Tell Me A Story [Rhaedalyn]

R’nya watched Rhaedalyn fret with wordless amusement.

The bronzerider was sprawled casually on the grass a dragonlenth or two from the edge of the water, an eyebrow arched neatly above one eye and his lips twisted into a half smile as the goldrider let herself get carried away by her own anxiety at missing the Hatching. It was Aradissicath’s fault they were all still on the lakes edge, of course, but R’nya was much too smart to make quips, and Xyreith was amusing himself by annoying the gold in his usual manner, by poking and biting her and pretending otherwise when she looked at him. Xyreith was clearly having fun, though; by the way his tail tip was twitching and the bright colours that were swirling through his eyes.

Dressed in nothing more than a pair of low slung shorts that had definitely seen better days, R’nya was still dripping wet from the rather exuberant bathing Xyreith had demanded. The Wingleader was usually prone to springing surprises on his Wing, and telling them that today would be Bath Day, and that they’d have the assistance of sixty-odd Candidates to bath and oil their dragons. Naturally, what R’nya had planned to be a casual ‘training’ session had turned into into a typical excuse to celebrate and have a good time, with almost the entire remaining population turning out to drink, eat and bathe dragons. With the Hatching so close, the Candidates had been excluded from alcohol, but no one else had truly held back, and amusingly, R’nya had been among the casual drinkers.

That could, in part, have been because of Katila actually having quality alcohol imported from the North, too. It also did not hurt that the bronzerider had reacquired a taste for liquor with his increasing trips to a particular tavern in Telgar; R’nya was not really one to listen to gossip, otherwise he probably would have been slightly more scandalised by what was being whispered about him, and the young woman he had occasionally been seen with. On the other hand, he likely would also have found it amusing, notably since he was rather tipsy at the present moment. Much like he currently found Rhaedalyn’s pacing far more amusing than annoying and he continued to watch her, his smile growing into a subtle smirk.

“Rhaedalyn,” There was the tiniest sing-song lilt to his words, and R’nya shifted to rest his weight on one elbow and patted the ground beside him with his free hand, raising both eyebrows at the girl. “Come; sit!” leaning back again, R’nya wiped wet hair off his face and watched his companion quietly for a few moment, clearly considering, before his subtle smirk grew much more pronounced. “Tell me one of your stories.” He wasn’t sure if he was really meant to know about those; Xyreith had mentioned them a long time ago, when Aradissicath was much more the babbling Hatchling, and R’nya had kept the information quietly aside until it could be most useful.

Like now, while he was half-drunk, mostly naked, and smirking up at the goldrider from where he was sprawled in the grass and midday sunshine.

Ever since the dragons started humming and Aradissicath stayed strong in her conviction that neither of them would be attending such a thing that was associated with one of the upstart babies, Rhaedalyn had been pacing back and forth and sometimes in a neat little circle. Muffin kept pace with her and sometimes flew ahead trying to get her to pick up speed and chase him for a game, but Rhaedalyn only walked at her slow pace, hands wringing occasionally as she fretted over what her absence would be seen as. Surely people would talk and assume she didn’t support the other goldriders – and in truth, it was hard to fully deny it. Ameris and Peorray weren’t exactly top of the list of people she associated with and enjoyed it but didn’t they still have to smile and get along to some extent? It would be seen as rude not to go to a Hatching!

Worse, R’nya had opted to stay behind and keep an eye on them. Z’ia, her sweet bluerider, had offered to keep her company but Rhaedalyn knew how much he enjoyed Hatchings and told him to go enjoy himself and to keep D’hys out of trouble. R’nya is the wingleader in charge of this Weyr, making him like a Weyrleader. It only makes sense that he would stay behind to keep an eye on a goldrider enjoying her time at the lake, Aradissicath put in as she swiped her tail at Xyreith’s nose when he moved in to nip her again. Now, do relax, dear. You’re upsetting Rumour.

It was the slight song that her name was said in as opposed to her name itself that caught her attention and briefly pulled her out of her fretting and had her stopping in her tracks. Rhaedalyn turned to R’nya, head cocked to the side though the curious gaze she sent at him was lost in the shadow of the large floppy hat she wore to keep the sun off her face and neck. It was also beneficial in hiding other emotions that soon crossed her face as she took in R’nya’s relaxed pose with tattered shorts that seemed to be more off than on. Memories of their time together in the flight a month ago came rushing back and Rhaedalyn suddenly didn’t know what she had been doing or why she was having trouble keeping her eyes from wandering over his nicely toned body.

Whisper decided she liked the invitation and left the dragons to go sit by R’nya’s feet, one of which she flicked a tongue over the sole of in greeting. Stop ignoring the man and sit down, Rhaedalyn. Aradissicath earned a quick glance before Rhaedalyn was stepping towards the bronzerider, though she quickly froze and squeaked in surprise when his request came. “I… I didn’t know you knew about them,” she whispered, her embarrassment rather evident in the tone and the way the ground suddenly looked so fascinating.

She didn’t know why she thought that though. R’nya knew everything that happened at all times and at least telling stories to her dragon wasn’t hurting anyone. Still, it made her nervous that she might end up in trouble for having creative or silly thoughts. R’nya didn’t sound like he was going to scold her or even tease her about it though so Rhaedalyn took her friend up on the offer and sat down beside him, careful to avoid Whisper lest she make the gold cranky.

“I don’t know if any of my stories would interest you but is there a theme you might like?”

R’nya’s gaze shifted lazily from Rhaedalyn to look at Rumour with an expression that was a clear mix between sceptical and amused as the little firelizard licked his foot. R’nya shifted his leg, and gently tapped the little gold on the tip of her nose with his big toe. Then he resettled his foot and turned to look up at Rhaedalyn as she floundered. R’nya gave a soft, amused laugh and smirked up at his companion. “I know everything, my dear.” Eyeing Rhaedalyn sideways, R’nya watched her settle herself, amused by the very Rhaedalyn body language that gave away almost as much as the variety of expressions painted so plainly across her face.

“I am sure I will find them all wonderfully enchanting,” R’nya raised an eyebrow as he disagreed; he highly doubted Rhaedalyn had ever had a truly boring thought in her life and he was quite certain her extremely active imagination would conjure up some most interesting fantasies… That would naturally be completely Rhaedalyn. R’nya sighed softly and let his weight collapse off his elbow, landing with a gentle thump on the ground, he rearranged his limb to use his hand to shade his eyes of the sun. No wild sex stories from Rhaedalyn’s point of view then? Poor Sir… Perhaps you should tell her yours?

R’nya laughed, but the look he threw Xyreith was filthy. “Quiet, you. Rhaedalyn is going to tell me stories. My mother used to tell me stories. Come, Rhaedalyn, whatever strikes your fancy.” Pale eyes stared up at Rhaedalyn from below the protective span of loosely held fingers and R’nya blinked, and then smiled loosely. “Your hair is growing nicely.” Nodding, R’nya let his elbow cover his face as he waited quietly for his goldrider to begin telling him a story.

Rhaedalyn fiddled with her fingers as she nodded, knowing full well that R’nya did seem to have a knack for knowing everything. She startled for a moment, looking up at the bronzerider when he asked for silence and realized it was being directed at Xyreith. It made her wonder what the great bronze had said and she frowned for a moment, worried that he still didn’t like her despite his fondness of Aradissicath. Luckily for them both – as it would have ended up in questions and fears – R’nya said something else that stuck out in her mind. “Your mother? What was she like? What stories did she tell?”

Her mind was racing with ideas of what the woman must have been like to raise a man like R’nya. She knew from previous stories that he wasn’t always so calm, polite, and looking out for the goldriders, but the woman still must have been wonderful. Even with the interest in learning more about his mother, Rhaedalyn’s nerves and embarrassment had her mind hopping all over the place and she moved onto a story she could tell her friend.

“Um, hm. Oh,” she was off to a wonderful start with her story and Rhaedalyn blushed at her stammering before finding her words. “There was a maiden that loved her hair and let it grow out long, down to her waist. It was silky and shone in the sun and made her feel pretty. She needed that boost though for her father often kept her away from everyone, practically locked in a tower.”

A tower that touched the clouds! Aradissicath put in eagerly. She loved Rhaedalyn’s stories and liked to add in pieces as well. Rhaedalyn giggled and added the fact in, “a tower that touched the clouds so no one could visit her. He wanted to make sure she went to the highest bidder, you see.” She paused, giving her audience time to absorb what had been said so far. Aradissicath had a habit of asking questions when she was younger and Rhaedalyn learned to wait once in a while in case any came.

R'nya lifted his arm lazily, just enough to peer out from under it and look up at Rhaedalyn with comically squinted eyes, for the sunlight was bright after the relaxing darkness his elbow had provided. His lips twisted into a quirky, teasing smile. "Later," the single word was strung out playfully, and his eyebrows arched up and he tossed her a wink, "Maybe." If she was good, or maybe naughty? and he enjoyed her story, he'd give her a story of his own as a reward, possibly. Hiding back under his arm, R'nya's smirk was still visible as he waited for Rhaedalyn to tell him a story.

"Relax, my dear." She was a funny one, stressing out over a story, but then, that was an incredibly Rhaedalyn thing to do, wasn't it? Stress out over the things that really were not worth the effort it took to think about extendedly, let alone actually worry about! It was very endearing though, and R'nya peeked out at the girl as she finally found her words and began to tell a tale.

All things considered, the type of story Rhaedalyn chose to weave shouldn't have surprised him in the least. She was a very proper young lady and it would only be suitable that she have properly fitting fantasies. He would have been lying to say he wasn't just the tiniest bit disappointed Rhaedalyn didn't indulge in fantasies of heroics. He knew some of the weyrbred girls had done so, with their whispered tales of daring - thread fighting or sword wielding and fantastic feats of daring. But, they were more out going than Rhaedalyn, probably than the girl would ever be. R'nya smiled as Rhaedalyn giggled and added some information about the tower. If Rhaedalyn had such fantasies swirling in her head, he doubted she'd have the strength to willingly indulge in them, let alone share them with someone. A pity, really, for surely she'd come up with the most outstanding tales of daring if she let herself!

"That's a lot of work," R'nya mused quietly in the silence that followed her first part of the story, shifting his arm so he was shielding his eyes but still able to see Rhaedalyn and she his face. "He must have been a very possessive man." Or perhaps afraid of wild dragonriders and their insatiable appetites?. R'nya snorted, amused. "Xyreith says perhaps he feared lusty dragonriders." Pale eyes sparkled with amusement, though the bronzerider was aware that such thoughts were once a true fear of the Holders of Pern... Dragonriders swooping in and stealing away their maiden daughters to do unspeakable things to them in the mysterious and terrifying Weyrs...

“Oh, definitely,” Rhaedalyn replied with a nod, recalling some of the stories the older women would tell when they sat around knitting and mending. She was only six when the dragons vanished so her parents never had to worry about her being stolen away; until it happened turns later when Katila had to kidnap Candidates. “If that happened, then the father couldn’t marry her off and forge a beneficial deal with a greater family. It never mattered what the maiden wanted either which made for a great deal of loneliness.”

Another pause was given but this time it was to watch Rumour head butt R’nya’s foot. It was odd but Rhaedalyn figured it was his attempt to get the bronzerider to play. Normally, she would have let him but it was obvious that R’nya wanted to relax if he wanted to listen to her little stories so she reached over and scooped up the blue firelizard before he became a nuisance. Rumour protested for only a moment before settling into her lap, content to nap after all since he got the coveted spot. “But at a Holder’s gathering one day, the maiden met a handsome man and her heart was immediately his. He was kind, funny, and made her feel special. Her father didn’t like that though since he knew nothing of the man and what he could offer so he whisked away the maiden and locked her in her tower in the clouds.”

Aradissicath swatted her tail at Xyreith again as the bronze continued his usual routine of poking and licking her at random. Finally she stood and sauntered over to the water’s edge, dipping a foot into the water. If the water isn’t too cold for you, my dear bronze-coloured pain, you should swim with me. Slowly she worked her way into the water, wading in deeper until she was paddling freely to cool off from all the sunning.

“The maiden cried all night and all the following day. She didn’t want to eat anything either. It was only when the strange sound outside her window was heard that she stirred herself from her bed and flung open the shutter. There, sitting atop a large beautiful dragon was her handsome man from the night before. He had asked around until he knew where she was and decided he needed to not only rescue her from the sad life her father put her in but that he needed her in his life.” Rhaedalyn stopped to catch her breath as she had been excitedly telling the story instead of calmly, like she tried to do when she popped in at the crèche to help with the children. “But as their hands touched and he was about to pull her through the window, the door flew open and the father charged across the room. He reached out and instead of grabbing for her other arm, he only managed to reach her long hair. Terrified of the trouble she’d be in and never seeing the man that so swiftly captured her heart, the maiden grabbed at the belt knife her hero wore and swiped it through her hair. It, along with the knife and her father, fell to the floor as she was scooped up onto the dragon, her short jagged hair falling around her face.”

R’nya’s gaze shifted ot the little firelizard as he realised Rhaedalyn’s pause was because of the creature, and he blinked at Rumour and then tilted his head. The little critter really was not bothering him all that much, but seeing him happily curl up in Rhaedalyn’s lap and fall asleep, R’nya could not say he would be terribly upset by being left alone by him, either. The firelizards that the girl was bonded to were quite lovely, but they were definitely a handful, too. Then again, so was Aradissicath, so he supposed it should only be true that the three tiny dragons should be as well. Rhaedalyn was perhaps the easiest of the bunch to deal with on a daily basis, and R’nya wondered mildly how she did not go insane with all of them buzzing around in her mind every day. Probably the same way he managed to put up with Xyreith, though R’nya could not imagine having firelizards on top of the great bronze lump.

Xyreith snorted, though he was not paying nearly enough attention to his rider to aim the action at him; rather he was amused by Aradissicath’s taunting invitation. Rising easily to his feet, Xyreith was genuinely careful not to send sand, mud, dirt, rocks or any other substance spraying all over the humans as he turned more on his hind legs than in a true circle, wings half extended to balance himself, and then trotted down to where Aradissicath was edging into the water. Cold? Considering how often he found himself flashing between, the dragon was highly amused by such a concept – but then, he wasn’t even sure Aradissicath had ever actually been on a trip between. Certainly she had never done so in any memory that he could recall, and Xyreith paused with a blink before shaking the thought away and lowering his nose into the water. A breath was expelled, before he lifted his head swiftly and powerfully, spraying a wave of water towards his golden companion. He rumbled with smug amusement at his own antics and waited for retaliation.

While unsure where Rhaedalyn could possibly have come up with such a subject for her fantasy, R’nya was none the less entirely caught up in her tale, pale eyes caught solely on the young woman’s face. He’d shifted to lay on his side when Rhaedalyn scooped up Rumour, an elbow planted firmly and his hand cradling his head as he watched her, the other picking at the little tufts of grass that were growing in the sandy dirt of the lake’s edge.  A half smile stole R’nya’s lips as the mystery suitor turned out to be a dragonrider that appeared to save the fair maiden, pale eyes sparkling with amusement and approval. It was, of course, only fitting that a dragonrider should be the one to save the day!

Caught up in the story as he was, R’nya didn’t fail to note the lack of a given dragon’s colour. Part of him wondered if it was supposed to be obvious – everyone who was anyone romanticised the bronze dragon – but there was a quieter, not quite so nice part that pointed out quite snidely that the young maiden in Rhaedalyn’s story was likely to have found her prince charming in the form of a bluerider. When the lopping of locks came up, R’nya decided that was quite probably the case, for what other colour would Rhaedalyn romanticise? Bronzeriders were a required part of her lifestyle; blueriders were far more free to fill any kind of voice.

Managing not to frown or scowl only because he was good at controlling his expressions, R’nya’s half smile still lingered on his lips as he reached out gently with the hand not holding his head out of the dirt, and gave a curly lock a gentle tug. “There is freedom, in losing the locks,” Or at least, that was what his Weyrlingmaster had told the sobbing hodlerbred boys who had been ordered to lop off their shoulder length hair. R’nya had personally never had his hair any longer than a shaggy cut around his ears, and that was mostly because he was about due to bug someone to cut it for him. (He’d stopped cutting it himself when Katila had been founded).

R’nya’s words were rather true as Rhaedalyn discovered after crying over her hair being hacked off because of the mud and knots created from the landslide. Washing, brushing, and managing her hair was far easier now and didn’t take nearly as much time and she didn’t have to worry about it coming loose during any chore or lesson. Still, she missed the weight of it and how it covered her neck among other things. “Yes, but I can’t hide behind hair this short,” she replied meekly with almost a pout. Rhaedalyn felt that she was doing a bit better around R’nya and Z’ia with not wanting to hide her face as she blushed or raise her hand to cover her mouth as she smiled or laughed but her hair had always been a safety net and she missed it.

However, there was one other benefit to shorter hair; grass didn’t get as tangled! With a giggle, Rhaedalyn held onto Rumour so she could change the way she was sitting and sprawl down on the ground beside R’nya. Rumour was then set free to make himself comfortable on her belly or not – he chose not to and rolled down to the space between the humans. Safely flopped beside R’nya with her firelizards milling about and dragon having fun picking on Xyreith, Rhaedalyn stared up at the leaves of a nearby tree and gave a soft sigh. “I’m sorry if that story wasn’t that good. Not to say that they’re usually amazing!” Rhaedalyn quickly added with a wide-eyed glance to R’nya before going back to the tree. She didn’t want him to think she was conceded or at Harper-level quality. “Dissi likes them usually but I’m not sure if that is a good or bad thing,” she giggled again as the gold scoffed at her while still merrily leading Xyreith around in the water.

“You are much too pretty to hide well, my dear,” R’nya’s tone was somewhere between amused and scolding as he watched her fondly. “Even when your hair was longer.” He was not surprised that she did not realise that, but Rhaedalyn was eye catching in her own unique way. Some girls were eye catching in sheer beauty, like a gold dragon in a sea of blue; but the girls like Rhaedalyn took a moment to see, and were all the more beautiful because they didn’t realise it. He’d watched her squirm and try to hide for how many years now? But she’d caught the attention of several bronzeriders, even before she Impressed! Moreover, that little bitch of a bluerider that was currently piping away and watching her dance to his tune. R’nya had great difficulty believing anything good would come from it, but was too respectful to drag the clearly deliriously happy girl away from her dream.

R’nya blinked, startled, and sat up slightly to peer down at Rhaedalyn. “But, what happened after?” A pout existed for a bare moment, before R’nya scowled down at Rhaedalyn in disbelief. “Your stories are quite fantastic, my dear, but you really must finish them if you start them.” Giving Rhaedalyn a disgruntled look, R’nya flopped back onto the ground with a low grunt, and stared up at the clouds. One hand was lifted, and did a little airy wave as he demanded the story continue. Then he glanced sideways at Rhaedalyn from under his lashes, a small smile tugging at one corner of his lips.

Rhaedalyn stared up at R’nya, unblinking, as she was chastised for not finishing the story. Even when the bronzerider flopped back down again and waved for her to continue, she wasn’t sure she could. R’nya was in such an odd state that she couldn’t tell if she had truly been in trouble or if he was teasing her. Both seemed likely at the moment but finally she decided that he genuinely wanted to know how it ended. What else was there to know though? The maiden was swept away by the handsome hero. Wasn’t that the most important part? Why would a bronzerider want to hear about anything else when all the action just happened and a dragonrider got the girl?

“Um, they lived happily ever after?” That’s how almost all of her stories ended. The couples were always happy together and had a wonderful life. “She never looked back as he was all she needed. He made her laugh, gave her wonderful surprises, and held her close at night. She was still of age to Stand as well and with his encouragement, she did so for the next gold egg that appeared. It didn’t affect their love in any way but she did Impress and they made for quite the striking pair of dragonriders.” Hopefully, that ending was suitable. A quick glance was given to R’nya to gauge his reaction to it and then distracted herself when Rumour suddenly crawled onto her belly. A giggle was given as the snuggly blue curled up and Rhaedalyn began to idly pet him.

R’nya’s eyebrows knit together in a frown, and the bronzerider rolled onto his side, using his arm to support his head as he eyed Rhaedalyn thoughtfully. “But…” He lingered on the single word for a few moments, continuing to watch the girl, “what happened?” R’nya fought to catch Rhaedalyn’s gaze when she glanced his way, his expression confused. “What did her father do? Did the Rider get in trouble?” Surely there was more to the story than just a happily ever after, right?

You’re thinking too much. The bronze’s tone was droll as he peered out towards the two humans from where he was playing with Aradissicath. It’s a story, not politics. Think less. Enjoy more. A pause. Or you will get wet. R’nya twisted to frown over his shoulder at Xyreith before puffing out a sigh and flopping back into the sand. “Okay.” He peered sideways at Rhaedalyn, looking slightly apologetic. “Xyreith says I think too much. Tell me another?”