Wandering Alone [Search/Mango]

[Parallel]

It had been quite some time since Kestrel had wandered around a Hold on her own, but Jordan and Jorsk were sleeping off the long boat journey. Besides Kestrel had decided she wanted to see this new place in daylight first. So this was how she found herself walking down the narrow streets by herself. Nobody really paid her much attention, which suited her perfectly. The morning sunlight was more bright to her now after long weeks living nocturnally. She faced the sky and smiled, reveling in the freshness of the sea breeze. It was something she's only recently gotten used to. Having been raised near Telgar she had spent her youth inland, never knowing how beautiful the sea could be. But when she finally did see it, and indeed cross it, she felt she could never be apart from it! There was something freeing about, something she desired so much. Freedom and strength.

Kestrel frowned slightly. Inevitably her thoughts always seemed to lead her to her faults, what she lacked. She felt she didn't have as much strength in herself as she should. Quickly she looked around at the people who inhabited Silver Cove Hold hoping to immerse herself in observing their lives. But to her dismay her first glance took her to one of her most painful memories. There in front of her stood a young boy, no more than 10 turns, with his father and their runner. The boy was glowing with joy and pointing at the runner beast, a gift from his father. Kestrel turned away. Memories of her own runner beast Brenin came back painfully. When she and Jordan had met in Keroon she knew she would have to sell him to afford the crossing to the southern continent, so with a very heavy heart she had left him behind... It hurt her to think of him still because he had been such an important part of her life, they had grown up together. A little part of her was even jealous of Jordan because he still had Jorsk, and she felt so alone when she watched them together.

It had taken every penny they had to pay for their departure. They had to start fresh now. She felt a little lost here, beginning her life again. Kestrel walked on, with no destination in mind.

[Mango]

((For a first time, that was an excellent post!!! Let any of us know if you have any questions!))

A gift. Yes, U'ar needed to find a gift for Mu. To congratulate her. To show her he was proud of her, not just upset. But the brown rider was on his guard. With the recent happenings at Cerulean, he didn't hold too much trust around the area. But there were still so few people at the Weyr. He would just be careful. Odyth would do anything in his power to keep His from getting hurt. Even now, he could feel the brown's eyes on him from a nearby ledge. It was comforting.

U'ar cast his eyes up to the brown then stopped at a merchant's booth. It was an apprentice from the Weaver Hall. U'ar looked over the dresses. Mu did nee a new one. He picked up the sleeve of one gown, trying to hie his frown. The stitches weren't straight. He cast an eye at the apprentice. She had a bent needle in hand, desperately trying to fix the hem of a dress. No wonder the poor girl couldn't sew straight. He moved away from the dresses, considering at least buying a blanket from the poor thing. That way she could maybe go get herself a new needle.

She finally seemed to notice him as he shifted through a few simple, but blotchy-colored blankets. She looked up at him, brown eyes giving him an impatient look. As she pulled some more thread, she stuck the bent needle in the side of her mouth and spoke through it, giving a slurring sound as she talked, "Ya gonna buy sormfing or ya gonna go?"

U'ar shot her a stern look. Surely, the girl knew he was a dragonrider. There weren't too many floating about here and his knots were clearly pinned on him. Even if she couldn't read them, she had to know what they were. Especially as a weaver. But, ever polite, U'ar simply turned on his heels with a "No, I think I'll move on" thrown back to her.

That was very nice of you, Mine. I was kind of tempted to swoop down and scare her a bit. The dragon's comment made U'ar chuckle aloud, instantly putting him in a better mood.

We have to be careful, old friend. I feel a bit uneasy here. I really want to find Mu something and go. As much as it was a long-forgotten Terran stereotype, U'ar wasn't a fan of shopping, further driving his in and out motives.

Suddenly, the brown perked up a bit. Mine, look The dragon's quick command had no follow up, though the dragon id seem to rise an take his eyes off U'ar.

You find something for Mu? he asked, turning in the general direction the dragon was pointing. In that direction was a Master leatherworker. Ah, yes! Riding boots! Perfect! He knew his daughter would appreciate a practical gift instead of a new doll or dress, though the latter she would definitely need eventually.

He did not take two steps before his dragon stopped him again, this time, flashing an image of a girl he saw nearby. U'ar was confused for a moment. What had a girl to do with anything?

I see something in her, MineOwn. She has something special. She longs for something. Talk to her. Bring her back.

Oh! Was he Searching her? It had been a longtime since the brown had done that. He was very inwardly for a while. The two were getting better. U'ar turned to look at the girl, giving her a probably uncomfortably long stare. Using some of his dragon's "eyes", he triedto see the same qualities in her. She had a frown on her face. Well, she could certainly long or something. Ah, why not?

He took a few strides towards her, calling out, "Excuse me, miss!"

[Parallel]

( thank you! No doubt I'll have lots of questions soon! )

The slight breeze that had a few moments go given Kestrel such a good feeling now picked up and tossed her overgrown hair. Running her hand through it she muttered to herself. She had better cut it again soon, it was nearly a finger's length now, much too long in her opinion. She liked it cropped short and out of the way so she didn't have to deal with it. Glancing around she wondered if anyone here would be able to sort it out for her cheaply enough. Jordan was a great traveling companion, but he definitely didn't have any skills in cutting a girl's hair, especially in the dark!

Suddenly Kestrel became aware that she wasn't as inconspicuous as she'd thought. She felt as if someone was watching her. Immediately on guard and suspicious she was careful not to make any quick movements to give away the fact that she knew someone was looking at her. She carried on walking, slowly, down the street, quietly searching for the intruder. Following the chill at the nape of her neck she glanced near the weaver's stall where a tall man with strong broad shoulders stood. She looked him up and down furtively. He was well built, older than herself and... He was a Dragonman. Kestrel was stunned. Though she had seen many a dragon and their rider flying in Wings above her, living near enough to Telgar Weyr when she was younger, never had she seen them up close. Kestrel's curiosity overcame her shock and she looked around. Where was his dragon?

His voice rang out, waking her from her thoughts. He was calling to her. Kestrel was instantly fearful. Had she done something wrong? Dragonriders didn't usually speak to common folk did they? She became very unsure of herself and had such an urge to run. But then, she thought, what would be the point? He had a dragon! Her mind was now wracked with uncertainty, but before she could truly decide what to do he was upon her. She mustered all of her courage, her mask of confidence almost fitting right, she looked up at him. "Hello... Sir...", she managed before looking directly into his eyes.

She was surprised, but relieved, to find that they were kind.

[Mango]

He gave her a gentle smile, seeing that she was nervous. If she ha already caught sight if Odyth, that was a natural reaction. The brown could rival a small bronze. And with his scars and general rough dragonman appearance, he was sure he didn't help much either. A smile was all he had to calm her.

"Hello there, miss. My name is U'ar of Brown Odyth. Please don't be nervous I just have something I want to ask you. Do you care to talk to me for a short while?" He extended her hand to her for a handshake, trying to put himself more on her level. He had no idea what kind of experience she had with dragonmen, but it couldn't be too much or too good.

I don't think it was I who scared her, Mine. I am all the way up here. I must look like a flitter from up here Odyth chided. Uar could hear the draconinc grin in his voice.

Or maybe like fat lazy wher U'ar chided back mentally. He woul show that brown that he hadn't lost his touch. The brown snorted in response. Him? A wher? No, he didn't think so. That was a low-blow indeed. As if to prove that was not what he is, Odyth stood at full height and stretched out his wings, giving them a few test flaps. His eyes were still turned in the direction of the two humans, showing himself off.

[Parallel]

Kestrel took the man's proffered hand and nodded mutely as his invitation washed over her, she was very much still lost in her own thoughts. He was a BrownRider. That was a high rank, she knew. She stood in complete awe of the fact that he wanted to talk to her. His warm smile had somewhat evaporated her initial fear for which she was very grateful. But her fear was almost immediately replaced with curiosity. First about his dragon. She wanted desperately to look around for him, to see him, a real dragon up close for the first time. But thinking about where she was it didn't seem likely that he would be hiding behind a stall. And besides, it might look rude to start craning her neck around searching.

Aware that she hadn't verbally responded to U'ar's request she nodded again, "Yes, please, of course, sir." Immediately embarrassed at her lack of a coherent sentence and her pathetic attempts at courtesy she blushed. But how were you supposed to greet a DragonRider? It's not as if someone had taught her. She just hoped that sir would do for now to express her respect for him. But she did make a mental note to find out from Jordan if there were any particular honorifics she could use if she ever met one again.

Suddenly a movement at the edge of her vision caught her eye. On a ledge nearby stood a magnificent Brown stretching his wings. She swallowed, unable to believe how big he must be. A thought occurred to her, imagine how much difficulty she'd have addressing him if she was having this much difficulty with his Rider!

She didn't know this Hold at all so she couldn't even suggest a quieter place to go and speak with U'ar. She felt a little pathetic, so unable to contribute helpfully to the beginning of their conversation. Trying to regain some dignity Kestrel gestured around at the marketplace by way of explanation, "I've only just arrived here early this morning, sir, with my friend Jordan. But he's still sleeping so I would be happy to be of service any way I can." There, a complete sentence. Letting out a small breath, she felt relieved. Her curiosity returned and she began to wonder what he wanted to talk with her about again. Perhaps it was about Jordan? Maybe he knew he was a WherHandler? Did DragonRider's even talk with WherHandler's? Perhaps she could glean some information about a place for Jorsk and his bonded to stay. Smiling at the thought of helping them in some way she relaxed, looking forward to talking with U'ar.

[Mango]

U'ar had to chuckle again. The girl fumbled with her words and curtsy a bit. Such honor to him? It felt weird. Then again, he didn't really head out of the Weyr much and he was used to people who were more comfortable around large dragons and their riders. "Sorry about the show off there. I just called him a wher and he is trying to prove that he's not. But you really needn't be so formal with me. U'ar is fine. Uh....I don't think I caught your name though."

He smiled gently at her, trying to keep her calm. The fact that she was with someone could pose a problem. Well, her companion could be of use to the Weyr. He couldn't be counted out yet, of course. If he had a useful skill, the Weyr would happily accept him. He made a mental note to ask her about this friend. Gently, he lead her to a more quiet part of the city. ((Sorry it's short. I have company coming in a minute.))

[Parallel]

Kestrel laughed at U'ar's explanation. She felt good knowing that even dragon's could get annoyed about such things. She was still smiling when she said, "Sorry U'ar, my name is Kestrel and I've travelled here from Telgar Hold." She was beginning to like U'ar very much. He seemed so comfortable with who he was. And his dragon! Oh he was so beautiful.. She thought fleetingly of being paired with a dragon.. But coming back to reality she couldn't help chiding herself at the notion.
Kestrel happily let U'ar take the lead, thinking that even if she didn't get back to Jordan for when he woke up she would make up for it with a tale of herself and dragonmen!

(no worries! mine's short too!)