[Backdated PRP] Take Me (Torin, T'of, and Makhmilith)

[Smerdle]

This morning had proven surprisingly uneventful so far. Thaniel was away, Vrien was drinking quietly on one of their many stone decks, and Alaban was up to his nipples in contracts. Literally. Torin had seen his brother just an hour ago, carrying a stack of documents their father had left for him from his office to his bedroom. He had pressed them closer to his naked chest as he'd huffed past, and Torin hadn't bothered to question... anything about the situation, to be honest. Had he been expected to be named Holder of Havell someday, he would have done his paperwork shirtless too.

With everyone attending to their own business there was no one to pester, and Torin found himself wandering just outside of the house, watching their Headwoman bustle back and forth across the wide communal square in the shallow valley below. Thaniel's lofty predecessors had constructed the main house on a low hill overlooking the outdoor portions of the Hold, as if leaving themselves so prominently exposed to their ancient, sleeping enemy might make them look like more powerful leaders. These days it just seemed reckless, and over the past two years the house had been hastily fortified to keep the family safe.

Once the Headwoman ducked inside and there was no one left to watch, Torin looked back over his shoulder at the house for a moment, then with a toss of his hair, headed down into the empty square.

Princess_Feylin

 

[Princess_Feylin]

Remind me why we're here again, T'of grumbled to Makhmilith as the blue circled over a minor hold. I cannot think of a single reason for us to be here.

I can, the dragon replied, descending. But only a single one.

For a moment he opened his mind more fully to his rider, allowing him to share his mental sensitivity to other minds. It wasn't something T'of particularly enjoyed, since he always had a fear at the back of his mind that it was a two-way connection and those other minds would be able to sense his, too, even though Makh assured him that wasn't how it worked.

You think there's someone down here who might Impress? T'of clarified. He was still getting used to being a searchrider, and bowing to the apparent whims of his dragon when Makh said he felt someone potentially worthwhile. It didn't help that Makh had so far only selected one other candidate, having dismissed the other two he'd inspected as boring and sycophantic, respectively.

The blue dragon did not reply with words, instead humming his assent as he came to land on the heights beyond the hold. He was not a large dragon, nor even large for a dragon of his color, but he did not particularly want to land in the middle of the hold and suffer every teenager in the place coming out and hoping to win him over.

You'll have to bring the young man to me, Makhmilith said, and then, before T'of could object to the fairly impossible task of finding an unknown individual in a strange location, he continued: He's the only young man in the square at present. You probably saw him as I was landing.

T'of slid down his dragon's shoulder and started walking. Fortunately it really was a small hold, despite the preponderance of fields for herdbeasts and runners, and the walk was short. Before long, T'of was looking at a slim young man in finely tailored clothes across the otherwise unoccupied square. He raised a hand in greeting and gestured that he wanted to talk to the young man, simultaneously indicating through his stance that he had no intention of walking any further into the square, so the potential candidate would have to come to him.

Smerdle

Sorry. That was wordy. I will be less so in future.

 

[Smerdle]

Torin hadn't actually seen the blue and his rider circling overhead or he might have saved them the trouble and approached on his own. He had nearly reached the entrance to the underground passage when he saw an unfamiliar dark-haired man across the square, and his eyes only narrowed minutely as he straightened and tucked his left hand out of sight. He smiled, and in an instant it was as if he had never been distrustful at all.

"Good day! Welcome to Havell Hold!" It was slightly concerning that this man had seemingly just wandered in out of nowhere, considering their proximity to Bitra, but it wasn't unheard of for people to find them here. As long as he wasn't backed by some posse of goons, Torin was fairly certain there was nothing the man could do to him here. He approached at a bit of a saunter, wary but willing to help.

"Are you looking for someone in particular?"

Princess_Feylin

no worries!
as long as you don't mind my smol replies XD

 

[Princess_Feylin]

T'of studied the young man as he approached. Well-dressed and well-formed, though his hair struck T'of as utterly impractical. It probably wasn't actually that impractical if a person didn't lead a life where their hair was constantly being stuffed into helmets to keep it from being irredeemably tangled by the winds a dragon's flight generated.

It's called Havell Hold, T'of informed Makh. In case you were curious.

I wasn't, the blue replied. Just bring him here so I can get a better look into his mind, will you?

T'of didn't reply to his dragon, but his facial expression was one of general amusement. It was true that he, himself, had been born to a family considerably lower than the young man Makh had sent him to find, but he was very proud of being sent to Healer Hall to study, and of his education. In his opinion, he would have been at a level to converse with anyone on Pern with that education, even before he Impressed Makhmilith.

"Thank you," T'of replied, not-so-subtly adjusting the searchrider's knots on his shoulders. He didn't expect someone who hadn't spent considerable time in a Weyr to recognize the specialized system of ranking knots dragonriders used, but he did want to draw attention to the fact that he was, at least, wearing knots that identified him as a dragonrider.

"My dragon tells me I'm looking for you. We didn't want to create a big to-do by landing in the square where all and sundry would come out and start asking questions and shoving children at us, so he's elected to stay on the heights and have me be his errand boy." There was definitely a sardonic cast to T'of's manner as he spoke, but there was no malice behind it.

I hope you like this kid, T'of thought to Makh. It'll be a long, sad walk back to his home otherwise. Assuming he doesn't just throw himself from the heights in a fit of dramatic misery.

I'm confident, was Makh's somewhat enigmatic reply. Confident of what, T'of would have liked to know.

"Shall we go see him?" After a thoughtful pause, T'of added, " I promise I'll make no attempts on your life or your virtue."

It seemed worth mentioning. After all, he was asking a complete stranger to follow him out of the hold and up to a relatively secluded place on the slim excuse that a dragon who couldn't be seen from this spot wanted to meet him. T'of would absolutely understand any reluctance or suspicion the young man might have. Not to say he wouldn't also be irritated at the delay convincing him would involve, but he would understand.

Smerdle

Smol is a-okay. I'm afraid T'of just makes for long posts.