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[G] [C] 741.05.11 | Ponies & Paints - Printable Version

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741.05.11 | Ponies & Paints - Kor'is - 11.May.20

Kor'is felt as ridiculous that day as he had the day before as he sat atop Taith with the blue dragon following his clutch mates around the Lower Bowl. The dragons had officially turned four months old the previous day so the blues and greens could now join in the walk of shame that the other colours had been doing for about a month now. At least yesterday was more about just sitting on the dragons and getting used to it but now they were walking around like a caravan, following one of the assistants because clearly they would get lost in the big round enclosure otherwise.

Kor'is rolled his eyes, not for the first time that morning.

But it's fun! I like having you on my back, Taith, while now able to speak directly and only to Kor'is, still had a lot of enthusiasm. He may have pinpointed down to the one mind he wanted to bespeak, but Kor'is didn't think the volume had lowered much.

I... kind of like it as well, Kor'is replied easily now, though with a lot less enthusiasm. He would never admit to their Weyrlingmaster or any of the assistants that they practiced harder than they let on and had been able to silently communicate a full two weeks sooner than was expected based on the usual timeline. It was mostly due to Kor'is' need for privacy and how much he absolutely hated sharing what was on his mind with everyone within hearing range and hated how much Taith could see and sometimes spill without realising he shouldn't. Luckily Taith liked games and didn't mind 'shouting' from time to time to make it seem like they weren't over-achieving or that Kor'is might actually have an interest in what they were learning.

But there didn't seem to be a way to fast track or get out of the pony rides, given the shiny hides had already been doing it a few times a week for a month. They were now going into daily rides while the others started with short rides or longer ones every few days. Kor'is hated it, feeling like he was on display as he was paraded around for everyone to see.

They were told the dragons would be about half their size this month which meant more hide to oil. His hands had never been so soft and he grew up alongside a lordling in a Hold. The one thing that Kor'is didn't believe when someone in the class asked about it, was that the hide still wasn't ready to change to their adult colouring. Apparently it happened around month nine and Kor'is worried about how much the dragon would grow around that time for the hide to start shedding. Still, if it didn't happen during the riding around the Bowl for everyone to see how horribly mismatched the dragons were, it would be when they were doing flying lessons and still on display. Honestly, even in their down time the ugly colouring would be hard to hide--Kor'is knew from seeing other classes growing up in Ista, he just never paid attention to the timing.

Flying... all right, that had been pretty cool. Taith's first attempts had been a bit laugh-inducing but once the dragon had the hang of it, Kor'is was a bit in awe. He had been taking care of the dragon and felt a surge of pride at seeing Taith in the sky--even if it was still fairly low to the ground. Honestly, that was better for viewing. Given how pale Taith's current hide was, he'd be hard to spot with the sky as the backdrop during the day.

I have some itchy spots... Taith pointed out, surprisingly softly. Kor'is was getting used to that as well. It seemed Taith didn't like to interrupt him when he was lost in thought.

Figured you would. You've had me rubbing against you for a bit now, at least the walk was almost over. Kor'is had expected to spend time oiling Taith after the walk anyway given how often it was done to begin with. Add in some chaffing from a human shifting around for however long the walk had been, and he was surprised Taith wasn't dancing from how much he itched.

Once they were set free from the lesson, Kor'is grabbed the supplies and followed Taith out to their favourite spot of the Bowl. It wasn't like anywhere down there was truly ever empty or a good place to brood while alone since people were always coming and going whether they were taking a shortcut, spending downtime in the sun, or a landing dragon from another Weyr. But their spot seemed to get less traffic which made it perfect. They would be moving into the upper level weyrling barracks soon and eventually into their own weyr, which Kor'is couldn't wait for. He was very much done with shared living space.

Oiling in the Bowl wasn't exactly ideal given the amount of sand in the area, but Taith was better at standing still and knew better than to lie down when his hide was still damp. So Kor'is set to work, going for the itchy locations first to give Taith some relief before going into the routine he had developed for a full body rub down.

Are you going to paint today? It's been a while... Kor'is startled at the question that was asked from time to time but more at how sad Taith seemed.

I didn't know you liked it so much, they were alone, but still in public so Kor'is focused on keeping the conversation silent. Besides, it was good practice and a good habit to keep them in.

Of course I like it! Taith swung his head around to look at Kor'is and earned a look of annoyance for moving. Sorry. But I said from the beginning how creative and beautiful your mind is and I mean it. I like seeing what you create... even if it is still dark.

It's not as dark as it used to be, Kor'is admitted before realising what he said. He paused in applying the oil and stared at the spot. Huh. It was true. The last time he had painted, the colours hadn't been as dark and the piece itself hadn't been done with as much anger. He knew Taith was part of the reasoning for that. He would never forget the moment of Impressing and how complete he felt. Perhaps something inside of him had been freed and some of the darkness lifted...

There's still turmoil and confusion, but Taith didn't quite know how to describe either of them to Kor'is. He wanted to say both were happier emotions, but that wasn't right. They were based off of things that should have been happy moments but left Kor'is confused and panicked before shutting away all of the emotions that wanted to surface.

Kor'is sighed and dipped his cloth into the oil before setting back to work. Maybe if we have time tonight and I'm inspired, he finally replied, though that also wasn't the first time he had said such a thing to the question.

His birthday was about six weeks ago and since then, if he brought out the paints, it brought up memories of that day which was why he had only painted twice since then. Mylorah--curse that girl--had surprised him by bringing Tazikel with her. That had been the first time he'd seen the Tillek lordling since Impressing and Kor'is was caught somewhere between excited at seeing a friend and dread at not knowing how to behave around Tazikel.

Part of the reason was still those damned nights Mylorah had got them to participate in which led to an ill-thought-out kiss, but more so, he had begun to realise, was his new life. They had known each other since they were kids that got into trouble together with similar Hold upbringings. Even after reconnecting at the Gather, they still had some common ground and a very persistent friend that made sure they kept in touch and had fun. But now? Kor'is was a fucking dragonrider, a bluerider and not even a highly respected bronzerider. Sure, Tazikel was already slumming it by spending so much time at Weyrs and with Mylorah, but his famous lack of attention would soon move on to the next pretty thing. Kor'is had already decided that was what happened since he hadn't heard a word from Tazikel before Syrendryth delivered him to his door.

It didn't matter that he never sent word to Tillek or even through Mylorah either.

But then the bastard had to bring a gift as well. New brushes and some brilliantly coloured paints, both of 'the finest Tillek standards' of course. Kor'is had melted and froze at the thoughtful gift. Had Tazikel recalled their meeting at the Gather and what he had been purchasing at the time? Or had Mylorah told him what to buy? She could have even been the one to pick it all out if she had been visiting Tillek.

He had then spent the rest of the visit wondering what Tazikel thought of him now that he was a bluerider and what the gift meant. It could have been a farewell gift for all he knew and it wouldn't have surprised him one bit. Tazikel was as superficial as Kor'is was judgmental. He kept thinking about if the roles were reversed, what would he do?

Then his mind would wander to how Cazan accidentally Impressed in the stands and what if that happened to Tazikel as well? It was clear dragons didn't care what part of society you came from and there was likely a dragon somewhere out there that would want a flighty and pretentious pretty boy lordling.

Fuck. And there was that piece of the old puzzle coming back to haunt him. It didn't seem to matter that he had dumped that puzzle into the ocean so he could focus on the new one that was Taith. It just kept coming back and trying to wedge itself into places it wasn't meant to be.

"And that's why I don't paint much right now," Kor'is grumbled under his breath, uncaring that he spoke allowed. Some things just sounded better with the external voice and conveyed emotions better.

Taith turned back again and gave Kor'is a light nose bump to his shoulder--a form of affection that Kor'is was able to handle. He patted Taith on the head and gently shoved him away so they could get back to the oiling but with less thinking.