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+---- Thread: [G] [P] 734.12.06 | Knotted Losses (/showthread.php?tid=2457)
734.12.06 | Knotted Losses - T'bia - 05.Apr.14
Five months. He had not even managed to make it for five months, and he had lost the knots that signified his qualification as a fully-fledged rider. Those knots were more important to T’bia than likely any other object the boy owned or claimed. Indeed, they were almost as important to him as his dragon was. For just as Jycenth told the world with all his gorgeous blue-ness that T’bia was a worthy rider, the knots told the world that he had learned everything he had need to be taught, and that his teachers had found him worthy of processing, graduating, and recommending to a wing. T’bia could not believe he had been so careless as to lose them.
Tears stood out clearly in the large blue eyes of the teenager as he sat, confused and lost, in the middle of the floor space in his room. Outside, Jycenth had his eye even with the small window so he could peer in, though he did not say anything. The young dragon had already tried to comfort his rider, to no avail. T’bia was placing an uncommonly large amount of importance on the piece of string that dictated his rank, and Jycenth was quite sure even T’bia was not fully aware of why. Jycenth, for his part, had his suspicions but he was quite happy to let them lie dormant and unproven.
T’bia, for his part, went tumbling backwards to land on his rump in the doorway; he stared up with teary eyes, shocked far more than he was possibly hurt, and blinked at the goldrider. His jaw slacked, and suddenly T’bia was flailing to his feet, arms waving and eyes wide with horror. “Oh! Dear! I’m are so you? Sorry! Okay! You are?” The boy flailed as his words mangled, finally settling for planting both hands splayed-fingered in his hair (which was sticking out in every which direction) and staring at Peorray once more with huge eyes, and a very pale complexion.
Re: Knotted Losses [Peorray] - Peorray - 07.Apr.14
At one time, Peorray would have thought she'd be among the first ones rushing to return North at first opportunity. Not that she could even go yet- but unlike Jada, she found herself more content than she'd expected with where she was. Katila was where she'd birthed Soren, where she'd Impressed Wydrith, where she'd built a new life after losing her old one. What was left for her up North, really? Her husband's family would have moved on. Her own family would welcome a visit, sure -and a large part of Peorray couldn't wait to show off her big gold dragon to all the people she'd grown up with- but she'd grown up and moved away from them long ago. So there were no close ties there, either.
And in the wake of the main move North, Katila was unusually peaceful. Wydrith seemed more at ease these days without the press of the older dragons and Peorray appreciated anything that helped her dragon relax. There was always flying; since she'd first been allowed to take wing, Wydrith had seemed more comfortable in the sky than anywhere else. But sometimes, it suited their mood better to sit by the lake while Peorray took oil to the dragon's tense muscles, soothing the tenseness away.
Today was one such day. Peorray had more of her attention on the container of oil she carried and the dragon trailing behind her than any activity going on in the huts they passed to get to their destination, and paid for it by being blindsided by the male figure that hit her. If she'd been a slighter woman, she'd have gone tumbling too, but she was a sturdy enough girl to only get knocked a few stumbling steps before she found her feet again. The jar wasn't so lucky, falling from her grip to lie in the dirt.
She only had a moment to spare to check on it, however, before the boy in front of her was surging up with frantic apologies (she was guessing) while Wydrith hovered close. I'm fine. She assured the dragon. She eyed the boy critically and decided the same reassurance wouldn't hurt.
"I'm fine, if that's what you meant." Peorray like to be clear about communication. She and words had a complicated enough relationship without more misunderstandings. "Are you? Is something wrong? You looked like you were sure in a hurry."
Re: Knotted Losses [Peorray] - T'bia - 11.Apr.14
T’bia flushed crimson as the goldrider spoke, realising he hadn’t been at all understood – and no wonder, really! He had never mastered speaking clearly – and he resisted the urge to curl up in on himself and vanish. On the roof above them, Jycenth peered over the edge and down upon the group, watching with gently swirling eyes all that was going on below him. “Yes. No. Oh, bother!” T’bia groaned as he realised his answers were coming out all wrong to the woman’s own questions and his shoulder’s slumped as he peered up, chin tilted toward his chest, so he was looking through his eyelashes.
Jycenth slithered down from the roof to curl placidly up behind T’bia, nosing him gently to give the boy some confidence and peering up at Peorray with one placidly whirling, albeit amusement coloured, eye.
“I am okay.” T’bia spoke each word carefully, and with great thought, a combination that had the almost universal effect of making people think he were slow witted, or not witted at all. He took another deep breath, and lifted his face, but he avoided looking Peorray in the face, instead staring over her shoulder for a moment, “Yes,” he answered her questions, but was almost immediately side tracked by the sight of Wydrith, and he tilted his body slightly to one side, peering around Peorray to stare avidly at her dragon.
Incredibly shy, prone to teasing, and without a gold (or any girls!) in his own class, T’bia found himself suddenly avidly captivated by the growing gold dragon. Blue eyes were huge as he stared at her; she was so big! He could tell she was still growing, even if he had not been paying attention to his own Weyrling classes. How old was she? Almost a year, if he remembered correctly – so she was almost fully grown… Almost. T’bia’s eyes widened when he realised she was still likely to get bigger (granted, not much but still!) those huge eyes turned on Peorray.
“She’s huge!” he gushed, completely unaware of any insult that could be taken with the words.
Re: Knotted Losses [Peorray] - Peorray - 12.Apr.14
Peorray waited patiently while the bluerider collected himself. It wasn't always easy to express what one wanted to say, especially when someone was there waiting on you to spit it out already. She did did look a bit alarmed when the boy choked a bit on the deep breath he took, but relaxed when his blue crooned. No dragon would be just sitting there if his rider was truly in trouble.
She smiled a bit as the boy spoke, hoping he took it as relief that he hadn't been hurt. In truth, she was rather charmed by how much he reminded her of Wydrith when the gold had to interact with others. Not that it was funny, but it did have the effect of making her feel protective of the young man, like she ought to stand between him and the rest of the world like she did for her own dragon.
Wydrith made a short noise of alarm and backed up a few steps when T'bia turned his gaze on her, touching on one of her deepest and longest-held terrors (the eyes! those hungry eyes!). But between Peorray's still-steady presence in front of her and Jycenth's easy greeting, the gold's trembling ceased and relaxed enough to return the blue's croon, grateful that the blue wasn't expecting her to chat. She might like listening to others, but she was never easy with the idea of contributing herself. She wasn't especially charming or quick-witted and the expectation that she ought to be was very stressful.
She wasn't sure how to react to the boy's statement, but the pleased feeling from Peorray was enough to endear the boy to her. She liked those who made her rider happy, especially since the child had died. Such feelings had been harder to come by, then.
"Thank you." Peorray did let her amusement show now. "Not many people say that. 'Course, she's still growing a bit, but it looks like she'll be one of the smaller golds. Your boy's not that much smaller, though. It's weird how that happens, isn't it?" She belatedly remembered the boy's 'yes', and spent a few moments mentally flailing to remember what question it had been connected to.
Listening was one of the things Wydrith was good at, and the dragon was quick to volunteer the information to her rider.
"What's wrong?" Peorray tried to keep the question gentle and non-threatening, with no immediate offer of help to follow it. She didn't want to confuse the poor guy again if the message got muddled in his panic.
Re: Knotted Losses [Peorray] - T'bia - 01.Jun.14
“It is!” T’bia nearly cheered, turning to pat Jycenth on the nose and give the blue a kiss to the side of his delicately crafted muzzle, hugging the dragon exuberantly around the face before remembering that Peorray was talking to him and he flushed as his dragon gave a soft exhale of amusement. “Jycenth is all length though,” T’bia added solemnly, flashing a smile at Peorray; her question then caught him off guard and T’bia gawked for several moments (causing Jycenth further amusement) before he snapped his jaw shut.
“Wrong?” He blinked owlishly at the woman, then frowned thoughtfully before looking up at Jycenth. In the process, his hand lifted to fiddle reassuringly with the knots he wore with almost religious intent since earning them. Those fingers fell on empty air and Jycenth’s amusement was clearly written on his face as T’bia clutched at his shoulder before spinning around dramatically on the spot, searching the ground as if they had fallen off right at that moment.
“My knots!” It was a despairing cry and T’bia turned frantic eyes from his dragon to the goldrider and still his hand clutched at his empty shoulder. “I lost them! How could I do that?” There were tears in his words, and pools were quickly forming in his large blue eyes. R’nd would be so disappointed in him! His new Wingleader would be ashamed of him! The whole world would laugh at him and mock him for his stupidity for who lost their knots?!
“I Have to find them!” He exclaimed suddenly, offering the woman and her dragon a frantic bow, before spinning on the spot again, anxiously unsure of where to even start. What had he done yesterday? Where had he already looked? T’bia gave a soft keen of distress, and Jycenth nuzzled his head gently, but he was clearly amused. His soft, very feminine voice reached out gently to Wydrith; he was not willing to include Peorray for fear of upsetting the other dragon.