Ridan, Wherhandler of Gold Risk *DEC*

[kia]

Well somebody told me
You had a boyfriend
Who looked like a girlfriend
That I had in February of last year
It's not confidential
I've got potential
A rushin', a rushin' around

Pace yourself for me
I said maybe baby please
But I just don't know now
When all I wanna do is try

Name:
Ridan
Gender:
Male
Age:
29 (Born in 170th Turn)
Sexuality:
Bisexual, but has only had a few flings in the past (see History)
Location:
Heading to Dalibor Weyr
Rank:
Alpha Wherhandler

Personality:
Ridan would not be called laid-back. He will usually just go with the flow if he believes that the idea or suggestion is true, but if he feels it isn`t then he will speak up and make his own suggestions. Due to his previous Sr. Handler`s hatred toward him, he is not afraid of work. He has actually developed a personality where he won`t stop till the job gets done. His former Sr. Handler use to give him all the dirty and hard jobs, trying to make life very difficult for him. Basically, his Sr Handler hated the fact he Impressed the Gold Wher instead of her daughter and so gave him all the hardest and dirtiest drudge work in revenge. But he has the ability to take things in stride, not trying to let anything get to him. Besides, he sees that the awards outweigh the difficulties. Despite his previous Sr. Handler hating him and giving him the worst jobs, coming back to his room every night to see Risk was reward enough for him.

He grew up being taught to be a good person and tried to never steal or lie since his parents believed those were the greatest evils on Pern. While Ridan gain these morals, and he believes lying is bad, he often finds himself falling into that habit, which would probably make him feel bad for a while. After all, no human is perfect. But usually when he lies, he does it for several reasons. Either he is busy and doesn`t want to hurt the other, he is trying to dodge something, or he does not feel like talking.

Ridan does give off this quiet personality, where he seems to be watching you and studying you. In honesty, he is just trying to take everything so he can assess the situation and figure out what he wants to exactly do in the situation. But he does not try to be a smart aleck when he does talk. He may sometimes smile at you and ask questions, whether they are in the actual form of a question or hidden in a sentence. He does not try to play games with his words, but he has been known to come off like that at times.

Despite this quiet and indifferent attitude he gives off, Ridan really has a peaceful soul in him. He does not make friends on regular basis, being as he tends to seclude himself, but he very caring. If, after time, you become friends with him and feels strongly about you, be it just as a friend or something more, he can be found siding with these friends in arguments. But these sidings are usually him sitting there trying to calm the person down and saying that yelling arguments or fighting is not the way things should be handled.

He is considered the gentler half between him and his Wher, and this gentle nature has saved Risk from a couple of fights as she was growing up. People often wonder if he was gifted with a beautiful voice (inherited from his father) since he seems to have a tranquil voice when he is spotted humming to his Wher. His true special gift is in his artistic skills, able to literally draw scenes before your eyes. His favorite piece of scenery he usually chooses are landscapes, finding the different colors just an amazing thing to behold.

Appearance:
Ridan has never cared much for his appearance. As long as people know that he is a guy, he is good. But this does not help him much as, despite his appearances, many people are instantly attracted to him whether he is messy or clean. In fact, he has had many people jump him in his past because of it, not that he minded when he was younger.

When he is cleaned up, he has short, wavy blonde hair. But what he defines as short is ear length hair that has a tendency to be a problem when it grows out. When it grows out, he sometimes can be seen pushing hair away from his eyes. And when it is long, it makes him look like a feminine guy (ie makes him look like a girl) which can bring embarrassment when people accidentally think he is a small breasted woman.

His eyes are an interesting amber color that changes based on lighting and enviroment. When he is either in a dark place, his eyes look light brown. When he is in a normal setting (like a room during the day), his eyes take on a light brown color with golden flecks around the pupil. His eyes will become a golden-brown color when he is in a bright place. He has does high cheek bones that give him an appearance of having a thin face, and thin eye brows that make his eyes stand out. He also has a thin nose that is unusual in most men.

His skin somewhat pale. It has a slight brown coloring on top that helps when he is in the sun. He does not burn, but he does not tan. If he does “tan,” his skin will turn a medium shade of brown. During the winter, when people are not outside often and wear coats and jacket to keep warm, his skin becomes almost pale from the lack of exposure. Though don`t think him weak, despite his somewhat lean body. Ridan is around 5 feet and 9inches tall. He weighs only around 140 pounds. Despite him being somewhat lean, he has a very healthy appearance about him. The only thing different about him is a long scar down his left arm the day he Impressed.

Clothing is not an issue with him. He prefers anything that does not make him stand out too much. This could mean anything from brown shirts and dark color pants to green shirts and medium color pants. He is use to wearing heavy clothes since he is from High Reaches Weyr where is does get very cold, but his can adapt easily when given the time to do so. The only thing that embarrasses him and makes him nervous is skimpy clothes (ie. Short-short shirts that shows his stomach and very short shorts that show his thighs) because it could make him look like a girl.

Family:
Hitolan- Father, unknown
Rina- Mother, unknown
Hirina- Sister, alive
Pets:
None
History:
Ridan was the child of a night`s guilty pleasure. His history does not even begin with his own birth, but merely with the beginning of how his mother and father met. And if one were to read this in a book or something, you would believe it was true love. And while it was true love between his parents, the father really did not have much use for his own children when the woman he loved bore him both a male and a female.

Hitolan was only twenty Turns old when he finally walked the tables and became a Journeyman at Harper Hall. His specialty was in his voice and the ability to hit many of the notes, which consisted of around 3 octives, using normal range and falsetto. He was seen as an prodigy along with the rest of the men and women who were recognized for having spectacular abilities. He was only one of several people to gain this recognition in this skill.

As a Journeyman, he went around from Holds to Holds, teaching children the Teaching Ballads. It was on one of these trips, when he twenty-seven now, that he met Rina, a young woman of twenty Turns who seemed to be desired by many men. She was a true beauty not only in looks, but also in how she saw things. She say the good in life and only wanted to help improve it in little things she did, such as watching holdfolk`s children. She had beautiful, light-blonde hair and amber eyes that seemed golden in the light. Most of the young males, those around her age, would often be seen trying to court her. Even her father suggested that she make an appearance to the Lord Holder in hopes of a Lord Holder marrying her. It was from his mother that Ridan would later inherit his looks and his outlook on life.

Hitolan was instantly in love with Rina, always coming to her home and requesting her audience. People knew that the Harper was smitten by her, but what they did not know was that she had fallen for him through his voice. She would later tell Ridan that it was Hitolan`s voice and the way he treated her that drew her to him. Because of this love, Hitolan made his home in Kowan Hold, a small Hold that was part of the larger Telgar Hold.

It was found out not but a Turn later of what Rina and Hitolan had been doing when Rina gave birth to Ridan. People warned her to marry Hitolan, but Rina knew that Hitolan would not marry her. Hitolan dreamed of becoming a Master, and being married (so he believed) would keep him away from that dream. But Rina did not care because Hitolan loved her.

By the time Ridan turned three Turns, Rina knew that Hitolan had no desire to help raise Ridan. He knew that the child was connected to him by blood, but he did everything to keep himself at distance with the boy, often saying when Ridan was old enough he would be sent away to Harper Hall. Rina was sad to know that Hitolan did not care about the child, but she could not afford to linger on the thought for long. She was pregnant again with Hitolan`s second child, their future daughter Hirina.

Sure enough, by the time Ridan turned seven Turns, his father noticed that Ridan had a peculiar ability to draw things that he saw in front of him. Ridan`s first picture was an almost exact portrait of his mother. From there, Hitolan made a plan. When Ridan turned ten Turns, he sent Ridan away to become an apprentice at Weaver Hall to hone his skills of drawing, believing that these skills could also be honed into making beautiful quilts made with his oddly real-looking pictures.

Ridan was sad to leave, his first ten Turns being a complete bliss as his mother worked hard to raise him and his sister. But, with kind and encouraging words of advice from his mother, Ridan was ready to start the beginning of his journey. But he was very nervous, especially when he met the person who ran the Hall. The Master was kind but stern, telling Ridan to keep trying but always pushing the boy to do his best. There he met his future best friend, Yolman.

Yolmen was only a Turn younger than Ridan, but the boys swore that they must have been brothers somehow or another. They got along great, each encouraging the other to do his best. Yolmen took to weaving much easier than Ridan had, but Ridan`s artistic beauty was more evident than Yolmen`s. They would work together, helping each other improve and attaining their Master`s awards at the same time.

This friendship was even more evident when Ridan was fourteen Turns and Yolmen was thirteen. A SearchRider decided to make a stop at the Weaver Hall. He was on his way back from delivering some important info the Master Weaver had sent earlier. While the Rider was shown through the Hall to where he could rest and get some klah, his dragon immediately made him stop. The dragon could sense a Candidate in the Hall, somewhere and close by.

Sure enough, Ridan and Yolmen were on their way back from having lunch and were talking about things they could do later. After all, by this point, the boys had already “experimented” and were roommates by a stroke of luck. The Rider stopped them and brought them to his dragon, a Purple, and the dragon told his Rider that these were the Candidates.

Ridan and Yolmen were so happy and excited to be Searched. Shortly after arriving, the two would stand on the Sands together for several Hatching to come. It was when Ridan was almost 16 that Yolmen Impressed to his dragon, a beautiful light colored Pink name Taseth. Ridan was so happy for his friend, but sad when he left the Sands un-Impressed.

Ridan would continue to stand on Sands, often hoping and wishing that he would Impress to his lifemate eventually. But the dragons would never look at him. In fact, there were a few times he would be chased off the Sands by some dragonet that would come butting up against him until his feet were on rock and no long on sand. He would be encouraged to continue to stand by a friend that he made at the Weyr as well. His name was C`lor, Rider of Black Rimiath. C`lor, Y`men, and Ridan all became very close, and would often be seen trying to encourage each other.

So, in Ridan`s spare time, he spent his life enjoyably. Whenever there were Flights that Rimiath would participate in, C`lor would often seek Ridan out about twice a Turn to get his pleasure even if his dragon had lost (See note at the very bottom for a reference). Ridan did not mind this, and created a fling with C`lor from this, but he always held a special spot in his heart for Yolmen. But despite these two flings, Ridan would try to keep it very limited so he could continue to stand and try to Impress.

But, sadly, Ridan became one of those people who would never Impress to a dragon. When he turned twenty-one Turns, they finally gave him a letter that said he could no longer stand on the Sands. This made Ridan sad as he sought out comfort in his friend, Y`men. Ever since Y`men had graduated when he was seventeen Turns, Ridan preferred to live in his friend`s weyr rather than in the Candidate`s barracks. Again, Y`men and Ridan`s friendship went further than most thought it would.

Shortly after receiving the letter that he could no longer stand, a BlueRider approached him and told him of a way he could still Impress despite his age. With Y`men`s help, Ridan made his journey to High Reaches Weyr where he heard there was currently a clutch that he could Impress to. All he had to do was show up and tell them that he was interested, and they would guarantee him to Impress. What he didn`t know was they were referring to Pern`s Watch-Whers.

Y`men dropped Ridan off and gave his friend a goodbye, wishing him luck. After settling in for the night, Ridan was ready to find the woman that the BlueRider had told, Karah. When Ridan asked around for Karah, everyone would give him an odd look when he mentioned Impressing a dragon. Finally, a young female cook told him where Karah was, sending him down toward the Lower Caverns.

When he finally met her and told her he was interested in Impressing a dragon, the woman started laughing and her daughter, a fifteen Turn old girl with a spoiled attitude, also snickered at him. “Dragons?! We don`t raise dragons. We raise their equally magnificent cousins, Watch-Whers.” She took him to a small area near the Sands where a secondary set of sands laid. Here, the Sands were mostly in a shaded area with only a small hold for light. At Ridan`s first sight of a Watch-Wher, he felt repulsed by the creatures`s looks.

Ridan felt like it was over, but he agreed to stick around. Karah asked if he would stick around, wait until all the eggs at this Clutch were gone and wait till the next Run before he made his decision. She believed that if he gave it some time, he would find that Whers were just as interesting as dragon. Even the other Handlers tried to help him out. Two of these particular Handlers, Joehan (Handler of Blue Josk) and Dafner (Handler of Bronze Dafsk), would eventually become close friends in a Weyr where he knew nobody. What Ridan didn`t know was Karah hid a secret. And this secret would be her ruin.

There had been thirteen eggs in the Clutch, sired by Dafner`s Dafsk, and already three eggs had pushed to the side. Karah explained that those eggs were duds and Karask knew it. And so far only six eggs had been given homes to some Candidates and to people who paid to have them (ie Lord Holders and leaders who watched over the safety of Mining Halls). Finally, the day came when the eggs were hatching. Karah explained to Ridan that they were going to have to kill the Wherets since there was nobody for them to Bond to and they would become vicious if they didn`t. She assured him it was on four eggs, but Ridan hated the idea of having to kill the poor things despite them being ugly.

While out on the Sands, Ridan could only stand by as he watched Karah and her daughter go to comfort Karask while two other Handlers went to the eggs to destroy the little creatures. Right as Ridan was about to turn his head away, there was a scream. Karah shouted “Karask!” and Karah`s daughter was on the ground. Karask was about to bring what claws she had down on Karah`s daughter.

Ridan quickly reacted, jumping after Karah`s daughter and pushing her out of the way. But Ridan did not come out unscarred. One of Karask`s claws down on Ridan`s left arm, slicing it opened and causing it to bleed. Ridan asked if the girl was okay, but she suddenly started screaming about a Gold Wher. She had to Impress to the Gold Wher. When Ridan turned around, sure enough there was a Gold Wheret up against the cave wall being shielded.

Ridan knew he had to get the baby to Karah`s daughter. He did not want to see another creature get killed. Tricking Karask into thinking he was going after her tail, he fake right and went after the Gold Wheret. He grabbed the little baby and started running as fast as he could. The little Gold latched her teeth into Ridan`s already torn arm, but Ridan tried to ignore the pain. Karask turned around and swung her tail at him, tripping him. Ridan wrapped his arms around the little Gold protectively, landing on his back and sending him into an unconscious state. Before he closed his eyes, he heard a strangely, calming female voice. Mine.

What woke him up from his unconscious state a few hours later was he felt something moving between his body and left arms. Then, there was that voice again. Food! The next thing he heard was a girl crying and saying, “She suppose to be mine! And now she growls at me whenever I try to hold her!”

Ridan`s eyes opened and he realized what happened. Karah had been hiding Karask`s Queen egg from everyone so she could pass it onto her spoiled daughter, not wanting anyone outside of her trust to Impress to the little Queen. As Ridan looked over at Karah, he heard the woman`s voice. “It will be okay,” she said sympathetically. Then her snapped to Ridan, almost glowering at him. “Ridan will give you the little Queen, won`t you, Ridan?”

Ridan had the intent to give the little Gold over. But as he sat up and looked at the little Gold curled up next to him, eyes whirling in shades of green and blue, staring at him with what he saw as love and trust, he knew he could not give her up. She was his, and he was her. And from that moment, she was no longer and ugly little creature. She was the most beautiful thing he could ever image. He even remembered her first word to him, calling him her Mine!

He refused to give the little Queen back. Karah`s daughter ran out of the room, hysterical with the fact that Ridan would not give her the Queen. Karah glared at him. “If you truly did Impress that creature, what is her name? I knew Karask`s name the moment I got her. So tell me now.

Risk`s Mine, the little Gold said. Ridan smiled and gave Karah a smug look. “Her name is Risk. And I risked my life for her. And would risk it anytime for her,” he said, playing on the puns with pure joy.

From then on, Ridan was always with Risk, never letting her out of his sight unless he had to work. He strengthen their bond further by doing things with her, playing with her, eating dinner with her, bathing her, etc. And Karah hated Ridan for taking away the little Gold that had meant to be her daughters. Karah would make life hard Ridan, often giving his jobs that he sometimes returned to his room with sores and cuts. This made Risk mad, not believing her cluthmother`s Mine would do something like this. Risk`s anger would sometime pour over onto her mother, often having a few fights with the other Queen.

But Ridan managed to calm Risk now, often throwing himself at her to get her to stop. She would always apologize, putting on this look that Ridan always loved. But he knew they would never last here, despite him already being twenty-six Turns old and her already Ran several times and mated, producing eggs for future generations.

Ridan managed to contact his old friend, Y`men shortly after getting permission by the Weyrwoman to leave, and got the Rider to help him plan a way to head for Western Hold. The original plan was to go by boat, but Risk absolutely refused to get on a boat. The water scared her. So, Y`men came up with another plan. Taking Ridan with him several times for a month, they would between to Western Continent, letting Ridan memorize the place they would have Risk between to.

Finally, the day came. Y`men had Taseth send the image to Risk, and Ridan held the thoughts in his head as the moon gave them light. Jumping off of a seven foot ledge, Ridan held the image in his head as Risk took the jump. Suddenly, it became cold, and then they felt a slightly warm breeze. When Ridan opened his eyes, he saw that Risk had her small wings open as they were gliding down to the ground.

For the first few weeks, the resided in Crescent Hold so Ridan could learn the maps and buy some supplies. Finally, believing that they were ready, he said goodbye to his friend Y`men and started making his journey toward Dalibor Weyr. Instead of having Y`men take them to Dalibor, Ridan wanted to walk there so he could explore Western Continent before he arrived. The main reason was to spend time with Risk by himself and to take chances to draw a few more pages of art into the books that he kept.

Wher Name:
Gold Risk
Picture:

Wher Age:
8 Turns (Born in 191th Turn)
Wher Color:
Gold- FFD700
Wher Length:
9 feet long, 6 feet tall
Wher Personality:
Risk is a very prominent Gold in her attitude. Unlike Gold dragons who take most annoyances in strides, Risk counts to ten before her temper blows up. Thank Faranth that she has Ridan, who will place himself in front of her to keep her from slicing into the person or thing of annoyance. She really hates those who are very bratty and just act spoiled, hence why her ClutchMother was trying to keep Karah`s daughter from touching Risk. She can be sweet when she wants to be, but it is usually by Ridan`s prompting. She knows she is a Queen and will not tolerate someone disrespecting her. She will also not tolerate someone treating her Mine with disrespect, though she knows he can handle himself. She just really loves him.

There is only one other that she will listen to other than her Mine are Gold dragons. She finds them very interesting because she is Watch-Wher and they are dragons. When she was younger, she would ask what made her so different from the dragons. Ridan would tell her, but made it very apparent that he loved and only wanted only her. Still, the stories that Ridan tells about how Whers fight Thread at night makes her very anxious for Thread to get here. Despite the dangers, she is very brave and ready to risk her life for her Mine and for Pern.
Wher Appearance:
Risk has a natural golden-yellow look about her that has a beautiful shine to it. Usually the shine can be seen really prominently on clear nights where the moon is out. She is very proud of her hide and takes much time in making sure it is clean. The first thing she does when she wakes up is makes sure her Mine is okay. The second thing she does it check over herself to make sure she is clean. She does have a small scar on her left, front leg that she received in a mating Run. The male accidentally tripped when approaching her and cut her leg a little. Despite this little flaw, she is proud of it. She will usually sit there and say Matches Mine`s scar..
Wher History:
Risk Hatched around a month after Ridan arrived at High Reaches Weyr. Her clutchmother was Karask, a Gold Wher that belonged to the Sr. Handler Karah. On the day that she Hatched, her life was in immediate turmoil. She could sense the girl that was trying to touch her was not the one she wanted. It was odd because normally Whers just go to those who held out the closest food and blood. But the girl scared her. She gave a squeak out of terror which alerted Karask to defend her young. What Karask did not consider was the fact that the human male that her Mine was putting up with would actually have a backbone to him.

The moment Ridan picked up Risk and held her protectively, sealing the deal by drinking his blood and confirming the Impression, Risk knew that this strange male was going to be her lifemate forever. Happy with Ridan, before he passed out, she spoke her first word and called him Mine. From there, she took more blood before Karah arrived with a bucket of food for Risk.

The amount of blood Risk had taken had almost been too much, nearly almost to the point where it would have taken Ridan a long time to recover. Risk took the offered food from Karah, but Karah suddenly grabbed her daughter arm. Cutting the girl`s finger, she offered it to the little Gold. Risk squealed with anger, running behind Ridan and using Ridan as a shield. Karask knew that an Impression had already taken place and told Karah.

Risk would not leave Ridan`s side while he was unconscious. Risk was still hungry, but she would eat no further until Ridan was awake. Sure enough, he woke up several hours later when she called out to him for food. Then, for a moment, there was fear that Ridan did not want her. But he looked down at her and watched his face become that of a loving person, and she knew that he would never give her up. And that was when she finally told him her name. Risk.

Risk slept for several hours at a time, waking up at different times and wanting to get fed. As she got older, she would start sleeping all day and be awake at night when it was not so hot and not so bright. She even began growing her own little personality as one that was tolerant to a certain degree. She did not care for male Whers who would try to make advances to gain her attention. The only time she was concerned with males was when she needed them for training and for her Runs.

Risk also grew strangely very protective of Ridan, often getting into fights with her own clutchmother about how Karask`s Mine was treating Risk`s Mine. Despite these fights, they were mostly all roar and never claws and teeth. Sure they would show off their claws and teeth, proving that they were not bluffing if a serious fight pursued, but luckily Ridan and Karah would end it before it got worst.

Risk knew that despite her Mine tended to have a cheerful personality, deep down he was not happy at High Reaches and wanted to leave. She also wanted to leave, mostly to get away from Karask`s Mine. She was happy when Ridan managed to contact his old friend with the Pink dragon. Risk and Taseth almost literally became friends immediately. After a few initial growls, the dragon and Wher finally got past the introduction to the point where they were friends and respected each other.

But when Ridan asked her to between the first time, Risk was worried. They did a few practice rounds, getting Risk ready for the initial jump to where they would be going. And Risk absolutely hated it when Ridan would go with Taseth`s Mine at night to memorize the place they would be heading too. But Ridan always returning safely and full of praises for the Queen. After a month, Risk knew she was ready to do the jump.

When they arrived in Crescent Hold, Risk did not like the place. Mostly because the Hold`s Watch-Wher was not very friendly. She would have to put the Wher in his place from time, not tolerating the Wher`s disrespect. But Ridan would have to remind Risk that maybe the Hold`s Wher was not use to having others here and that the Hold`s Wher was probably was use to being alone.

Finally, it was time to start their journey. Ridan bought Risk a blanket to put over the Wher during the day so Risk could sleep and they could travel at night. Risk was worried about Ridan losing sleep on the trip, but he assured her would be okay. As long as they were together, they believed they could do anything together.

Note
"Riders of the losing dragons usually seek sexual relief after the intense flight, if they do not have a chosen partner they may seek the comfort of any willing and available partner of their sexual preference. The weyrfolk tend to happily accommodate these riders, especially if they have been affected by the flight's sexual urgency. This is one of the major reasons for the Weyr's reputation for being sexually very open." -Wikipedia.org (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragons_(Pern)#Effects_on_non-rider_sexuality)

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