Unexpectedly Pleasant Company [Kahleena]

Torath roared and dove straight for the end of the river, where it met the lake, pulling up at the last minute, banking left and circling wide before pulling up, flapping lazily then landing next to N'kal, who was looking rather annoyed and amused all at once. He stood there as Torath landed, and giving his wings a final flap, shook himself and dipped his head down to look at N'kal with one great blue swirling eye. Must you always look so grumpy?, Torath asked him gently. 'Must you always be such a show off even when no one is around to see?', he replied, brow lifted, hands on his hips. Torath rumbled deeply as he answered, You're here.

'Always', he replied, slightly amused. 'Now git your scaly hide in the water so I can wash you?', he said with a growing smirk. Torath drew himself up regally, lifting his snout into the air. I am NOT scaly!, Torath said with all the dignity a dragon could muster. N'kal laughed heartily and slapped Torath on the flank. "Get your ruddy arse in the water you great bellowing beast! Or no bath and oilin' for you!", he said out loud with a laugh. Torath rumbled grumpily but did as N'kal said, and as gracefully as a land bound dragon could, he walked into the ocean water and swam out a few yards, then dipped beneath the water.

N'kal, still laughing at his dragons bruised pride, started carting his cleaning supplies to the lake's edge, kicked off his riding boots, stripped off his shirt, dropped it over his boots, then dropped himself to the ground, to wait for Torath to either A forgive him, or B get bored. Like that is going to happen..., Torath rumbled at him, still rather un-amused. 'Which one?', he asked Torath. I haven't decided yet..., came a voice that was hiding amusement.  N'kal knew Torath all too well however and simply smiled as he watched, and waited.

The morning, as per usual, had been spent with Kahleena preparing for the day, and meeting up with her Weyrlingmaster to have Okalinath checked over. At just over fourteen months, the dragonets were all reaching the last few inches of their full growth, and – to Kahleena’s unending relief – Okalinath was still not yet showing any signs of Flying for the first time. It wasn’t that Kahleena was worried about the flight itself, but the girl was still ridiculously unhappy about the fact that it would result in engaging in sex with a man who was, most definitely, not her husband.

Kahleena knew, deep down, that her husband would most certainly have moved on by now. Not only had she failed to produce healthy little boys for him in the days they had been together, but then she had vanished – just gone – and he would have no idea that she didn’t take her own life, after failing to secure the life of their daughter. Why would he think any different? She had been so depressed and sad and… Kahleena shook her head slightly as Okalinath crooned in concern. The gold dragon nuzzled at her young bonded’s face, blowing warm breath over her, ruffling the girl’s messy blonde hair and warming her in a way that had nothing to do with the literal breath.

“Beautiful girl,” Kahleena murmured gently, “want to go swimming?” Daily baths hadn’t been required for quite some time, but a good swim down at the lake never went amiss and Okalinath’s croon of agreement and brightening of her eyes as Kahleena herself threw off the dour mood she’d been falling into, and scrambled inelegantly up onto Okalinath’s neck. The dragon, dressed in her flying leathers from earlier, waited patiently as Kahleena smoothed the flared legs of her pants down, and buckled herself in. Flight was still new to the pair, despite the practice they had been doing, and taking off and landing were particularly daunting challenges still.

What seemed like just moments later, Okalinath was winging over the path to the lake, the long walk being eaten away swiftly by strong beats of the gold dragon’s wings, until they reached the edge. There were partners, and small groups scattered about, and Kahleena’s eager gaze searched for someone she might know, a frown forming when she failed to recognise any of the dragons. That is not good, Okalinath said cheerfully, her tone both serious and teasing. Our lesson just this morning said you should know everyone in the Weyr!

Kahleena frowned as the dragon began seeking out somewhere to land. That is hardly my responsibility, she retorted, grumbling. It’s the Weyrleader’s duty to know the members of the Weyr, not mine! Besides, Tsuen doesn’t know everyone! Okalinath snorted, wings flaring as hse landed not far from where a bronze dragon was playing in the water. That is because Nirinath’s rider is a fool.

Kahleena gasped in scandalised shock as she unbuckled herself, sliding off her dragon and removing the leathers with stumbling motions of someone that was still getting used to working with both such a large creature and the odd set up that she was still very unused to. “Okalinath! That is unworthy of you!” Her tone belied her shock in the dragon, but Okalinath seemed completely unphased, her eyes swirling placidly as she shook off the leathers and nuzzled Kahleena.

Perhaps. Why don’t you discuss it with this nice man? Not waiting for Kahleena’s response, the gold dragon quickly bound down the length of shore and into the water, sending up great splashing waves as she leapt in, chirping in delight. Kahleena, instead of watching her dragon, had spun around to find where the human was that Okalinath had spoken of, and stared in shock at N’kal for a few heartbeats before gaining control of herself and dropping into a swift curtsy.

“Oh! I’m sorry! I hope we’re not interrupting! Ohk-kalinath – I mean,  - I d-didn’t see you!” Oh dear! How could she miss him! He was right there, and his dragon was huge! And bronze! And -! Kahleena’s hands wrung together before her anxiously as brown eyes looked everywhere but at N’kal, face flushed.

N'kal hadn't been paying attention t much around him, he was seated there watching Torath amuse himself in the water. If he hadn't been born a dragon, the great beast might have been born a fish instead. He was currently watching him glide smoothly through the water then barrel roll and swing back around the way he came. He felt the dragon before he ever turned to look at her, felt the rush of air as she fanned her wings to land, luckily she had landed a ways away so any sand that kicked up with the wind did not assault him to badly, not that he really would have cared. He hadn't planned on paying the new arrival any attention until he heard the voice of a woman scolding her dragon. He turned his head slightly, slightly surprised to see that it was the young queen and her rider. He didn't remember her name as he tended to avoid golds at all costs, they were too far up the ranks for the likes of N'kal, even if he was a bronzerider. Ever so often he would get caught in flight lust as Torath would try and chase a queen down, fast as he was he usually came in second or third. N'kal usually did everything in his limited power to keep Torath from chasing golds, greens he didn't mind so much.

He watched the gold and her rider for another moment then watched as she went bounding off into the water, spashing all the way, reminding his of how Torath could occasionally still be about swimming. Torath, having just resurfaced moments before the gold hit the water, was mesmerized by the young gold, N'kal could feel his attraction to the dragons like a rock to the head. 'Knock it off....", he poked at Torath, and though he thought for sure he would be ignored, Torath answered. She has grown into a fine young queen, I would be a fool of a green if I did not take notice. Her rider is pretty as well... 'Bah! You can't even see her so hush!', he responded, amused slightly. He really didn't care one way or the other if she was pretty or not. What did he want with a gold rider? S'kef, if he remained in charge, would get his hands on her and use her to his own advantage, most likely to replace Tsuen. The thought made him grumpy for a fleeting moment, no one deserved to be used, least of all by S'kef, until the young rider looked at him in all but shock. His left brow rose high as she dipped down into a curtsy, causing him to look behind him to see if S'kef or someone of importance had walked up behind him. When he found no one he looked back at the girl as she rattled off some nonsense about interrupting him. Be nice.., Torath warned him gently as he crooned low at the gold.
Greetings beautiful young queen!, he said in greeting to Okalinath, pleasant yet respectful in his tone as her rank demanded.

N'kal glanced in Torath's direction, watching the great brute puff himself up in a manner of speaking, looking as regal as a bronze could given that he was swimming rather then flying or walking. His eyes swirled violet and blue as he lazily swan past the smaller dragon. He looked back at the girl and have a bit of a grunt, shrugging his tanned shoulders. "What could you possibly be interrupting girl? And don't be doin' all that...fussy, girlie, formality stuff. I am no one important to be...what do ya call it? When you women do that..dip..thing? He looked her over again, she was a tiny thing, with lots of hair, tinted cheeks, wringing her hands together like she was about to be lashed for something. She hadn't returned her gaze to his since she went all formal on him and he kind of felt bad for the gruffness of his tone. "C'mon now", he said, much more gently, and moving some of his things to his other side, gave the ground a pat. "Relax yourself little gold rider, no one sittin' here is goin' to hurt you. You have a fine dragon, Okalinath, you said her name was?", he offered in way of conversation. He didn't deal with women much anymore, he had become to gruff for most to deal with, though he could be easier when he tried. This girl was already a wreck and all her dragon had done was land near him, what were they doing to these poor candidates, to have her so anxious. He supposed talking about her dragon would be a way to relax her somewhat rider didn't love talking about their dragon?

Torath, paying little attention to his rider's interaction, was treading water near Okalinath, feeling quite full of himself, which was amusing to N'kal once he felt his crazy dragons emotions. Torath crooned at Okalinath, and said, I am Torath, and I feel terrible for having never spoken with you before. Would the gentle queen forgive such a rude bronze? N'kal felt like he was going to be ill when he heard Torath, flirting he supposed, with the gold. Just what he needed, a love struck dragon, and he already knew there was going to be hell to pay with she was ready to fly. He looked back at the girl, she was probably less then half his age just by looking at her, and seemingly terrified of the world, or at least of him for whatever reason. "Well come sit down already...you'll make my neck hurt havin' to look up at you constantly. May as well get comfortable anyway...Torath has taken a liking to her already. Rotten beast....", he offered her a gentle half smile then. I am not rotten!, Torath fussed at him good naturedly, in far to good a mood to be bothered by his grumpy rider. N'kal huffed and turned to watch him again. 'Spoiled rotten...', was all he replied. It did not surprise N'kal at all when Torath supplied, As I should be!, then went back to paying attention to Okalinath, leaving his rider to fend for himself with her rider.

Hello! the weyrling chirped, eyes swirling pleasantly at the friendly company and she wriggled gleefully in the gentle waters, enjoying the delights of swimming. It was not that she did not get to swim often; she got to whenever she wanted! Rather, she just loved the sensation. It was cooling, refreshing, and soothing. Enjoyable, all around, particularly when compared to the stark heat from the Southern sun, or the dry and humidity-lacking sands that she was occasionally cooped up on while Kahleena went about her lessons. It didn’t help at all that Nirinath and Krypth were so boring! She really hoped the baby gold due to hatch would have a sense of well… personality!

Kahleena’s eyes widened and her jaw snapped shut as she forced herself to stop moving, hands clasping together so tightly her knuckles paled and she froze on the spot. “It’s a c-curtsy, sir,” she mumbled timidly, still refusing to look at N’kal directly; she flicked quick glances at him from under her lashes. The softening of the voice didn’t go unnoticed, but the words were still received far more as an order than a suggestion as Kahleena squeaked softly under her breath and skittered to sit on the ground where the bronzerider had patted moments before, crossing her legs and dropping gracefully. You are being silly, Okalinath’s voice slid in like liquid against her mind, words exasperated, but no less loving. Relax, my love. Enjoy the sunshine and good company!

“Yes,” Kahleena answered lowly, gaze lifting from her clasped hands in her lap to look fondly at her dragon. “Okalinath.” A pause, and the girl turned to frown slightly up at N’kal. “And you are,” Her eyes narrowed slightly Torath! … that would be his dragon’s name, Okalinath!, however, the bronze’s name helped and the girl’s expression relaxed when she found the correct name for his human half. “N’kal, of bronze Torath.” The simple sentence was spoken with confidence, the girl quite sure she wasn’t mistaken before the sudden swirl of doubt began to eat at her. What if she’d gotten it wrong? How terribly embarrassing that would be! Her gaze dropped back to her lap, fingers fighting one another. The comment about Torath taking to Okalinath caused the girl to flinch slightly. She knew where talk like that led; where was R’nya when she needed his calm reassurance!

You are silly, Okalinath replied, clearly charmed by the bronze. A cheerful chirp was given to the larger beast, the weyrling vanishing beneath the surface of water and swimming back towards the edge of the lake where she resurfaced. Standing happily in water quite deep enough to come well up and cover her back, while still affording her the relaxed luxury of standing on her own feet, rather than treading water. Did you have plans for today? The young gold wasn’t unaware of her human’s distress, but Kahleena was generally easily stressed out, and until she started hyperventilating, Okalinath was disinclined to get too excited.

Torath rumbled as she patiently treaded water, watching the gold wiggle about in the water as if it were her favorite thing to do in all of Pern. Had Torath been able to smile he would have, he settled for a quiet bugle in her direction and fanned his great wings out, spraying water around them before folding them and making quite the display of diving himself under the water, swimming beneath the gold, coming back up beside her, causing waves as he breached the surface. He had all but forgotten about his rider on the beach who was supposed to be giving him a bath, he had found a much better way to spend his afternoon.

Back on the beach, N'kal was still glaring at his dragon and his showing off for the young queen. He wasn't really all that upset, it did annoy him that the great beast was making a fool of himself for a female. And, speaking of females, his dark eyes watched again the young woman who was the rider of said gold dragon. She was a nervous wreck of a thing, timid too if he was guessing right, at least according to her body language. He gave her a grunt when she answered his question as to what she had done. He hadn't honestly expected her to answer, just to stop doing it. He lifted a brow yet again as she hurried to sit where he had indicated, shaking his head slightly, a bit confused at her behavior. He was a long way from being someone she needed to be so careful around, he didn't give a hoot how she acted. It dawned on him then that she was probably one of the stolen candidates. Torath having caught a bit of his thoughts in between paying attention to Okalinath. Perhaps it is how she was made to behave, you human's have strange behaviors. 'Look who's talking...', he said to Torath without looking back at him, only slightly concerned so far at his behavior with the gold, though he supposed he was right in his observation.

N'kal softened his features a bit more when he saw how she looked at her dragon. One could hardly fault the girl for how she was raised, but she obviously loved her dragon and that made things a bit better. He gave her a hard look when she spoke again then frowned. He was about to answer when he realized she was thinking and gave her a moment to answer, unable to help himself from giving her a crooked half smile and a nod when she gave his name correctly. "That would be correct. However I do apologize, I do not keep up with name's as much as Torath does, and right now he is far to entertained showing off for your Okalinath to provide me with that information." His voice was still a bit gruff but it wasn't nearly as harsh as it had been. "So if you would be so kind as to supply me with your name, I would be appreciative." Apparently Torath's mood was wearing off on him slowly, he was already talking to damn much.

When she flinched at his words he lifted a brow slightly then ignored it. Unless she reacted a bit more strongly then that, it wasn't worth worrying about, as he didn't feel he had said anything to warrant that reaction. He would hope that she would say if he had said something offensive, but then again, given her current temperament, he might be hoping for a while. He glanced back at the dragons, hers having come closer to stand rather then swim, Torath moving up to stand in the water beside her, though the water did not reach as high on him. Silly?, Torath rumbled amused greatly, eyes swirling blues and purples as he continued. How is it silly to beg forgiveness of one so fair?, he crooned at her smoothly, a bit of a teasing tone to his voice, before shaking himself slightly and looked from her to their riders. I am to have a bath soon, at least that was the plan. I would be more then glad to stay here and swim with you if you like. Our rider's won't miss us much I am sure. N'kal needed the company of a female as much as he did, so if Okalinath wanted to swim, he was more then glad to do so with her, if only to force N'kal to be social for as long as possible.

Kahleena flushed crimson at the smile and praise, her look of discomfort only changing to confusion when N’kal admitted he had no idea who she was. Kahleena knew she wasn’t particularly noteworthy; no one had had any idea who she was before she was shoved onto the sands by her Searchrider, but she had thought everyone knew her now! Her eyebrows knit together, forming a confused and worried frown as her fingers twisted together in her lap. Should she be insulted, not to be recognised, or was he just someone that didn’t care? There were, after all, only three of them – four, soon, with the upcoming hatching! – but she had been of the understanding from Weyrwoman Tsuen and Lady Jada that everyone knew who they were!

Catching onto Kahleena’s change in emotions and the girls’ confusion, Okalinath lurked around her thoughts. The gold dragon snorted when she picked up the part about Tsuen and Jada, snorting physically as she shook her head and turned a one-eye’d gaze on the girl sitting on the beach not so very far away. And what would they know? The Weyrwoman is responsible for the current set up, is she not? Of course everyone knows her! Irritation seeped into Okalinath’s usually placid voice, and Kahleena turned her gaze from N’kal to her dragon with her frown only deepening. From what I understand, Okalinath continued, her sentence structure stating quite clearly that she’d been digging through Kahleena’s memories. Krypth’s rider has caused her own share of drama. Would you not rather be unrecognised, than known for unreasonable behaviour? Kahleena didn’t need to answer the mostly rhetorical question. They both knew she’d rather be invisible than the cause of trouble!

“My name is Kahleena,” she said softly, turning to look back at N’kal with apology for the long delay in speaking. She was sure he would understand; he had a dragon of his own, of course! But she was still embarrassed by the delay and she picked up wringing her fingers before forcing herself to stop and instead smoothed her flared pant legs. They were designed to look like a skirt in every day settings, but the split legs allowed her to easily ride Okalinath while maintaining a properly feminine air. They were Kahleena’s favourite clothing since Impressing, and she was in possession of several carefully cared for sets.

Would you not beg forgiveness of one who was not fair, Okalinath asked archly, tilting her head as she watched Torath with pleasantly swirling eyes. She found his attitude both refreshing and strange. She was an unranked weyrling, and such behaviours were usually treated to Nirinath, and very rarely Krypth. She wasn’t quite sure how seriously to take the bronze who was no more nor less important than herself in the scheme of things; he certainly outranked her in her present state as a student, though if his rider took up a ranking position he would, once more, out rank her regardless of her own slowly approaching graduation.

Probably not, Okalinath agreed lightly, turning her own gaze upon her fidgeting rider and then back towards Torath. We only had planned some swimming, though I’m sure I can convince Kally that bathing me is a good idea! the gold positively glowed with delight at that notion and she rumbled happily under her breath as she turned her attention fully once more upon Torath. Flicking her wing, she dropped it just slightly below the surface of the water, the motion sending a spray towards Torath’s face. Chirping with laughter, Okalinath leaped struggled through the water to a shallower portion, and went leaping and bounding across the edge of the lake, great waves splashing in every direction.

Kahleena, left on the beach without help from her dragon, was feeling incredibly tongue-tied and useless as she struggled to think up an appropriate topic to discuss with the man whose dragon was doing such a wonderful job of entertaining her overly energetic young bonded. Small talk had never been something Kahleena was particularly good at, and usually something she avoided if truth be known; she preferred to listen over talking and gossip was only fun when she could giggle innocently with Rhaedalyn about some of the more quirky members of the Weyr’s population.

So, being someone that much preferred to listen than speak, she began trying to find a topic that would keep the bronzerider talking, but would require little input or return story on her part. In the end, she found one, and looked across shyly to where her companion was seated, shifting her own body slightly to face him a little more as she tilted her head and wiped her hair away from her face. “What was your Impression like?” Her question was low, and the manner in which she spoke it invited him to tell her to shove it as clearly as she displayed her genuine curiosity in the event.

N'kal chuckled deeply at the change to her features, though the blush to her cheeks seemed to be a constant thing for the girl. If often surprised people that he had little to no knowledge of them. He knew who his wingriders were and he knew a few faces and names here and there but it was Torath who had the vast amount of knowledge on who was who in the weyr. His eyes slid to his dragon, who seemed at the moment to have forgotten he even had a rider. He caught the slightest movement and turned his dark eyes on the girl again, only to find her frowning out at her dragon. He quirked a grin and knew all to well that Okalinath must have intruded into her thoughts and had probably given her opinion on something which was not approved.

Instead of asking right away he simply waited for her to answer his inquiry into her name. When she did answer, softly of course, he nodded and gave her a crooked grin. "A very pretty name, thank you for sharing it. As for your confusion, which is written on your face as clearly as the hide of Okalinath, I do not socialize very much unless I have to. Torath is the one who knows who you are, but he failed to remember I did not. I can't imagine why that would be..", he trailed off, somewhere between annoyed and amused. Annoyed with his bronze, amused at the girl's reaction to his lack of knowledge. He lifted a brow when he noted she was wringing her hands together again. "Do you do that often? You will get cramps in your fingers if you do.", his tone was completely filled with amusement that reflected in his dark eyes for once. Sadly her constant anxiety was amusing him, as he could not for the life of him imagine what about him would cause it.

Perhaps, Torath inserted, having been listening in on his thoughts, It is because you are the very capable rider of a very capable bronze who is swimming with a very beautiful gold? A gold that just happens to be the bonded of the girl?, Torath's out smooth voice was deep with amusement of his own. 'No..wait..what?', he looked over at Torath, then back to Kahleena, watching the young girl tidy herself up, straightening the legs of her riding pants. It dawned on him then that Torath was right. She was a gold rider, sitting talking to him, and he her. 'Ugh....This is why I stay home!', he fussed at Torath, who chose not to answer but to look to Okalinath as she questioned him. Had I been offensive then yes, I would beg forgiveness, for no one deserves to be unjustly offended. Wouldn't you agree? He was amused at the intelligence of this gold and he was more then glad to have the chance to speak with her.

N'kal was currently sitting there next to Kahleena, trying to figure out how to get himself out of what he supposed could end up being a bad situation while his dragon was out in the water making things worse. He imagined the girl was probably fearing that he was going to pursue her when Okalinath rose for her maiden flight. Sadly, he could not tell her he didn't have any plans to do just that, as that would most likely come across as an insult to her and her dragon, and he couldn't do that to either of them. Torath was fairly well done with N'kal and his worry over what may or may not happen, and know said rider he wouldn't be allowed within range of her flights. This annoyed the bronze to no end, but he would worry about it another day.

He gave a happy bugle when Okalinath agreed with him and then said she could convince her rider to give her a bath. N'kal has all sorts of...brushes and what not, and he is going to oil me as well. I haven't been oiled in ages, and I don't really need it. But it never hurts to be pampered by ones rider! When he was flicked with water he gave a playful rumble of a growl and lifted his great wings, rearing back some and gave them a powerful sweep along the surface of the water, sending waves after the gold, but as she had darted off along the shallow water he mostly missed. Folding his wings, he did something he rarely did, and, giving a great bellow, went bounding after her, a hilarious sight he was certain, considering he was really too big to be bounding anywhere, not that he cared much mind you. However, in her wake he caused even larger splashing waves as he went after her.

N'kal, still on the beach, took note of the silence from the girl beside him and was about to ask her something when he heard their dragons chirping and bellowing and making all sorts of racket. His gaze was instantly on the pair of dragons, jaw falling slack for a moment as he watched his enormous 36 foot bronze...running? leaping? Whatever he was doing it was disturbing to say the least, though too funny for him not to laugh a bit as he said, "Sweet Faranth! What in the name of the Egg are those two doing!? Trying to empty the lake of water?"

So amused by the dragons at play he barely heard her question him on his Impression. A topic he seemed to find himself talking about a great deal lately, but considering he was still terribly amused, and she had asked so nicely, he decided it couldn't hurt to relay the story again. "It was unexpected. I was never meant to stand for a clutch, I had never been searched, heck I had never even been to a hatching before that day. I was in the stands with my father and a friend..", he started, a fond smile on his face as his eyes turned to his dragon running around in the water, watching others flee before them as they splashed and created huge waves around them. "He almost went between...can you imagine? Such a beautiful creature ending his life before it had barely had the chance to live? He found me there...as silent and afraid that he wouldn't find his bonded, standing there among the crowd. He looked at me...dead at me, mauled someone trying to get to me and I had no idea what was going on."

It seemed to N'kal the telling of his story was a bit easier this time around then it had been before, the words flowed a but more as if he was reliving the memory, rather then just telling it, the look in his eyes was the look of someone seeing but not seeing, as he watched his past while he spoke. "They pulled me from my fathers side. There was a great deal of yelling and shouting, though I thought I had done something wrong, they had actually been cheering for me and trying to tell me what to do over the noisy crowds. It was when I got a closer look at those beautiful rainbow swirling eyes and felt the first connection with his mind, felt that first touch of unending devotion and love that I stopped fighting with them." He paused to look back at Kahleena after pulling himself from the memory. "That knuckle headed dragon out there, running around like he is still a weyrling himself, saved my life as much as I saved his I suppose."

He smiled at her, an honest smile and shrugged. "And there you have it. One completely unimpressive Impression story. What of yours? I imagine you were terrified, most are.", he asked gently, hoping she wouldn't be too afraid to tell him about herself.

Kahleena flushed at the compliment paid her name, twining her fingers anxiously as she ducked her gaze, only to freeze at the gentle question, wide eyes lifting to stare up at N’kal. His amusement was clear, but Kahleena just as clearly misinterpreted it, the girl flushing in shameful horror at being laughed at and ducking her head down, allowing her hair to fall over her face. Her hands remained frozen, refusing to move though it was quite clear she would have resorted to wringing them where they not the focus of attention.

She is such a stress bucket! Okalinath admonished lovingly, her words to Torath, though her attention flickering to her silly bonded for a moment and the strange interactions she was having with the other human. Okalinath rarely saw Kahleena with or around men, besides the constant guardian she and the other girls had found in R’nya, and the clearly treasured memories of her husband before she had been brought to Katila and Impressed to Okalinath. The gold didn’t really understand all the ups and downs in the young woman’s memories, but she understood that Kahleena usually avoided the men of the Weyr because they made her uncomfortable; she didn’t understand why they made her rider uncomfortable though – none of them had ever hurt her!

“Playing?” Kahleena asked timidly, peering up at N’kal with an anxious frown before her gaze darted away, seeking security and safety in watching as her dragon leaped and bound through the shallow water, sending waves in every direction. While there was certainly a lot of water being thrown around, Kahleena wasn’t quite prepared to believe they would be capable of emptying the lake – that was ridiculous! – but she was tempted to recall Okalinath; N’kal seemed so disproving and she didn’t want to cause any troubles! Don’t be silly, love! He’s not angry! The young gold’s voice was radiant with her delight in the game of chase, and her eyes were bright with colours of her enjoyment.

The question of Impression seemed to distract the bronzerider, however, and Kahleena was deeply thankful for that! Her gaze lifted once more to watch his face subtly as he spoke. A string of words, unintentional no doubt, caused Kahleena’s lip to tremble suddenly as a hot and ice flush shot through her body, and Okalinath came to a sudden halt as she became keenly aware of her rider’s very true distress. The unconditional wave of love her dragon sent her made Kahleena’s eyes shimmer, the girl lost in her own memories far removed from the idealistic remembrance of Impression. A gentle shudder rippled down her spine as she pulled herself out of the icy grip of those memories, focusing on N’kal as he continued his tale.

The closing statement had Kahleena flashing a gentle, timid smile of understanding; she could relate to the dragon saving sensation. Her gaze shifted once more to watch as Okalinath raised one golden paw to bat at Torath, slapping it down in the water with a great splash and a chirp of good-natured amusement as she danced away from him, wings half extended to help balance herself in the restrictive restraints of the lake water. “Me?” she asked dumbly, blinking and turning her attention back to N’kal with a wide-eyed look.

“Okalinath was a surprise.” She stated, turning to look back at her dragon, “her egg didn’t glow enough, and no one knew there was a gold in the clutch and she was sired by Tyrrisath. The Searchrider, B’jin, he shoved me out onto the Sands with the other gold candidates and Okalinath picked me.” She shifted her gaze back to look up at N’kal with a slight frown, shrugging one slim shoulder slightly. “There wasn’t time to be scared. First I was shocked there was a gold, and then I was shocked she was mine.” She smiled slightly, losing the timidity as she gained confidence in the subject and the moment. “I didn’t even go through proper candidacy – there was no gold egg, so there was no reason.”

Brown eyes suddenly widened and Kahleena pursed her lips as she ducked her head once more, flushing in embarrassment at how much she had said. She must have sounded terribly full of herself, talking so much! The apology had almost left her fretting lips when Okalinath’s sudden and very amused but just as insistent don’t you dare! rippled across her mind and Kahleena pursed her lips into a line, looking first in her dragon’s direction with a confused frown, before glancing up at N’kal anxiously, eyebrows drawn together.

N'kal lifted a brow once more as the girls face flamed in embarrassment when he complimented her name. For the love of Faranth why did women have to blush so much? He couldn't fathom why a man couldn't talk to a woman these days without her either tryin to bed him, or blushing like some maiden hold girl still clinging to her mother's skirts. That thought gave him pause. He gave the past turns some thought and guessed, on her behavior, that she was most likely one of the stolen crafters or holders. That didn't make it any less irritating, even if it was occasionally amusing. For her to do it every sharding time he said something to her, was a bit much. He let it go however, there was no point in calling her out on it, he did not want to further stress the girl out or cause her to leave. She would of course take her dragon if she left and Torath would be quite sore with her over that. He felt said beast touch his mind lightly then was back to paying Okalinath attention. He did turn his great swirling eyes back to where their riders were seated. N'kal can be a bit intimidating without any effort. Will your rider be alright? N'kal will never forgive himself if he upsets her., he replied to her gently. He did not want to alarm the young gold, but it was true. N'kal was far more imposing then he realized, being a bronze rider did not help especially with the grouchy and brooding mood he was usually found in.

N'kal cracked a grin at the girl when she timidly answered his question. "Well, yes I suppose they are. Though I have not seen him play like that in many a long Turn.", there was such fondness in his voice that the smile on his face actually reached his dark eyes. The silly beast had that effect on him always. There were only rare occasions when he gave any true smile that was not directly in response to Torath. He didn't like to smile, it made people think he was friendly and open, he really wasn't. He didn't know why he was being so open lately and it bothered him. His thoughts were picked up by Torath who paused and swung his great head around to look directly at his bonded. You're lonely. You deny it, but I can feel it in you. You can not remain alone forever., he said to N'kal. 'I am never alone, I always have you', he said dismissively and Torath gave a grunt in his direction then went back to Okalinath while their crazy, emotionally mental riders talked about their Impressions. Normally Torath loved being a part of that telling, but he was far too entertained by the young dragon in his company to be bothered.

Both Torath and N'kal, being seasoned rider and dragon noticed the change in both Kahleena and likewise Okalinath, Torath because Okalinath stopped and looked back at her rider, N'kal because he noticed she seemed to zone out on him. He was concerned a bit but then she seemed to pull back from wherever she went and was with him again, flashing what he felt must have been a smile as rare as his own. The smile changed her features enough that he took note of it, not in any way that would bother her, but he kept the thought to himself and followed her gaze to their dragons. Once Torath felt things were better he went back to playing like a weyrling, chirping happily as he was splashed again by the gold. He reared back and dropped back to all fours, slapping his front paws in the water to splash her back then pouncing at her when she danced away.

N'kal gave Kahleena a crooked smile when she inquired about his asking for her story. "Well..I don't see any other gold riders sitting beside me at the moment.", his voice again carrying the tone of amusement, trying not to stress the girl again, though he wasn't sure how he was doing it. No matter what he said or how he said it, she seemed to fret about it and that bothered the bronzerider far more then he was willing to admit. When she started to speak of her Impression finally, he smiled gentle at her as he listened. He had heard of the surprise golden egg that threw an entire hatching off. He hadn't bothered to attend but Torath had filled him in, the more she spoke the more he remembered what he had relayed to him. He chuckled softly when she mentioned not going through candidacy either. "Well, imagine that. We've somethin' in common, two unexpected Impressions.", he offered as a way to try and keep the conversation light, he wasn't really good at that though. True enough the girl ducked her head and flushed again, her face hot with color. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, desperately trying to keep from getting annoyed, if only for Torath's sake. He was loathe to upset the bronze and if sitting here enduring this sheepish girl was what would make him happy so he could play with Okalinath....so be it. When she looked over at her dragon then back to him he wasn't sure if she was going to speak. When she didn't he sighed almost sadly as said, "Have I done something to offend you?"

This was why he didn't bother going near others unless he had to. He didn't talk to people well, he didn't know how to judge when something was wrong, he didn't know how to be gentle with people, no matter how he tried he always came across as gruff and rugged. That was just who he was. No. That is who you have let yourself become., Torath said, having paused to look at his trouble rider. Why his rider had so much trouble with his fellow humans he did not know, but he had been this way for Turns, no matter how much the bronze tried to help. N'kal didn't answer Torath, just raised dark eyes to look at him there, standing in the water, Okalinath near him still.

Added! Sorry about that!

sorry if this is junky. Kally has been giving me a lot of issues - hence all the delays in her posts.

Kahleena’s head titled, and she glanced up at N’kal in confusion, her eyebrows furrowing above brown eyes as she studied him very quietly for a moment. Her eyes lowered, and she shook her head slightly, though when she spoke her voice belied her confusion. “Offend me?” she wasn’t quite sure where he would get that opinion, since she was just as sure she’d been behaving properly for the entirety of their time together. The girl fidgeted slightly, and shook her head again. “No, sir, you haven’t.” What could he possibly have done to offend her, Kahleena wasn’t sure, nor was she sure where he had gotten such an idea from.

“It would seem so,” she added after lengthy pause, going back to the  previous comment in a quiet voice. “Did you find weyrlinghood difficult?” Life had taught her that men preferred to listen to the sound of their own voice, rather than that of a woman, and quiet prods and invitations to speak were far better than filling the area with the sounds of her own voice. She was somewhat of the impression that N’kal wasn’t overly keen on talking about himself, but she was drawing blanks on what other topics he might enjoy speaking about, that wouldn’t leave her delicately covering a yawn to avoid being rude. Men enjoyed talking, and usually about nothing Kahleena found at all interesting.

For her part, Okalinath continued to prance and frolic in the water, far less concerned about whether or not she was keeping Torath amused and entertained; he was a big dragon and quite capable of removing himself if her company bored him. Since he had not, than obviously he was enjoying himself. She saw no reason why humans could not function on such simple mathematics, but rather needed to complicate everything entirely – all the time. Rearing up where she had been standing, Okalinath stumbled forward a step before throwing herself on Torath with a cheerful chirp, wings folded tight so as not to get caught up in the play, and she butted the side of his neck with her head.

N'kal lifted a hand to scratch at the back of his head while he tried to sort out the timid young woman beside him. She was constantly acting as if everything she did or said was...well he didn't know. Holder woman....he never would understand them. When she questioned him on whether or not he had offended her he blinked. She looked genuinely confused at his asking her such a thing. Maybe she did not realize her behavior was so odd to him, or maybe it was he who was odd to her. And there was that 'Sir' business again. He gave a soft sigh, and shrugged a bit. "Well, yes. It seems all I do is cause you distress of some sort or another, and you look down constantly, as if I would be upset by something. I'm not trying to upset you, that is the last thing I would do."

He glanced out over at Torath, who had lifted his great paw and slapped it against the water, sending a great splashing wave at Okalinath, trumpeting his victory before moving to swim out a bit further and barrol roll himself a few times. He swam about lazily then went right back to being playful with Okalinath, splashing her from time to time then moving away, only to turn and do it again. N'kal was glad to see the great beast was having fun. His splashing around however gave him a playful idea of his own. "What I will do however", he said, dark eyes on the girl, an amused grin on his lips. "Is have Torath teach Okalinath how to spit water at you...if you call me Sir again today." His grin grew a bit bigger as Torath, having heard his thoughts stopped splashing Okalinath and looked at him, wings spread slightly for balance. That might be fun....but it might not.

He grinned at Torath's amused words before he reared back and dropped both paws in the water, sending waves upon waves at the prancing gold dragon that had most of his attention, hardly worried at all about his rider's idea of tormenting the girl beside him, though he would be glad to teach Okalinath his tricks. N'kal gave Kahleena another amused looked, waiting for her answer.

When asked of his weyrlinghood his gaze darkened slightly. "It was.", was all he said, and left it at that. Thinking of his weyrling hood reminded him of things that brought up painful memories. Perhaps you need to replace those old painful memories with new ones. Perhaps Okalinath's rider wouldn't mind helping you with that. She seems like a very nice girl, and she has such a playful gold!, Torath offered, quite helpfully in his opinion! N'kal gave his dragon the mental equivalent of a grunt then turned back to Kahleena and said, "Where are you from originally? If you don't mind my asking?", as a way to completely redirect the conversation. Maybe someday he might answer that question more for her, but he had only just officially met the girl, no sense in digging up painful memories to lay on the shoulders of someone so innocent, which if he started in on his Weyrlinghood, would have happened.

Torath, once again ignoring his rider, preferring the playful Okalinath to his rider's current moody thoughts. He gave a bugle when he was splashed with water, though was concerned of her slight stumbling. When she butted her head against his neck he rumbled deeply. Are you alright? It would not do at all for you to be hurt. I would never forgive myself., he said gently to Okalinath, bright blue swirling eyes watching her every movement as he turned to follow her, wings folding against his back so as to be sure he would not hit her with his larger wing sails.