a smile, gaze and head turned down. A gold on one shoulder, a bronze on the other, one green around her neck and the other on one arm with a pink, a blue on her other arm, and a white crowning her head - the collection she had was complete, for all to see. However, their presence just made her all the slower to raise her head, though she let them stay because it was their bath time. She spared R'fus a careful glance.

Can I find some place to cry these tears of shame?
And every step brings another,
Every hour adds some more,
Til I'm on the other side leaning on your door.

[Reky]

Eondith let out an irritated snort. There was no curiosity in his whirling eyes as he caught sight of the multitude of firelizards, but only annoyance. They were small, loud things. He didn't enjoy having them around. Even his rider's firelizard drove him mad on occasion, but she was quiet enough that he could tolerate her mostly. He dipped back down below the water, swimming even further out. He stretched his wings, a shower of water droplets falling from them, and then curled them back up again. He was ever grateful when the pests were called away, and he could get back to his quiet swim.

Around R'fus' neck, something stirred. She'd been sleeping most of the time, she had, under his riding leathers where it was warm, but now she lifted her little pink head and looked around. She'd heard other firelizards, hmm? Her eyes, half-lidded and sly as they always are, searched for them. Ah. There they were. Lots of them. She couldn't be bothered - she was better than them all, anyways. Giving a little purr, she nuzzled Hers' stubble-rough cheek.

"Morning, sleepin' beauty," R'fus whispered to her, smiling. She purred again. Then, he heard the firelizards called away from Eondith. He followed them, to a girl on the shore. A chaos of wings ensued and, then, she was left with firelizards hanging off of her everywhere. He couldn't imagine having that many. Molly was more than enough for him. The girl looked at him, carefully. Out in the water, Eondith peered right at the firelizard girl, eyes whirling lazily. R'fus' face wasn't kind.

It wasn't that he was thinking ill of her. In fact, he admired her, for being able to deal with all those little winged critters, but R'fus' expression was his default one. Rough, life-hardened, with searching eyes. The harsh shadows of the bright noon sun probably didn't help. He looked away, though, back at Eondith, but the blue was still watching her.

[/blockquote]

[Admin]

I'm sitting in this room,
With all my memories blocked,
These thoughts are,
Racing through my head.

Sonia felt threatened, seeing the aggressive lines traced by the bright light of the day into his face, but that hardly made her back down. She held her ground, even as she avoided the bluerider's gaze. Part of her screamed to run, but she had long ago learned to drown out the screaming. With a fearlessness allowed in them by their bonded's ability to push back her own instincts, the seven watched the rider across the way. Strong and sure, the quiet guardian, more bronze than iron except for a streak of strong pride, it was Ruy who moved first for once. Releasing his gentle, soft grip on the girl's shoulder, he took flight and darted towards R'fus, gliding in a less than graceful fashion and dipping low as he crossed the distance. He had seen Molly's head. Stopping to hover before the rider, he tipped his head and offered the pink a quiet, gentlemanly croon of hello in his little, tiny voice.

More than hopeful for new friends, Olya and Esti darted after the bronze, giving more greetings. The others were more reluctant. However, some of the weight taken off her of her tiny body, Sonia raised her head a fraction of an inch to watch the actions of her divided fair. "They're simply friendly, sir." The explanation came out in a weak, soft voice, a meager excuse she apparently didn't expect to be accepted by him. It could still help, which was why she said it. Even if he had a firelizard, he wouldn't have much of a clue to deal with three, or six, that weren't his. "Only Jary has any aggression." She carefully phrased it to make the blue seem harmless, shifting a few meager steps closer to R'fus after her firelizards. Not at all helpful, Jary let out a nasty growl from where he clung to her sleeve. Golden Eulo gave him a big swat to shut him up. He subsided to glowering at her.

I don't expect you to love me,
Don't expect you,
To care for me,
Just don't expect it from me.

[Reky]

Eondith's eyes whirled with faint amusement as the firelizards then left to say hello to His' small pink creature. Still, though, his eyes were mostly those of brooding contemplation, and after a single snort at the antics, he slipped below the water again. It was beginning to feel warmer as he adjusted to it. His tail flicked out behind him, possibly one of the few playful displays Eon ever gave, sending a little splash into the air and a crack where the water cried out.

Molly stretched her neck out further as the bronze came and crooned. She batted her eyelids, eyes whirling underneath, and cocked her head slightly to the side. A croon in reply escaped from her - a slithery, mischievous noise. R'fus chuckled in his throat. Then, the pink left his should, jumping up to catch the air in her wings. She trilled, an almost giggling sound, and twirled her way through the fair and off a ways, begging them to follow. This would be fun! Great fun! R'fus watched her heading toward the lake, and had a bad feeling about it, be he let her go.

"Mine's a bit of a trickster," R'fus said, smiling. This girl was... quiet. Quiet, but he suspected she'd be nice, too. Despite his hard looks, the smile seemed right at home on his face. "Ain't no way to stop it, either. Ah well. She's a sweet'eart, though, a sweet'eart." He gave a little chuckle as he watched the mess of colourful wings. He heard Molly trill again. She definitely had something up her sleeve, that little demon...

"You got a lot of 'em," R'fus remarked. "Dunno how you do it, girl."

[/blockquote]

[Admin]

I'm standing on the stage,
Of fear and self-doubt,
It's a hollow play,
But they'll clap anyway.

Esti was off first, after Molly without a question. Ife darted by Olya and followed her sister. The white paused for a moment before he also joined in the chase. Smarter than the others, he had long ago learned just like his bonded. Don't trust blindly. Still, the pink seemed harmless, and he had less of a mind for the proverbial idea than Sonia. Ruy followed Olya, glancing back at Sonia before he went with the others. Even Jary took flight to follow. Eventually, only Zola and Eulo remained, the gold perched leisurely on one of the girl's shoulders and the green twined lovingly around her neck for comfort. The others darted about the sky, floating about Molly as an overwhelming group. The little candidate who owned them, as much as they could be owned, let them go. She could always call them back to her, and they had all long been distracted from their bath.

"I manage;" Sonia said. Her voice remained as quiet and soft as ever, but some amount of assuredness inflected it. There was no need for him to worry or even think a single bit about her. She could handle it. Anything, everything, she could handle it. Lifting her head slightly, she tilted it to the side, so that her eyes were actually briefly viewable. Her chin was entirely stubborn, even when her expression remained calm and timid. Her eyes were quicker, darting, judging, entirely wary. Then Zola let out a little croon, and Sonia dropped her gaze as she raised a hand to give the green a gentle scratch. Tail twined around her bonded's arm, Eulo stretched out her neck, eying R'fus with her own quickly swirling eyes. Her gaze did not falter. She did not lower it. The others might have gone, but she wouldn't leave. Even with all the others away, she would protect what was theirs.

I'm living in an age,
Whose name I don't know,
Though the fear keeps me moving,
Still, my heart beats so slow.

[Reky]

Molly was far more delighted than she'd been in a long with, fluttering out across the water with Ife, Olya, Esti, Ruy, and Jary in tow, chirping back to them and flicking her tail mischievously. The further out they got, the more excited the pink became. The trills she made were extremely high pitched, and broken almost like she was cackling (which, in her mind, she was). She had a plan, oh yes! It may have not been her most brilliant, but it was still a plan. It made her giddy inside at the thought. Then, as they got closer to the bathing blue, her plan was put into action.

She let out a squeal - the sort that she knew for a fact annoyed Eondith like nothing else - and the blue dragon snorted and lashed out, snapping his jaws at the cloud of firelizards. He didn't snag any of their wings or tails, but he hoped he gave them a good scare. Molly hoped he had, too. After all, that was her entire plan. Chittering giggles, Molly darted off again, spinning and doing loop-de-loos in the air. Eondith, snorting, went back to lurking quietly just above the water.

R'fus had been watching his firelizard and his dragon and the antics. He chuckled, amused. He was relieved that Molly's goal didn't involve any of the others getting hurt. She had a tendency to be a little insensitive when it came to her grand schemes. She especially liked to nip Eondith on occasion. The two weren't exactly on good terms. Like most dragons, Eondith didn't appreciate firelizards at the best of times. Molly was a particularly sneaky one, which made it even worse. Sometimes they got along, though, when Molly was in a calmer, lazier mood.

He looked back at Sonia, and smiled again. He was in a good mood.

"My name's R'fus, by th'way," he said. "Or Rufus. Don' mind either. That's Eondith out there, and Molly's the little devil." He could tell she was timid and wary and guarded. Hopefully, his friendliness wouldn't scare her off. He wasn't a bad guy. Into the wrong things, maybe, but he wasn't bad.

[/blockquote]

[Admin]

Where's your gavel? Your jury?
What's my offense this time?
You're not a judge but if you're gonna judge me,
Well, sentence me to another life.

Despite their disordered personalities, the five who had pursued Molly in her game scattered in perfect unity when Eondith snapped at them. They were quick, all of them, though not in quite the same fashion. Olya was quickest, but Esti and Ife were more elegant, and Jary and Ruy were definitely more powerful and deft. They didn't appear more than a little disturbed by their encounter with the sight of dragon teeth. Olya squawked his approval of Molly's scheme as he spiraled into the sky, though he did fault her execution as a little sloppy with a teasing whistle. Ruy let out a quiet hiss, displeased at the danger his siblings had suffered. Jary let out a series of growls, furious. He tried to snap at Molly, but Ruy stopped him. Over on the shore, Sonia watched them from behind wisps of her hair, hiding her amusement deep inside. On her neck, Zola shifted fretfully. She soothed the green with a gentle touch. Eulo sniffed her disapproval of Molly, settling in to sulk proudly. She didn't like the pink messing with her fair.

Sonia kept her calm as the bluerider's chuckled. However, when he spoke, saying his name, she shifted nervously. Thankfully, she had social expectations to fall back on without having to question anything. "I'm Sonia. I'm, uh, a candidate, sir;" she said, careful and shy with her words. The rider in front of her had a distinctly dark edge; she could see it, when she looked. It made her even more wary than she normally was. "Um, the gold is Eulo, bronze is Ruy, white is Olya. The greens are Zola and Ife, and the pink is Esti;" she recounted, raising her hand to point to the appropriate flitters as she named them. Zola offered a shy croon to R'fus, more scared of him than her bonded was. Bored with Molly, Olya came zipping back, only to be pushed away by Eulo. Afraid of a scene, Sonia quickly stopped their squabbling, making a shushing noise. She glanced at R'fus, keeping her distance by standing fixedly where she was. "It's nice to meet you;" she softly said, relying on manners in order to speak.

You treat me just like another stranger,
Well, it's nice to meet you, sir,
I guess I'll go, I best be on my way out,
Ignorance is your new best friend.

[Reky]

Molly didn't give a care in the world about the frazzled firelizards, or Olya's disapproving squawk and teasing whistle. She thought it had been executed quite well for something thought up moments before. The reaction she got from the others was exactly what she wanted, anyways. She was giddy with happiness. Chittering away to herself in a proud but slippery way, she fluttered and twirled about in the air, zipping back and forth over the lake. Eondith watched her with only his eyes above the water, silent and unhappy.

R'fus grinned as Sonia introduced herself. He still felt she was holding back, but he could tell she was quiet. It couldn't be helped. He also knew that he wasn't the kindest-looking person there could be. He had a heart of gold, but it looked a little dark and tarnished.

"No need for the 'sir,'" he commented. Titles like that were useless and wasted on him - he didn't need them. He listened intently as she named off all the members of her fluttery fair. Then, R'fus recited perfectly, "Sonia, Eulo, Ruy, Olya, Zola, Ife, Esti. Well! Nice to meet the lot of you." From the water far from shore, Eondith gave something that might have sounded like a rumble of agreement, but R'fus knew it wasn't. The blue didn't care about anyone else, so why would he think it nice to meet them? Especially when seven out of the eight were firelizards. No, the rumble was probably masked disapproval, or a counterargument to Molly's chittering.

"A candidate, yeah?" R'fus continued. He really, really hoped he wasn't making her feel too uncomfortable. That was quite the opposite from his intention. "Well, good luck t'ya. I r'member when I was one... Long time ago. Had no idea how I managed to get Searched." He chuckled, and sighed. "Shards... Glad I did, though."

[/blockquote]

[Admin]

We woke up with the morning news,
Some girls would kill to wear my shoes,
And they can try to fit my size,
But these shoes are mine and only I.

The fair of firelizards, the five who had chased a bluerider's pink, played in the sky, squawking and squabbling, dancing and darting. They were free. They were happy. All concern was forgotten by them so easily and thus they danced, twining about the sky with no thought to Molly. She couldn't play in their private, never ending game, not if she didn't wish to put in the effort to try to win their wild favor. It was just for them. Neener-neerer. On the ground, Sonia glanced up to look at them. A trace of a smile ghosted across her lips. Eulo took off to join in the fun of her subjects. That left her with just Zola, who, after a moment of pause, took off as well, which was a surprise. She didn't join in with the others. Instead, she fluttered across the water and stopped half a dragon's length from Eondith, sensing his dislike of her kind. She offered him a very soft croon.

Keeping her eyes on her fair, away from the ground for the time being and away from the unnerving R'fus, she listened to what the bluerider said. "It's a quite unexpected event, Rufus;" Sonia agreed, cautious voice turning more distant and thoughtful. The drudge had never expected to be searched, but then J'kan and his brown had come along and told her that she should be a candidate. The Weyr had been hope, and there she was, still wary as could be. She had her reasons. Carefully, she glanced at R'fus, once again surveying his imposingly designed features. "Where did you Impress Eondith, if you don't mind me asking?" She posed the question as softly and politely as she could. As she spoke, she diverted her eyes to the ground. Up in the sky, her fair continued to dance, but she kept herself well away. She didn't have their freedom or ability to forget.

Oh, and my words always fall short,
This is too big to use them for,
When I say thank you,
I mean so much more.

[Reky]

"Catches ev'ryone by surprise, I think," he said. Well, children of dragonriders would probably expect to be Searched, and so would stuck-up holders' children. The overconfident ones usually stood for a few too many hatchings. Anyone else, though, from lower standings and worse-off holds, probably never even think about being chosen. R'fus knew he never did. Really, he was happy for the girl having been Searched, despite not knowing her well. He just felt something good and worthy in her. Chances are, that feeling was partially from Eondith, too, even if the blue dragon wouldn't say anything about it.

"Eon? Ah, well, s'long time ago." R'fus looked out at the blue dragon, remembering it fondly. "Frontier Weyr. In the South. Big difference from here." The blue ocean, the jungle, the people there... Dalibor was very different. "Just moved here, really. Sevenday ago or so. Takes a bit of time to warm up to it, y'know?" His eyes scanned the weyrbowl and the lake and the walls of the Weyr, reaching up and pockmarked with the dark holes of individual weyrs. He drifted into silence and he looked around thoughtfully, with a faint smile on his face.

[/blockquote]

[Admin]

This time, this place,
Misused, mistakes,
Too long, too late,
Who was I to make you wait.

"Yeah, I know." Sonia spoke softly, quietly, meekly, and any meaning to her words was lost in that. She'd come from a long ways away and an even long ways before that. However, memories were kept carefully in their place, useful for the life lessons she already knew and nothing else. She was glad to see that Rufus looked happy. He had a mean look about him, so it was easy to tell that it was sincere. Sometimes, it was nice to know that people could be happy like that. Made her just a little gladder to be a candidate, though she'd never admit it. She wasn't much for hoping and you couldn't hope as long as you kept your big, fat mouth shut. A silence settled over them and she had nothing to say. That started to make her nervous, even more nervous than before. She shifted slightly, still keeping her wary, careful distance.

"Well, come on, everyone, we should go." Quick as a wink, a full seven firelizards was hanging about her once again. Her fair was more obedient to her than they often acted. The smallest of smiles graced her face for a moment. Only a little off balance from their weight, she dipped a slight curtsy to R'fus, rider of blue Eondith. Class distinctions were so important to her, because, even if people said or thought they didn't exist, they did. With that, she turned to leave, moving with careful quickness. It was important to do everything in moderation. Eat. Talk. Move. Live. Olya and Esti chattered their farewells to Molly, but the others remained silent. They just turned to silently watch Rufus and Eondith, as if they knew something they didn't. Sonia kept her eyes focused on the ground, uncaring of the fact her fair still hadn't gotten bathed yet.

So far away,
Been far away for far too long,
So far away,
Been far away for far too long.