[PRP] Well...? (T'of and Ar'din and dragons)

[Princess_Feylin]

T'of had held off on tracking down all of the candidates he and Makhmilith searched following the hatching. He had refrained from checking in on those who had failed to Impress. He had refrained from following up with those who had. He had especially refrained from letting Arcadin - Ar'din, now - know that he had behaved like an a** at the hatching. Doubtless the young man had been made aware of that by now, and at any rate his behavior had not prevented him from Impressing a bronze.

As if having a shiny hide makes his a more impressive Impression, Makhmilith interjected, inserting himself into his rider's thoughts as he effortlessly did whenever T'of did not make a concentrated effort to maintain his privacy.

You know many people here feel it does, T'of pointed out, earning a grumble from his blue as he allowed that it was the case.

It still doesn't excuse his behavior, Makh insisted.

I'm not arguing, T'of pointed out. But I'm also not going to bring it up with him. He's not my lookout anymore, truly.

They both knew he didn't believe that. T'of felt responsible for everyone and everything, but most particularly those folks whose fates he had influenced by Searching them. They also both knew, per this conversation, that T'of would be seeking out the newly bonded pair. It was just the sort of thing he did.

Would you reach out to Alquemieth and see if you can figure out where I can find Ar'din? he asked, having no desire to wander the Weyr looking for a person in random places when he and his dragon could work together to pinpoint their exact location.

Working on it, the blue said, already sending his mind in search of the fierce young dragon.

Alquemieth, he called, mine would like to talk to Ar'din. Can you tell me where he is?

medigel

Hope that's okay. My brain's apparently more dead than I thought.

 

[medigel]

Tired, but not so much that he felt he could honestly get a nap in for his rest hour, Ar'din reclined back in his bed at the barracks, eyes half-lidded, arms behind his head. Classes gave him enough to think about, though sometimes the information spun in his head like dust in the wind. Names of local riders in particular was hard, especially if he wasn't meeting them in person. But if he let his mind wander and kept off his feet for the hour...

Unfortunately, I am in need of another oiling, Alquemieth said, resisting the urge to pitch at the dry patch near his ribs.

Oh. Sure.

He was hefting himself to his feet when Alquemieth suddenly perked at the voice calling out. Realizing this was the dragon that had Searched His, he replied quite politely, We are leaving the barracks to get an oiling in. Where should we meet you?

Princess Feylin

 

[Princess_Feylin]

Makhmilith relayed Alquemieth's message to T'of with a bare minimum of complaint at being used in this manner. It was an on-going discussion between the two of them about the appropriateness of using a sentient being to relay messages between two other people. Both dragon and rider agreed that it did seem a little bit beneath a creature such as a dragon, which had been born for a purpose no less than the defense of the whole world from the insidious threat of thread, but T'of could not deny it was convenient to be able to communicate with people who weren't physically present, even though the message got passed through several heads in the process. He likened it to the runnercraft, which used human beings to convey messages in a very similar manner, but Makh was never much impressed by the comparison.

In the Bowl, Makh decided when T'of didn't immediately come up with a location. There should be more than enough space for everyone, and it's nice enough outside.

It was, in fact, chillier than T'of would have liked if the plan was to spend much time outdoors, being nearly Turn's End, but it seemed like Makh planned to be present, too, and T'of didn't imagine the blue would begrudge him some body heat.

Of course not, was Makh's off-handed reply as the pair made their respective ways to the Bowl to look for the weyrlings. You could even make yourself useful and see to my hide.

The last was, both knew, completely unnecessary. T'of was nearly obsessive about keeping Makh's hide smooth and oiled, his aversion to skin conditions such as peeling, flaking, oozing, and generally anything except perfection making it a necessity for his peace of mind.

It did not take long for the two of them to find a leeward place in the Bowl,
and there they waited.

medigel

I'm so sorry it took me this long to reply. It's been a really hectic couple of weeks.

 

[medigel]

So, what'd he want? Ar'din asked as they made their way to the bowl, oiling tools swinging lightly in his hands.

To talk, obviously.

Oh, good. I love being lectured again and again. He was sure that's what was going to happen, one way or another. He had gotten an earful from the weyrlingmaster second already early into classes. And one or two other riders. And Alquemieth himself, in a way, on the day of the Hatching. He really wasn't in the mood to go through it again, but there he was, looking for T'of and his angsty ol' blue. Damn you, feelings of debt.

After Alquemieth pointed them out (by virtue of just sifting through other presences until he found the correct one), he hailed their arrival a minute before contact. "Sup," Ar'din said in greeting, almost a grunt. Beside him, the bronze kept a kingly posture, quietly squaring the rider pair up now that he could finally see who had brought His here.

Princess_Feylin

u good bby i haven't even made our other start sdlfksgj

 

[Princess_Feylin]

T'of's thick, dark eyebrows rose at the weyrling's salutation. It wasn't quite an expression of disapproval, but there was a very clearly implied, Really? Behind him, Makhmilith fixed the younger pair with a too-cool-for-you look intended to indicate that he was too mature to be ruffled by their indifference, despite being only two turns Alquemieth's senior.

"Do I actually need to say anything about the hatching, or have you heard it enough by now?" T'of asked, forgoing a return greeting completely.

He had a lecture partially prepared in his mind, but upon seeing the pair he got the feeling that the misconduct at the hatching had been impressed upon Ar'din pretty firmly, and probably from several sources. Adding his voice to the mix was unlikely to have a positive outcome. Makh, who had been mildly aghast at Ar'din's hatching day activities despite his generally nonconformist, conspiracy theorist tendencies, slanted a look at his rider.

You're letting him off the hook? he asked.

He's clearly heard it. Why beat a dead runner? If I keep harping at him, he'll only come to resent the Weyr and leadership.

Maybe he should question that, Makh insisted. More people ought to.

Before Makh could launch into one of his monologues about the sinister things clearly happening behind the scenes at the Weyr, T'of firmly redirected his own attention to Ar'din and Alquemieth.

"Other than that, how's weyrling life?"

medigel

No worries about other starts. I'll be delighted when you have the energy/inspiration to do it, but I'm also fine with waiting. Clearly I'm no RP speed demon anymore.

 

[medigel]

“Go ahead if it’s that hard to hold back,” Ar’din said dryly.

He understands what has happened, and what he should do in the future, Alquemieth put in, an almost boilerplate statement for the ones who had approached them after the Hatching. While others had heard his subtle contempt for thinking themselves better in correcting such a mistake, this pair only heard the assurance that His was looked out for now. He was all too aware of how rough Ar’din was in many aspects of weyrlife.

Whether that was enough to stop the lecture or not, at least T’of didn’t seem willing to linger on it, so that was a nice change. “Goes,” the young man replied with a verbal shrug. He didn’t feel like getting into how little his dragon was liked among his peers, or how the writing aspects frustrated him when he was more a physical learner. And that wasn’t counting how little he had talked even before being chosen.

At a prod from the bronze, he added, “T’of, Makhmilith, this is Alquemieth.”

Alque nodded his head slightly. A pleasure to meet the ones who brought Mine to me.

Princess_Feylin

its that time of year I think orz

 

[Princess_Feylin]

In point of fact, it was hard for T'of to hold back. His innate need to inform people when they were being stupid had been one of the traits which made mindhealing a difficult profession for him to follow. However, he had learned to hold his tongue when the situation called for it, such as when he was functioning as a mindhealer speaking with a patient. That was not exactly what was going on here, but he could bend his mind around the idea that he was still somewhat responsible for Ar'din being at the Weyr and adjusting well to it, and thus quell the urge to upbraid.

"I'm pleased to meet you, Alquemieth. Congratulations to both of you," T'of responded, also suppressing his desire to pry into Ar'din's succinct reply. If he wanted to say more, T'of might be able to tease it out of him, but he was actually much better at allowing things to go unsaid by others than he was at keeping his own tongue in check.

We're glad to have played a part, Makhmilith said to the younger dragon, truthful and choosing tact.

Both dragon and rider waited in silence for a moment before making any attempt to move the conversation forward. Between them there was a silent conversation which amounted to wondering whether they'd dragged the pair outdoors for nothing, or if there was more to be said.

"Have you given any thought to what role you'd like to play in the Weyr once you graduate from being weyrlings?" T'of asked eventually. "I know you've only been here a short time, but I imagine V'mel's mentioned some of the options?"

T'of had no clear idea what Ar'din and Alquemieth were experiencing as weyrlings. Though they'd had the same weyrlingmaster, their hatching had been different, and much of the early portions of it had been spent with T'of trying to catch up with his new peers, who had mostly had some training as candidates, whereas he had been trained solely as a mindhealer.

medigel

I could've sworn I had half a tag posted here that I meant to finish off, but apparently I didn't. I'm really sorry about that.

 

[medigel]

Ar’din’s brows raised at the question, though he knew he shouldn’t have been surprised. Bronzeriders this and bronzeriders that, shards and shells. The most long-term plan he’d had for High Reaches was to stay a few turns to please Gregor before bowing out and returning to the old man’s practice back at Crom Hold. He hadn’t expected to immediately Impress, and he certainly hadn’t expected a hatchling to already have a grand plan quite opposite to his own. On the one hand, Alquemieth’s ardor was growing on him; on the other, he still wasn’t sure he was really the man for such a job, or that it was a job he wanted to take up in the first place.

Later, when the reality of rank would start to show, Ar’din might begin to change that view.

But for now, he continued with his eloquence: “Study.”

Alquemieth shifted his wings like a dark cloak and asked, < Is there a greater role than that of fighting the enemy? >

He wanted to turn the conversation towards T’of and Makhmilith rather than himself and His, both to keep the pressure off his Roder and to test what sorts they were and if they were worth staying in touch with after this courtesy visit. Would they presume better judgement, or would their experience and opinions be worth the time? Alquemieth’s question was simple enough, but he was thinking about more than just Thread as a threat to the weyr: sedition began quietly, and he was sure there were whispers even before some of his clutchmates started to toe their claws in. Even without so many words and even at a young age, the bronze radiated bright and righteous.

Princess_Feylin

weeps I’m sorry

 

[Princess_Feylin]

T'of couldn't help the quick smirk that followed Ar'din's succinct reply. It was a good response, he had to admit, and showed so much more sense than many weyrlings did. That would serve him well, whatever he and Alquemieth decided they wanted to do in the future.

There are ways and ways to carry on that fight, beyond spitting flames, Makhmilith replied to the younger dragon. He couldn't help but put on a mysterious tone, but at least he probably didn't come across as condescending. Maybe. He wasn't trying to, at any rate, though that often didn't matter. He was just one of those dragons who always acted like there was something going on below the surface, and reception always varied depending on one's tolerance for that sort of thing.

"What are you studying right now?" T'of asked. This topic was comfortable and familiar territory, even though he sort of knew the answer already from his conversations with Reya.

medigel

Absolutely no need for sorries. I'm enjoying RPing, but please know that if this RP isn't doing anything for you, I won't be offended if you'd rather we just come up with an outcome and go with that.

 

[medigel]

Mystery. Alquemieth was well acquainted with that already. Ar’din liked to act like there were layers to everything he did or said, though to be fair sometimes there were. He was a young man whose mind held a labyrinth, and Alquemieth liked exploring. (Claiming.)

< You are right, > the bronze agreed. < Being exemplary requires more than brute force or skill with the enemy. > Still vague, still probing. He spoke like they were at the very least equals despite his age. Confident. Assured in his presence. < What might you do when not fighting, Makhmilith? >

Ar’din, for the sake of his life partner, didn’t peanut gallery the apparent show the dragonet was putting on. He instead mused on how to continue being “eloquent.” Nothing particularly fun came up. “Northern continent,” he replied. “Some ground drills coming next sevenday.” A pause. “You know that, you did this before.” There was a note of curiosity there, however, though he would never state it outright. Ar’din knew next to nothing about the bluerider that plucked him away from his home, but it occurred to him that actually trying to talk might be a good idea. Take some notes for the future.

Princess_Feylin

Not at all! I had problems replying to much for a bit but I’m trying not to drop so many rps again, plus the development is good! I still owe u one with Raq, if you don’t mind me making it for senior weyrling time instead of junior?

 

[Princess_Feylin]

Makh looked down at the younger bronze, wondering for a moment how long it would be until he was no longer able to do so. Of course he knew how long it took dragons to mature. That was obvious. But how long it would take this particular bronze to outstrip him? Less so. But also of no great importance. Bronzes were big. That was simply the way of it.

I train, Makh replied. And T'of and I ride Search pretty frequently. At least we do when leadership isn't imposing draconian restrictions on Searches.

Although the poor showing of numerous candidates at the last hatching provided an easy and obvious explanation for the Weyrwoman and Weyrleader's decision to put a temporary (they claim!) freeze on Searches, the blue dragon had Ideas about why Weyr leadership might really be restricting them. They were still vague, half-formed ideas, but he was on the lookout for evidence to point him into developing them more fully.

Like Ar'din, T'of was doing his best not to eavesdrop on the dragons' conversation. Or at least on the part of it he could sense via Makh. This meant that he had no idea his dragon was about to start hinting at conspiracy his anti-authority conspiracy theories.

"I did," T'of agreed with a shrug. His left eyebrow twitched of its own volition and a self-deprecating grimace tugged at his mouth as he went on: "But I also had a bunch of remedial lessons and extra training because I wasn't an official candidate when I Impressed, so there was a lot I'd missed out on and had to learn in a hurry."

He hadn't minded the frenetic pace of his early training. Hard labor had never bothered him, as long as he was also allowed to exercise his mind. Looking back, though, he was pretty sure this period was what had turned Makh into such a dedicated worker who didn't have a great grasp of when he had done too much. T'of had not set a good example in those early sevendays.

medigel

I'm perfectly happy to have the RP with Raq set as senior weyrling!