Something Beautiful [Casa]

Quenym led Casa back to the barracks, taking her to his room straightaway. He didn't want anyone to see who their project was. It was a super-secret super-special gift, after all! Well, two of them. A grin split his face. Yes, taking Casa along had been the most brilliant idea ever, since she had helped him come up with the gift. If there was one area his expertise was lacking in, it was gifts for girls, especially since a lot of them were starting acting differently from the boys. A lot didn't want to play rough or explore, instead giving the older boys funny looks and whatnot.

He had a vague inkling it had something to do with the things the grown-ups did, what with the kissing and holding close a lot of them did... Even in public! He had seen those same looks between them that the girls got, but some of them were different too. Quenym didn't quite understand it all, but he figured he would when he got a bit older.

Not that he wanted to, of course. Right now it all seemed a little gross, and he was hoping Casa wasn't going to go off on him and start doing it to boys, too. He didn't think he could stand it if she did!

He pulled her into his room after quickly looking around to make sure no one was watching. Quickly closing the door behind him, Quenym pointed her towards the space on his floor reserved for crafts and projects, that was surrounded by soft, thin pillows to sit on. There wasn't anything there at the moment, but he had been doing most of his projects outdoors, simply to avoid the fuss that often happened when he brought his messes inside. There was a bed, a sand table, and a small pile of old clothing besides that had been building up underneath his bed but was now spilling out from under. And a small, almost-empty chest for clothing.

"Need to do laundry soon," He muttered, unconcerned for the moment of the mess. He kept his windows open so that there wasn't any smell, but he did need clean clothing at some point.

Quenym sat down and held out his hand to Casa. "Stones? I can work on the necklace if you do the hair thingy." He didn't know anything about making hair decorations, but he could work with stones. And there were things for them to use for it as well, he had several leather thongs and ties and little clips and all sorts of other things that were the basics for any project.

Casa cheerfully followed Quenym back through the weyr to his room in the Candidate Barracks. She noted he was hunkered down here as opposed to her own space in the Weyrfolk rooms; he was serious about this Impression thing. Well, she had promised she would try to stand, and her conversation with Ayyonth and R'nd came floating back to her. She'd have to make it an effort to move her things here. Quenym wouldn't protest, she thought with a grin. Glancing around the room, she nodded to herself. This wasn't a bad place to be - maybe in the future. Maybe.

As he flopped down into the crafting area, Dae joined him, slinging the back off her back. She still had a lovely buzz going in the back of her mind, making her feel all warm and content; she leaned against Quenym lightly, listening to him as he spoke. He was the bestest friend she could ask for! Perfect troublemaker, almost-gentleman, and creative like her. She rifled into the back pack to pull out their treasures. Carefully withdrawing the stones first, she laid them out in front of him in the order she had established. They gleamed brightly, the colors not repeating once.

As soon as the stones were in place for Quenym, she then gently slid the feathers out. Setting the bag aside, she noticed there were leather strips about. She gently separate out six strands. She took a knife from her pocket and gently split the tips of the feathers, tying them to the ends of the leather strips. She then carefully took two pieces of leather at a time, weaving and tying them together. She sat there in silence for a while, working at adding little knots and twists in the first set of leather.

Quenym wrapped his arm over her shoulders as she leaned against him, liking how she tucked against him. He watched as she spread out the rocks, and then started taking care of the feathers. Dae's fingers were deft, and her mind creative, and he took notice of these things with some small part of his mind. One that confused him a bit, but still managed to file these things away. They could come useful for future pranks, after all.

He took some leather himself and took care of the stones, finding minute holes through which to thread them onto the thin bit. The colors shone brightly against his fingers, in the sunlight. "We did a good job, Casa," he whispered, his hearing still a touch sensitive. "I think Flora will like these a lot. They're pretty, and she's pretty too. I'm sure she'll like wearing them."

He alternated his attention from the necklace to the hairpiece and back again as they took shape.

When they were finally finished up, Quenym couldn't help but grin. There were stones left over, but all in all both the hairpiece and the necklace looked pretty good, in his opinion. "Just as nice as anything the Weyrwoman would wear!" He nodded to himself as he started stringing the leftover stones on another string of leather. "We could do this for other ladies in the Weyr, barter for... For..." He frowned. Most of what he needed he filched, and couldn't imagine what they would want to barter them for. "We'll, never mind. But all the ladies are gonna be so jealous of you and flora!" Slipping the last stone onto the thong, he tied it together, a second necklace for Casa in his hands.

"The Bestest-best thank you gift, for the second best explorer in the Weyr. You are gonna move into the barracks soon, right? If you're gonna Stand?" He slipped the necklace over her head so that he could see it on her and admired his handiwork. "Makes you look right pretty, like you could be a lady. Just don't go turning into one on me yet!" He winked and joked.

Casa cuddled into his side absentmindedly. She finally braided the last three sections together, securing it around a small strip of white leather that Flora could just tie into her hair to let it all hang down. Satisfied with her work, she beamed at Quenym. "Look at us crafty little 'brats!" she said, all but bouncing up and down. After setting her finished treasure down, she turned to watch Quenym.

His fingers worked deftly with the leather and the stones, easily stringing together the necklace for Flora. When he had excess, she tilted her head curiously as he began to put together another one. This one was less...girly. She watched him work - rock, knot, rock, knot - and then tie it together, draping it over her neck. She blinked in surprise, blushing and grinning at him. She took the ends of the necklace, pulling them tight and knotting them to create a tight little choker around her neck.

"I love it, Quenym! Look, less girly now." She tilted her throat back, showing him how she'd shortened it and made it less...fluffy. "I won't take it off ever, I promise. And I'll never, ever become a girly girl. Not as long as I can avoid it!" She hugged him fiercely, a huge smile on her face. "You are the best friend - even if you are dimglow when it comes to counting. Clearly  YOU are the second best explorer." She grinned and ducked away, laughing. "You are the best, though. I can't wait to share my treasure with you now."

http://img1.etsystatic.com/000/0/6200002...104281.jpg
http://img1.etsystatic.com/006/0/5594210...9_1b9g.jpg <----I picture her with this one, but as a tight choker. <3

Quenym watched with delight as she turned the necklace into a choker. It looked even better on her like that! And a lot less likely to get in the way of anything. And it looked really nice on her throat. And... And .... And his thoughts were going weird places. He gave a soft snort. No way was her throat nice! Man, next he was gonna be thinking like those riders who went chasing the greenies next!

But the hug she gave him made his cheeks heat up uncomfortably. "Hey now! You can take it off sometimes!" Though he was rather hoping she didn't. "And I'm no dimglow with numbers! You take that back!" Quenym laughed and followed her as she ducked away, wrapping his own arms around her. "That treasure better be really good or I'm not gonna forgive you for this one!"

He tugged her to the ground, pillows thwt he hadn't been bothered to put away cushioning them. "You are a terrible, terrible friend for keeping that secret and for saying I'm only second-best! I'll get you for that one!" His fingers immediately began working around her tummy and underarms, looking for sensitive, ticklish spots. Best revenge ever!

She snorted and grinned, laughing in delight. "It's worth it, I promise! Just you wait, it'll be the very best." When he began to tickle her, she yelped, scrabbling backwards. She tried to get away, but Quenym was slightly stronger. Thrashing around, she went for his ribs and underarms herself, laughing and tickling wherever she could reach.

Finally out of breath, she flopped down on the floor, breathing heavily. She was dizzy from all that movement, but it had been so fun...and look how productive they had been today. Hatching, talking, exploring, drinking, crafting. This had to be one of the most productive days ever! And she had spent it with her favorite people. They hadn't Impressed - not that she expected to, even with Quenym pressuring her to move into the Barracks.

"Can we do this everyday?" she asked plaintively, eyes big and pouty and hopeful as she looked up at him. She wasn't sure how he would react, but pouting was great fun when trying to get things from people (even if it never did work). If she could pull this off, it would be hilarious and useful.

Quenym felt hr hands on his own ribs and lauded just as hard as she did, utterly matched for ticklishness. Eventually they both ended it, exhausted by their endeavors. He propped himself up over her as they both panted, tired out from their day.

Her wide, outing eyes and question got to him. His breath caught a bit. It got to him, and it made Quenym feel very uncomfortable. After a moment, he gave a grin, turning things around. "Of course we can do it every day! You wouldn't be my wingrider if we didn't do things like this every day! I want to do it every day, too." He flopped over so he was lying beside her.

"You'd better Impress a green. If you get a gold I'm in for trouble. We'd have to share being first when I get my Bronze." He reached over and nudged her shoulder. "And I think I want you to be my partner for a long time. Definitely hope for a green. We can get into more adventures that way. You'd have to stand back and expect to be a lady if ya got anything else." He didn't like that idea one bit. No, she could be a green, and even though she'd be a greenie, she would stay his Casa. Quenym liked that idea a lot.

Casa rolled onto her back, snuggling up against Quenym's side again. The boy was comfy, she thought bemusedly, and no one else she had curled up with before fit against her just right. She wrinkled her nose and shook her head. Silly thoughts. Those were the sort of thoughts the greens had dream about Flight partners. She snorted, but cuddled closer  against his hips anyway, her head resting nestled against his hipbones and stomach. He was Quenym, and he would always be solid, reliable Quenym. What more would he be? She let her thoughts snap back into focus.

"Oh lord," she groaned, shaking her head. "A gold? What would I do with a gold? There'd be too many formalities and rules, and all the bronze riders fluttering about like useless wherries, trying to sleep with me. I've seen it happen with the 'Riders, I have! Not that that would really change with a green, but I'd have much an easier time, at least when we got in trouble."

She bit her lip thoughtfully for a moment, glancing at him. "You know, I'm sure you'd make a good bronzerider'n all, but I kinda hope you Impress a Brown. Especially if I'm gonna be a greenrider." She drummed her fingers against his side idly. "Browns are my favorite, personally...they are the most equalizing of all the dragons. Not that any dragons are bad - they are all DRAGONS. But I mean, really. Browns. A brown and a green would be a lovely pair..."

Quenym felt Casa nestle her head down around his hips and it sent a small wave of slightly strange feelings through him. Easily ignored, though, for now. He chuckled when she moaned over getting a gold and talked about him getting a brown. "I was about to say that, 'bout having a green. We've seen the blueriders and brownriders chasing the greenies. Chances are you'd get one that Flew like B'jin's. But don't worry, I promise mine'd win and everyone would know to keep their hands off, so you wouldn't have to worry 'bout anyone being too rough with ya."

He reached down so he could run his fingers through her hair, rather liking how soft it was against his fingers. "No matter what color I get. I'll take brown too, cause I like green and brown together, too. Just gotta remember to tell yours that I'm the winner. And then with the brown and green we won't have half the responsibility and can get away with most everything, to boot. I like that idea a lot."

Quenym liked this idea a lot. Since she was wanting a green he would want a brown and then they could have all the adventures together all the time. Yes... That would be a wonderful thing. He grinned. His fingers twined some of her curls about them. Yeah, they could do that, 'specially if they became weyrm-

His thoughts snapped back from that. Nope, no weyrmates! It would make sense, because then he would be there when her green flew and whenever the thought struck them for an adventure the other would be right there, but... Actually, those were really good reasons for doing it. But then everyone would think that they were lovers besides, and that thought made Quenym very uncomfortable. Of course, then he would have to deals with whomever did get to be her Weyrmate, eventually, and that thought made him feel even more uncomfortable than that!

"Whatever colors we get, we'll still have good times together. Promise. But better get a green cause them Goldies have ta be ladies and I don't want you to be a lady." In his mind, that statement signaled the end of it. She'd get a green and he would fly her and they'd have adventures, and that would be that.

She nodded again, by this time feeling more and more tired. "Quenym, it's been a busy day...can we take a nap?" This last part escaped her mouth via yawn, and she blinked. However, her stomach roiled and she rolled her eyes. "Or maybe eat. I guess its almost dinner time now, isn't it? Eating THEN naptime." Biting her lip, she glanced around the room...they'd have to clean up too. "Anyone share your room for now? Or you have one of the more empty rooms?"

She stood up reluctantly, reorganizing the little crafting circle and nudging his clothes into a slightly neater pile. She'd have to tease him into doing his laundry soon. Seeing no one currently on the opposite bed, she flopped on it, looking at him casually while waiting for an answer. It had been an exhaustingly long day. They had managed to avoid the cooking in the kitchens for the feast toni - The Feast! She bolted up.

"Quen! Hatching Feast!" Her sleepy wants vanished and she glanced over him. They were both dusty and a bit dirty, especially after the short nap out in the Forest. She groaned loudly, rifling through his trunk for clean - and nice - clothing. "Come on, come on. No time for a bath." She tossed him a cleaner tunic and some trousers, digging her nice tunic out. She stripped down and got dressed as quick as she could. "If we hurry, we won't be too late! There's always good eatings there. Plus, seeing all the new weyrlings." Her eyes shined brightly in excitement as she grabbed his hand to run to the Dining Hall.

[[call it there?]]

"Gotta room by myself, so make yourself comfy," he said lazily, not getting up from the pillows. The floor was so nice, and she had been right there! He pursed his lips as she felt the need to clean. Casa had more girl in her than she thought, Quenym thought to himself, letting her do what made her happy.

But she had barely laid down on his bed when she darted up, saying something about the hatching feast. So what? Who cared? They hadn't Impressed. And they were nice and comfy and having a good time right where they were, right? But she was insistent, stripping down and borrowing his clothes, along with making him change. Quenym glanced over her nude body as they both changed, taking note of how different she was from him.

Which should had been obvious, and it wasn't like he hadn't seen naked girls before when the brats all went swimming, but this was different, and it made his cheeks flush red. There was definitely something wrong with him, and he would need to see the Healers soon about it!

But she had a good point about the food and the Dragonets, so he let himself be pulled along, happy that Casa was holding his hand.