Curiosity and Exploration [R'nd] - Printable Version +- World of Pern (https://pern.second-pass.net/forum) +-- Forum: Southern Pern (https://pern.second-pass.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=5) +--- Forum: Katila Outskirts (https://pern.second-pass.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=90) +---- Forum: The Lake Edge (https://pern.second-pass.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=92) +---- Thread: Curiosity and Exploration [R'nd] (/showthread.php?tid=1682) |
Curiosity and Exploration [R'nd] - Casa - 28.Jun.13 It was one of those days where the sun was peeking through the clouds, which meant it was as close to sunny as Casa was going to get right after a big storm. After waking up and tending to her chores throughout the Lower Cavern systems, she had promptly snagged a package of meatrolls and fruit and had slipped outside before anyone could track her down for extra kitchen duties. She promptly flounced her way out to the huts, pounding on the door to her father's room before sliding inside. She knew she was likely to catch him off-guard - she had almost counted on it - so she grinned as he scrambled to pull the furs around himself as he blinked incredulously at her. "Hi papa! I want to go to the lake...any way I could coerce you into a ride, pleeeease?" She stared at him with big eyes, her hands tucked behind her back as she rocked back and forth on her feet. He eyed her pack and patchy clothing with a frown, but eventually nodded. She clapped and grinned, running past him out to where his blue was resting. The dragon opened one eye lazily before getting up and stretching slowly. After a couple minutes, her father begin to slide on the straps, pulling her up carefully. She scrambled up the straps deftly, at this point becoming well practiced with how often she convinced him to take her out to the lake for fishing or swimming. As they rose into the air, Dae tightened her grip, momentarily disorientated as her stomach fell away. The blue dragon beneath her rumbled, almost as if he was amused, and then they were between, her breath caught in her chest for what felt like several seconds. They wheeled down, landing with a solid thump, and Dae scrabbled back down, leaping to the ground quickly. Her father told her to be good and stay out of (too much) trouble, and that he'd be back before dinnertime, so she could help with evening prep. She nodded, waving goodbye, before she turned and ran off towards the edge of the lake, excited to have some free time to herself. Re: Curiosity and Exploration [R'nd] - R'nd - 30.Jun.13 Ayyonth glanced up from his favourite sunning rock at the approach of another dragon, greeting his fellow blue as he watched what the humans were up to. It seemed it was only a ferry trip and the girl was being ditched for a day of fun at the beach. That alone wasn’t too interesting but the fact that she was dropped off close to where R’nd was swimming and that the girl was bee-lining right for that general area made the dragon giddy. It had been a while since R’nd had given him a good show with his antics of mentally flailing due to having to deal with children; though the girl was possibly out of the range that would make R’nd the most uncomfortable. R’nd was still oblivious to the new arrival as he swam lengths from one invisible marker before turning around and heading back to the other. He was a water baby through and through and loved relaxing on the beach, playing around with friends, or keeping in shape by doing laps. Once upon a time he used pieces of driftwood to mark each lap but Ayyonth had taken too much enjoyment in moving them on R’nd so the bluerider settled for simply setting a location mentally, going more by how many strokes he took each way. Finally deciding it was time for a break, R’nd turned for the shore, taking one long stroke after the other to make it look like he was gliding through the water. As he reached the shallow bank, the swimming stopped and R’nd found his footing to emerge slowly like a merman come to life with the water running in rivulets down his toned body and a hand pushing back blond locks. His shorts hung low on his hips though R’nd made no movement to adjust them since being admired in all his glory had never been an issue. It was, however, an issue when he was caught by surprise by a child like he was then when his gaze swept over the shore and saw a young girl running towards him. Hands quickly went to the waistband of his shorts to adjust everything and R’nd hesitated, unsure of what to do. He recognized her as someone he’d seen around the Weyr but was having a hard time figuring out who she was right then and who she belonged to. Ignoring his dragon, R’nd smiled and greeted the approaching girl, “Morning!” He glanced up at the sky and gave a small shrug, “or, ‘afternoon’ I guess it is now.” Re: Curiosity and Exploration [R'nd] - Casa - 30.Jun.13 As she approached the shore, Casa noticed the blue sunning itself on the rock turn its attention toward her father's dragon. She wondered if they talked to each other a lot; she hadn't ever really asked. But it stood to reason that if they spoke with their riders a lot, they likely spoke to one another too. This led her to the thought of two dragons going on a date, like riders did, and the thought made her giggle. Shaking her head, she turned her attention back towards the water. She was really looking forward to swimming. As she got close, she noticed the blue's rider in the water. She paused to watch while he was swimming; he was very graceful. It was clear he spent his a lot of time keeping busy. He had a well build body, even for a dragonrider. She started moving back towards the water as she came up onto the shore, waving as she closed the last of the distance. Maybe he would be friendly enough to share this part of the lake; if not, she could always move on. Some riders simply didn't like the weyrbrats around here. However, he seemed friendly enough as they came into easy talking distance. She stopped where she was, nodding as he commented on the weather. "Hello there," she replied politely, offering a casual yet somewhat nervous smile. "I...do you mind if I share this stretch of beach with you? I've been allowed to come and swim for the day. It's not often I can get out here without a ride, its a bit of a walk otherwise." She glanced from him to the dragon once more, before returning her gaze to him, shifting from one foot to other. Re: Curiosity and Exploration [R'nd] - R'nd - 30.Jun.13 R’nd had always been lucky when it came to going to the lake. He had Ayyonth now, of course, but even before he Impressed, there had always been someone willing to give the flirtatious man a ride. Still, he did know how long the hike could be and was both impressed by the determination some people had when they stomped their way down and also worried. Felines were known to prowl the forest and sometimes they got close to the Weyr’s edge so walking alone for five hours seemed more than a tad foolish. At least this girl seemed to have enough wits about her to know better. That was a good start! She seemed to have some manners as well which was often a rarity in the ‘brats. Or, it was more likely he was used to spending too much time around Kerrin and Indivara and he forgot those younger than him were capable of common courtesy at times. “Um, sure,” R’nd glanced around their area of the lake and wondered if the girl always came to this section as well or if Ayyonth’s teasing was true. Was there an actual ulterior motive for coming to this exact spot where he was swimming? A moment was given to study the girl’s face, looking for any hint of his own features. Benden had only recently turned two but everyone saw the similarities almost instantly, despite the baby being fat with darker hair. Satisfied that she didn’t seem to have any of his stand out features, R’nd glared over at Ayyonth and the dragon chuckled in his mind. Deciding he didn’t need to go towel off and sun for a bit, R’nd plopped himself back down into the water to sit where it came just up over his waist and he leaned back on his hands. “If you’re lucky, Ayyonth might join you for a swim. I’d ask him to play with you but he likes to do the opposite of what I say at times to be a pain.” If he was going to be stuck worrying over what the girl wanted, then the dragon could deal with her as well! Well, assuming she was like the others and wanted to hang out with a beautiful blue. Re: Curiosity and Exploration [R'nd] - Casa - 05.Jul.13 As she stood there and listened to the rider respond, she continued to switch from foot to foot. He was staring at her intently. Had she done something wrong in the past? She didn't remember running into him before, especially when she got into trouble. Maybe he was was related to her papa somehow, or he was looking for...well, she didn't know what a dragonman would want to look for in her. Maybe he was one of those Searchriders? She'd heard some of the dragons or riders were just better at finding out the Candidates. As he scrutinized her, she straightened up, trying not to fidget. Her eyes slid to the dragon, but he seemed quite relaxed. Finally, R'nd responded and she felt she was okay to relax at last. She nodded a thanks and splashed over towards the water, sliding into it with all the natural grace of one who took to water, rolling around and grinning in delight. "Oh, does he like to swim? That would be lovely. He's a really beautiful shade of blue, he is. And he has such big wings. Papa's blue is slightly smaller than that." Her eyes shot up hopefully to Ayyonth as she twirled and bobbed in the water. It felt heavenly here; it was cool and seemed to melt away the stresses of the last couple days. Furthermore, it was calm enough for her to swim back and forth with ease. She swam in a couple short laps before paddling over to look up at the blue. "Oh, please come down! I'll offer you scritches if you! I know you lot like scritches." Re: Curiosity and Exploration [R'nd] - R'nd - 05.Jul.13 R'nd sat in the water, hands idly burying themselves in the mud, enjoying the odd sensation as it squished through his fingers, as he kept an eye on the girl. Most of the 'brats seemed to be good swimmers and R'nd doubted a father would ditch their kid at the lake without staying to supervise if she wasn't capable in the water but he wanted to make sure he didn't have to do any rescuing that day or explaining what happened to anyone. "He does. When he's not being a lazy blue rock, he's merrily splashing around in the water." Ayyonth snorted in response but he was warming up to the child. Re: Curiosity and Exploration [R'nd] - Casa - 05.Jul.13 Dae's eyes got huge the second the dragon approached her. She had been on her father's dragon before; in fact, it wasn't a big deal anymore to scramble up his straps onto his neck ridges. And he was always so mellow and quiet. But Ayyonth was big, especially when he got close. There was also the thought that he looked like a canine, paddling over. That illusion quickly shattered when he got up close and lowered his head towards her. As she stared in wonder, his gentle voice filled her mind, and she let out a startled squeak. She'd never heard a dragon before! His voice was so...so pretty! Fidgeting, she shot a look at R'nd, her eyes round in surprise and amazement. How did she respond? Did she talk to him? Or was she supposed to think at him really hard? She had no idea, but the one thought that kept circling back was his beautiful voice. She swam right up to him, moving slowly and cautiously. The last thing she needed was to startle him away - right now, he was the greatest opportunity ever. Reaching her hand out cautiously, she ran her fingers across the soft, supple skin of the side of his wedge-shaped head. After feeling the warmth, she beamed and rubbed her hand along one of his eye ridges. "Hello there," she whispered, hoping that he could hear her. Re: Curiosity and Exploration [R'nd] - R'nd - 06.Jul.13 Casa’s surprised expression she shot at him baffled R’nd. He had assumed she’d at least heard her father’s dragon or Grith but then again, Grith was so common place that she probably didn’t count. Grith was simply the extra voice in your head that you adapted to and didn’t even think twice about. Having a new dragon you didn’t interact with bespeak you, however, had to be a fun experience. R’nd tried to recall the first time a dragon spoke to him and he smiled as Gamalieth came to mind. The turns in exile with the blue pair had likely opened his mind more than others to being exposed to dragons talking to him that wasn’t his own. “He’s not the skittish type. You don’t have to be so cautious around him,” R’nd pointed out, amusement clear in his voice. He was enjoying the show, mostly because he wasn’t directly involved, not really. “I’m not that bad!” R’nd called back, laughing at the back and forth that was so common between Ayyonth and him. He knew he could be rather awkward around children but his efforts to be a good father to Benden and putting up with B’jin’s daughter’s babbling and hugs had helped him relax, if only a little. Re: Curiosity and Exploration [R'nd] - Casa - 06.Jul.13 She relaxed almost immediately, a full smile blossoming over her face. She leaned into Ayyonth then, scratching and rubbing like she did with her father's dragon. He was very calm, she thought as quietly as she could, not wanting for her thoughts to be loud for everyone to hear. She wasn't sure if it worked - dragons were confusing, with all these loud thoughts and quiets thoughts - but he seemed pretty concentrated on bantering with his rider. "I'm glad to know I don't bother you, R'nd...I'm not too irritating, I promise. Mostly I find myself in some interesting positions from time to time. Being curious has disadvantages at times. But its gotten me into many more good situations than bad ones!" She turned her gaze back to the blue, beaming up at him. He was very lovely. And so relaxed...she'd seen some rather high strung greens and even a couple blues who weren't so chill. Ayyonth definitely seemed like the type who would be fun to hang around. After a couple minutes, she gave him one last pat and then darted around him, diving under the water to pop up a small distance away, shaking the excess water from her head. Giggling, she swam back over, glancing at his wings and tail. "It must be interesting to swim when you are so big," she murmured. "Do dragons like to twirl around and splash like we do? I've never really seen a dragon who swims for the sake of swimming! Mostly it plaintive begs for oiling, or a good scrubbing with sand." Re: Curiosity and Exploration [R'nd] - R'nd - 08.Jul.13 If he were a meaner man, R’nd would have pointed out that her babbling about not being irritating was in fact irritating but he was far too good natured for such thoughts, especially since he was already warming up to the curious girl. It probably helped that some of his friends were chatterboxes and talked about themselves a lot as well. As Casa swam away, Ayyonth ducked under water to cool off his head and emerged once more shortly before the girl returned to his side. He watched her curiously for a moment, considering her statement before finally deciding to counter it, R’nd did comment on whether or not dragons love swimming. “Most of the ones I know love swimming! They can cool off and splash around or exercise, just like why we love it. In Weyrlinghood, we even increased wing strength by flapping in the water,” R’nd wasn’t speaking generally and referring to all of the dragons in the class but included humans as well. Their Weyrlingmaster was a bit of jerk at times and when someone misbehaved, everyone was punished. So R’nd had spent quite a bit of time treading water beside Ayyonth, strengthening his arms as well. Re: Curiosity and Exploration [R'nd] - Casa - 08.Jul.13 "I suppose I am small to you! I had never thought of that..." She pursed her lips, falling quiet as she begin to paddle around in the area around the dragon. Perhaps she was being too social? Or not being thoughtful? One of the creche mothers had scolded her quite often on being a chatterbox, and not thinking of things from all sides. She would have to make an effort to be more objective. Maybe she could start by offering to be helpful! After being quiet for a couple moments, she reigned in her more talkative aspects. "If you ever need help with your son, let me know, R'nd. I like children." She offered a softer smile, hoping it would go over well. As Ayyonth and R'nd described swimming as a dragon, she nodded slowly,. "I could see how that would be useful. Water resistance is a good way to build muscle mass, least I've been told." She continued to dip and paddle around, her body revelling in the coolness and comfort of the lake. When Ayyonth commented on needing dragon friends, she perked up, her more somber personality forgotten for a moment. She'd love to spend more time around dragons. Her chores took up a lot of her time, but she did have some free time. And swimming with dragons had to be almost as much fun as flying with them. Probably not as much, she amended, but close! She wondered if Ayyonth and R'nd would allow her to come swim with them once in a while. She really liked them, even if she did feel she might be annoying them a little bit. Re: Curiosity and Exploration [R'nd] - R'nd - 15.Jul.13 “You don’t have to worry about that. Benden spends most of his time with his mother. My times with him are usually supervised but I’m getting better on my own with him.” It was a wonder though! R’nd still felt like he was making up everything as he went along but he had both Volfetti and B’jin to give him tips and tell him he was doing fine with the boy. Benden was growing and not nearly as fragile as the bluerider liked to think so the job of parenting had to get easier as well. He hoped, anyway! R’nd had committed himself to the child because he liked Volfetti and she had approached him with their son in arms so he had no choice but to keep trying his best. “Ayyonth likes you,” R’nd called out to the girl that was splashing around with the beast. “Have you considered Standing?” Maybe if the girl Stood and Impressed, it’d be a good stepping stone toward being a Searcher. It would also be nice to see a friendly and energetic girl atop a dragon of her own. R’nd worried over his friends and women that were on fighting dragons in case Thread ever returned but there were always the goldriders and Casa had just as much chance as anyone else Standing for that colour. Re: Curiosity and Exploration [R'nd] - Casa - 15.Jul.13 Her eyes flashed in light confusion and curiosity as she glanced from Ayyonth to R'nd. Standing. She of course had had the same dreams as every other brat - finding that special connection with one of the dragons, joining the ranks of riders in the Weyr. But she'd never really thought too much of doing it on her own. Yes, she was the age she could. But she just...she rolled over thoughtfully in the water, her eyes locking onto Ayyonth's. "Ayyonth, what do you think about me Standing? Do you think I'd get along with a dragon?" It was a bold question, and one she was hoping wouldn't get her cuffed or buffeted by those wings. But she had always want to know what a dragon thought of it. She did want to do it, in her heart of hearts, but she'd seen the rejection of those who didn't Impress. And she didn't know if she wanted to deal with the heartbreak. It was a selfish fear, but it was one deepseated in her mind. She paddled closer to the big blue, resting a light hand on his flank and peering up at him with a soft but nervous smile on her face. As she waited to see what the dragon thought, her own thoughts did once again wheel around to what happened if she did Impress. What would she ride? Golds were mostly snotty or vapid - least she'd been told so by many of the lower rank riders she was used to be around - and she didn't think she had the attitude or authority for one. Maybe a green? She could see herself getting along with a green. Blues like Ayyonth were pretty and smart and would be an excellent choice too. She really loved browns, but girls didn't ride browns. It didn't happen. Shame, too, since they were the equalizers...maybe a blue, or a gold if it wasn't too rotten. She eyed Ayyonth, now nervous at how long he was taking to reply. Re: Curiosity and Exploration [R'nd] - R'nd - 17.Jul.13 Ayyonth, being the dragon that he was, purposely let the girl sweat it out and fret over why he wasn’t answering right away. He liked her, which was why he was lightly teasing her in some way. R’nd would always be his favourite to pick on and B’jin was coming in as a close second nowadays but Casa had earned her place, at least for the day, on his list. Once he felt her nervousness, the blue finally gave in and nodded at her. R’nd eyed his towel on the rock not too far away from where he was wading in the water but decided he had some more time to spend at the lake. It wasn’t often Ayyonth got to spend time with the younger weyrbrats and this one seemed to be of particular interest. Naturally R’nd could only hope that meant Ayyonth had some searcher in him after all. “Ayyonth knew since Impressing me that Kerrin would Impress as well,” he added to the conversation. Given the way his blue and his friend got along, they always joked Ayyonth Impressed R’nd to gain access to Kerrin who wasn’t allowed to Stand at that hatching. “When he didn’t Impress at the last couple of clutches, Ayyonth assured him it was because the dragons weren’t good enough for Kerrin but he’d have his dragon soon. He recently Impressed Ajaaskath, remember.” It was kind of adorable to see the younger ‘brats getting nervous over the prospect of Standing and maybe having their own dragon. R’nd had seen it as a chance to escape a life in the seacraft and earn more freedom and he loved every minute of it, even if they were in seclusion, hidden away from everyone they knew. So many Casa’s age saw it as their birthright or a natural fact of life but there was still a lot of fear in them. Whether it was not being good enough to Impress or to take care of the dragonet was hard to say. But the girl seemed bright and willing to learn so she’d do just fine. Re: Curiosity and Exploration [R'nd] - Casa - 22.Jul.13 Casa's face burst into a bright, delighted grin. She had forgotten about Kerrin - but he had eventually Impressed. And if Ayyonth hadn't gone wrong there, he probably wasn't remiss with herself! Dragons were rarely wrong, she found. Maybe that was her confidence in dragons due to growing up in a Weyr, or maybe she just found them mostly unflappable creatures. But Ayyonth had his head firmly on his shoulders, and he seemed amused and relaxed enough. So she nodded gleefully, twirling around and diving down beneath the waves, to pop up closer to R'nd. She laughed and kicked back towards the blue. He was a lot of fun to be around. R'nd also seemed amused and somewhat content. She was glad to have him share his dragon; there weren't too many in the weyr, and she was glad to get a chance to know him and his blue better. Maybe she could convince R'nd to let her help with oiling and bathing. Or watching wing practice. She could take or leave the feeding; it didn't bother her, but she saw it often enough and it wasn't anything special. A little messier than cutting meat up, but not by much. She realized her thoughts were probably rambling again, and she worked to tighten up her mind as she drifted towards shore. Once she got close, she grabbed her towel and plopped down on the edge of the shore nearish Ayyonth, grabbing her pack and peeking into it. Inside, food was nestled at the bottom, along with a skin of water. She pulled out the food, opening it as her stomach growled sharply. Inside, fresh soft rolls and still-warm wherry meat sat waiting for her. There was also fresh fruit in the bottom of her bag too! Looking up at R'nd, she grinned. "Are you hungry? It appears that whoever wrapped up lunch for me seems to think I'm a small army and there is a lot of extra!" Re: Curiosity and Exploration [R'nd] - R'nd - 28.Jul.13 The offer was kind but R’nd wasn’t sure about accepting it. He slowly moved back to the shore but was working on a way to turn down the offer so the girl could eat as much as she wanted and he wouldn’t have to flounder around figuring out how to act around her. Stamina was always needed when around B’jin for one reason or another so R’nd decided it was a good idea after all to towel off and sit down opposite Casa. At least she wasn’t young enough to run sticky hands over his clothes or at that age where they wanted to talk forever and he had no idea what interested a child. At least with Amorandii, she talked nonstop and when she wanted a story, she was fine with being read one or letting him babble about adventures he had gone on with his siblings when they were around her age. Casa was at a more comfortable age since he had been dealing with Kerrin and Indivara since they were roughly that age and that had turned out relatively fine. He offered a smile as a roll was grabbed. “Thanks. A picnic on the beach always outweighs a hard bench in the Hall.” The bun was ripped open and a slice of wherry meat was set between the slices. He really was a beach bum and R’nd wasn’t ashamed of it. Everything seemed so much better when there was a body of water nearby and soft sand beneath his feet. Ayyonth came up out of the water a respectable distance from them so he wouldn’t spray them with water when wings extended to flap dry. Once he was satisfied with his level of dryness, the blue took flight, returning to his sunning rock. There was still enough time to properly dry off and warm up once more while R’nd ate and continued making new friends. It was good for the man to have more friends he wasn’t constantly flirting with whether by accident or purposely. It was also good training to aid him in Amorandii’s growing up since Ayyonth was confident R’nd and B’jin would remain in each other’s lives for quite some time to come and that little girl had grown rather fond of her Uncle Orwind. Re: Curiosity and Exploration [R'nd] - Casa - 02.Aug.13 Casa sat and chewed thoughtfully, considering her options. She could go back to the Weyr with R'nd and Ayyonth, or play here by herself for a couple more hours. She liked the river, but she had been pretty active and was just slightly tired. On the other hand, she could get in some prime exploration and see if she found anything unusual. As she nibbled at the roll, she decided a ride back would be enjoyable. She'd been on dragonback enough times, and he wasn't too different from her father's. She'd just pop over to his hut when they got back to let him know she was already returned. "I'd love a ride with ya'll," she said agreeably, brushing some crumbs from her front. She picked up one of the meat chunks, gently tearing it into bite size sections and popping one in her mouth. It was juicy and sweet, just right. A good snack to share. And she was glad she had someone to share with. R'nd seemed to be a very nice man, if a bet distant. Most riders were pretty ambivalent about children though...maybe he didn't have any of his own, or really wasn't around them often. As they had finished the last of the snack between them, she stood and stretched, enjoying the warm sun on her skin as she finished drying out. Once she felt sufficiently warm, she stuffed her extra possessions back into the pack, and then slid it onto her shoulders and tightened it. There was no use having it loose where it could fall off and create problems. Glancing over at Ayyonth, she all but bounced on the balls of her feet. She bet he was smart and smooth in the air, especially during wing practices. Turning herself back towards R'nd, she beamed. "Ready to go?" |