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Post by Mello on Aug 24, 2010 15:14:50 GMT -5
R’nen laughed along with the other weyrling. “That’s good to know,” he replied with a grin. Part of him had been convinced F’ren wasn’t joking- sometimes he couldn’t tell when the other boy was just trying to ‘make him blush’ and when he was being serious. He didn’t think he would try to get him to do anything that would endanger Olloth, though, so he trusted that F’ren would leave that particular topic well enough alone for a while at least. Although once he graduated…. That was probably the one part of becoming a full rider that R’nen didn’t really want to experience. He had time, though, to enjoy Olloth growing up, and was determined to take full advantage of that.
F’ren had a way of making things seem much simpler than they really were. R’nen wished it was that easy to write the letter, but it never was. “I know I can just tell them the facts,” he said. “I’ve just… well, I hate writing letters. He sighed. “I was never all that good with my letters,” he admitted after a moment. “I guess I could just write down those things, but just thinking about trying to remember all those little letters makes me tired….” Part of R’nen knew that he would have to work on his reading and writing- after all, it was an important skill for a writer. But it had always been so difficult, and at home it had never been important. After a moment he laughed at himself. “Sorry,” he said, “I know I’m complaining a lot. I guess it’s just hard to prioritize writing a letter when it takes so much time and effort I could be putting towards Olloth.”
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Post by Mello on Aug 24, 2010 14:58:32 GMT -5
It was, once again, that time of day. R’nen had always liked doing chores- they made him feel useful, generally. But ever since he had Impressed Olloth, they hadn’t had the same appeal. After all, taking care of the brown dragon was still a job important to the Weyr, even more so than infirmary chores in the Weyrling’s mind. Not that he would refuse to do them, but it was hard to pull himself away from Olloth, even for something as important as chores.
When Olloth was younger, though, he was at least sleeping when R’nen left him to go take care of his chores. But now that he was older, and awake when his rider left, it was even more difficult for the weyrling to get away.
Mine, do you have to go? the dragon pled with the boy as he noticed him preparing to leave. Can’t you stay here for a while? The dragon softly bumped R’nen’s side with his head, and he noted with pride how much the brown had grown since he had hatched. He rubbed the ridge over Olloth’s eye lovingly. “Sorry Olly, I’ve got to go.” Please? Just a few minutes?[/color] R’nen was torn- he did need to leave, but Olloth sounded so upset…. Finally he decided he had a few moments to spare, as long as he hurried down to the infirmary afterwards. “Just a few,” R’nen warned with a sigh, sliding down to sit on the floor next to his dragon, who let out an excited noise and happily moved as close to the boy as he could.
By the time R’nen managed to pull himself away, more than just a few minutes had passed, and he found himself jogging through the corridors, cursing himself under his breath. He should know better than to be late! I’m sorry R’nen,[/color] Olloth said sleepily from the barracks. It’s ok, R’nen reassured him. It wasn’t the dragon’s fault he couldn’t keep track of time- everyone knew dragons didn’t have a good sense of time. No, this was his fault, and he would take responsibility for it.
Finally, he made it to the infirmary. It seemed like the other people were already there, and he silently cursed his lateness once more, not really taking notice of the tension in the room in his haste to begin and make up for his tardiness. “Sorry,” he half-panted.
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Post by Mello on Aug 24, 2010 14:41:51 GMT -5
I'm back and trying to get caught up :-D
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Post by Mello on Aug 14, 2010 7:07:21 GMT -5
Sorry if I haven't been around very often these last few days. I realized I had put off getting ready to go to school until the last minute (I leave this afternoon and I was packing very late last night.....) Also, this upcoming week is band camp, which means hours and hours of fun and little energy to spare. I'll be on if I can but if not look for me in about a week
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Post by Mello on Aug 9, 2010 20:36:31 GMT -5
((Sorry if it seems a little off.... Been a bit of a long day))
R’nen could easily forget that the other boy had had such a different upbringing than him sometimes, but other times it was all too apparent. Not knowing how to deal with family? He could hardly imagine a life where that was even possible. He didn’t have a single memory of childhood without at least one other family member there. There were times when he hadn’t gotten along with his brothers and he had had his fair share of arguments with the girls, too, but he never would have lasted through his time there if he hadn’t been able to deal with them.
“Exactly,” he confirmed. “I’m beginning to think words aren’t even worth explaining it to them, though.” It would be easier to show them, but he was still a Weyrling, and he wanted them to know… somehow. He just didn’t want to have to write the letter. “I wrote to them before I left Southern,” he said slowly. “Not sure if they got it though. Before that… I don’t remember, really. I didn’t write all that often.” They hadn’t expected him to write all that often, luckily. None of them were all that good with reading or writing anyways- his father was great with numbers but equally terrible with letters and his brothers seemed to take after him. His mother was the one who had done all the letters, and after she was gone they just seemed to not be very important.
And then F’ren was distracted by something, and when R’nen turned to see what had caught his eye he realized it was another weyrling- a male weyrling, and a rather attractive one at that, if he was being honest. His face quickly turned red. Of course F’ren would turn back to that subject. When he turned back F’ren was pouting. For a moment R’nen just stared at him, then he found himself suddenly bursting out laughing. “Sorry,” he managed to say after a few moments. “It’s just… The best thing that’s ever happened to me and you’re thinking about the guys I can’t sleep with?” He paused with a grin on his face. “Besides, I’m sure you’ll find some way to keep reminding me about it the whole time anyways.”
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Post by Mello on Aug 9, 2010 20:12:09 GMT -5
He was tired, more drained than he could ever remember being as a result of putting so much into this run. But the bronze wher continued to follow as closely as he could. The need was greater than the fatigue- the need to win, to prove himself to the other males there and most importantly to the lovely golden queen. Speed had never been one of his strongest suits but he pushed on as quickly as he could while dodging tree branches, desperate to show her his strength and skill.
When she began to run next to the river he let out a small call of excitement. Yes! At last he could show his true strength to the gorgeous gold. While enough trees were still around to create obstacles for the unwary, there was more space than in the middle of the forest, and he felt new energy come to him with the realization that, while he may not have been the first to reach the riverbank, he could certainly gain on any others in front of him now. It was just proof that he was meant to win her affections!
His inexperience was still a fatal flaw, however. So excited about the new terrain, he didn’t see the fallen tree until he was tripping over it, limbs caught together in a jumbled pile. He forced himself to his feet as quickly as possible, but the damage was done. What if she had seen? Would she turn him away as unworthy? He knew if he was still to have a chance to prove himself, he would have to do something big and daring to catch her attention.
But by then she had already taken a leap into the air off the edge of the rapids and he barely stopped to contemplate, sure that that was the way he would catch her eye. He put the last remnants of his strength into his legs, trying to regain lost speed, before catapulting himself off the log and into the air. Would his maneuver be enough or would he plummet to the ground? He searched for the queen, hoping to see her close by.
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Post by Mello on Aug 6, 2010 22:12:57 GMT -5
((No problem at all, I completely understand :-D ))
Lost in thought, R’nen had no idea anyone was even behind him until there were arms around him and a quick kiss on his cheek. In spite of himself, he let out a small cry of shock, covering his mouth almost as soon as he made it. Had he woken Olloth? He hadn’t been sleeping long… The weyrling reached out carefully with his mind, but the brown still seemed to be fast asleep, and R’nen let out a sigh of relief.
It was only then that he managed to turn his attention back to his companion- F’ren. He knew his cheeks were a little red from embarrassment at being so startled by his friend, but he still smiled genuinely to see him. With all his time devoted to the tasks needed to care for Olloth, it felt like it had been a long time since he had seen the bronze rider.
“I’m…” He glanced down at the still blank paper, sighing helplessly. “Trying to write a letter home. I thought I should explain…. about Olloth and everything.” With a slight laugh he showed the empty sheet to F’ren. “You can see how that is going though.” He put the paper back down. “I hate writing,” he added under his breath before deciding to put that particular problem aside for the moment.
“Thank you,” he said in response to F’ren’s congratulations. “Yeah, it feels…” And he was back to words. Why was it so difficult to describe this whole experience? Maybe if words came to him, instead of him having to drag each one out of his mind, he would have put more work into learning his letters. But what was the point? He would never be someone to write the stories and tales, even if he did enjoy hearing them so much. “It’s beyond words,” he finally concluded with a wide grin. “I never really thought all that time I spent hoping would be so worth it, but…” He laughed. “Well, Olloth is worth a lot more than a few turns of my life.”
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Post by Mello on Aug 6, 2010 21:55:05 GMT -5
((Yay for walls!))
Ranen winced when the other boy yelped. He hadn’t meant to sneak up on him… Maybe he was just thinking of something? Numbweed was a difficult enough chore, Ranen knew it always helped him to distract himself in some way or another. Just one more reason to avoid infirmary chores if given the choice, actually- most of the time he could get pleasure out of completing his task, but when the task smelled sooo awful even that was taken away.
Lost in thought, he nearly missed L’cin’s question, but brought himself back to the conversation just in time. “Yeah,” he said with a nod. “I’m a candidate.” He tried to keep the slight bitterness out of his tone at that statement. Lately he could hardly let himself hope that that particular label would change. Maybe at this next Hatching? But maybe that was just dreaming- he hoped the same thing before every Hatching, and it hadn’t exactly worked out yet. Still, there was a time when just being where he was would have been a crazy dream, so part of him still argued that dreams could come true if he just waited a little bit longer. “I don’t know if apprentices get chores,” he added after a moment. He had lived in Hold and Weyr now, but the crafts were still a bit of a mystery to him. He had had a friend who used to be an apprentice Smith once, shortly after he got to Southern, but the other boy had given that up to be a Candidate. And Impressed not long after they met, if he remembered right.
“Sorry,” he added, trying not to dwell on that particular memory. “If I startled you, I mean.” But his apology was quickly forgotten when the words of L’cin’s Queth suddenly entered his mind. As long as he had been at the Weyr, it wasn’t often he attracted the attention of a dragon. Rarer still were the moments they chose to speak to him, and for a moment all he could do was stand there in shock. The dragon’s words barely even registered in his mind, lost to the feeling of awe. He saw Queth looking through the window and turned to watch him. He knew he was probably grinning but… well, maybe infirmary chores weren’t that bad after all.
“Greetings, Queth,” he said with a slight bow. “I’m Ranen.” Then he turned back to L’cin, who seemed flustered. Was he embarrassed at the actions of his dragon? “No, it’s okay, I…” He found he didn’t really know what to say. How to explain how great it was to really hear a dragon? Finally he just sighed. He was never any good with words.
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Post by Mello on Aug 4, 2010 11:26:37 GMT -5
Who: R’nen and F’ren What: Failing at writing a letter home When: Evening Where: Weyrling Barracks
R’nen sat out in the common area of the Weyrling barracks, staring at a blank piece of paper and willing words onto it. He hated writing. It wasn’t even just the actual physical task of it, although it was bad enough trying to make sure each letter looked right and trying to remember how to translate the sounds of speech into the individual letters. But he could put up with that, he supposed, if he really had to. It was just that even the words didn’t come to him. He couldn’t begin to write anything until he knew what he was trying to say, and he didn’t know how to even begin to put recent events in his life into words.
He wanted to tell his family about Olloth, let them know that he wasn’t just a silly dreamer or even a failure. He had succeeded, more than he had ever thought possible, and he wanted them to know too. The Weyrling reached out with his mind to the brown dragon, but he was asleep. R’nen smiled fondly, almost goofily. They had had a busy day, and the young dragon had been more than happy to curl up and go to sleep, although he had protested when he had realized that His wasn’t going to be joining him.
You need sleep too, the dragon had insisted firmly. Secretly, R’nen had agreed. He never seemed to get enough sleep these days, when every moment was filled with the wonderful tasks of caring for Olloth. But there were other things he needed to do, and he had put this one off long enough. He hadn’t written to his family for some time- since he had told them he was leaving Southern, and he wasn’t even really sure they had gotten that letter. So he forced himself to laugh. You just don’t want to be alone, he had teased the brown. There was a piece of truth in that, though- Olloth seemed to feel much more comfortable when His was in the room, and even better when R’nen was in contact with him, even if he was just placing a hand on his side. Not that R’nen minded. He would sleep next to the dragon every night if he could, but the more Olloth grew the less advisable that course of action seemed to be.
Olloth had sighed in an exaggerated, self-sacrificing manner, so R’nen just slid to the ground next to the dragon and absently rubbed his head until he fell asleep. It was so perfect, so peaceful and calm and absolutely more than he could ever have hoped for, that he nearly gave up on the letter again and stayed there next to the warm body of the perfect brown.
But he had been putting it off for too long, and so he had forced himself to stand up and make his way out to the common area. He still had a little bit before lights out, so he knew he should be able to finish before then. If he ever managed to get started… With a sigh and a groan of frustration, he leaned back in the chair, covering his face with his hands. Why was this whole writing thing so difficult?
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Post by Mello on Aug 4, 2010 11:06:21 GMT -5
Great idea!
R'nen: Late Winter
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Post by Mello on Aug 4, 2010 11:03:26 GMT -5
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Post by Mello on Aug 4, 2010 10:33:32 GMT -5
The bronze wher let out a cry of excitement as the gold began to take off. He admired her from the ground as she moved through the trees. He had never really thought that moving up so high could be so easy for a creature of her size, but she made it look easy. It took a moment for him to realize that her moving meant he should be moving as well, and then he took off across the ground.
He tried to keep her in sight above him, but his delayed reaction meant that he started off behind some of the others, and to make matters worse, the vegetation on the ground was getting in his way. Maybe it would be easier for him if he was in the trees like the gold- if she could do it, certainly he could as well. But no sooner had the notion crossed his mind than she had landed on the ground as well, although she was well in front of him. She didn’t seem as hampered as he did, though, and continued to race ahead. The bronze let out a cry of frustration and forced himself to speed up. He was young and strong and powerful and he would catch her.
When the beautiful gold began to climb again, the bronze hesitated only a moment. On a level below thought he had realized that remaining on the ground would never allow him to win, only to trail behind and watch, frustrated. No, if he wanted to win he had to learn to move through the trees like she did. And so he also began to climb the closest tree.
He hadn’t chosen particularly well, though, as the first branch he climbed too quickly snapped under his weight. He fell for a brief moment, feeling his chances slip away all the time, and once again cried out in frustration. But at the last minutes he managed to catch at another branch, this one a bit stronger. The bronze paused a moment to catch his breath, but he knew that every moment was weakening his own chances to be the one to catch the lovely gold, so he forced himself to move, this time choosing the larger branches, each one a small step closer to the prize he so desperately wanted.
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Post by Mello on Aug 2, 2010 20:57:02 GMT -5
Finally, the long day was ending. The wild bronze wher stretched his legs carefully, preparing himself for the night. It would shortly be time to take control of the dusky forest, as he knew he was supposed to, and begin his hunt. He enjoyed hunting much more than anything else, feeling the power and thrill of being alive. He was just the slightest bit larger than the average bronze, with a deep color to most of his hide and a lighter shade to his legs and head, giving him a bit of a mismatched look at times.
He felt confident and strong as he shook the last remnants of sleep from his body and began to search the air for the first sign of what would soon become his prey. He had barely had a chance to begin, however, when a call cut through the air. The bronze immediately headed towards the sound. Even though he hadn’t had the intelligence necessary to think about it, he had picked up on the feeling in the air for the past few days, and had crept slightly closer to the place he did not go, the place of the twolegs, every night since then. By that night he was close indeed, and it wasn’t terribly long before he knew he was close.
The bronze was young, and this would be his first run, but that did not deter him in the slightest or make him lose confidence in his own abilities. If anything it made him more confident. He was a bronze, and a big, strong bronze at that. He would have the energy and the power to be successful in this run, and the eggs produced from it would be healthy and strong. It made absolute sense on a level just below thought, instinct and a sense of self inflated by youth combining to create absolute confidence.
When he finally did reach the queen, he spied her in the treetops, evidently choosing to start high up. The bronze didn’t particularly enjoy being high up, however- he found that his size was a bit of a disadvantage if he was trying to move quickly among the lighter branches found higher up, and it was so tiring to stay aloft for too long. But he wasn’t going to give up. He maneuvered himself into what he hoped was a good position, where he could move up if he needed to or after the glowing queen if he didn’t, and watched carefully, body trembling with excitement.
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Post by Mello on Jul 28, 2010 16:58:31 GMT -5
R’nen gave L’cin’s sister a half smile. She seemed very… out of it. He reminded himself not to ever get that into his drink- it didn’t seem to be worth it the following morning. S’ren seemed to be so different then her brother, although he didn’t think it was really fair to judge her on that particular morning. At least she had L’cin there to look after her. He couldn’t imagine any of his siblings doing anything more than making fun of him if he was in the same position. Still, part of him couldn’t help but hope she turned her attention elsewhere. Not that that was reason to be rude, though. “Nice to meet you, S’ren,” he managed to say, feeling bad for L’cin’s slightly embarrassing situation. Next to him, Olloth was watching curiously, but if he had an opinion on the whole situation, he kept it to himself.
But then M’ma was beginning the lesson and he and Olloth both turned their attention towards the Weyrling Master. The rules seemed simple enough. Looking at S’ren didn’t exactly make him overly excited about drinking, anyways, so it wouldn’t be a huge loss to give what little drink he had previously indulged in up. And avoiding physical relationships… well, he could remember all too well his conversation with F’ren the other day. Olloth wasn’t ready for him to have a physical relationship, which was plenty of reason to not have one, but he wasn’t really ready either, if he was honest with himself, so that wouldn’t be hard. Physical fights would be a little more difficult though. Not that he went around looking for fights, but sometimes he needed to show people that he wasn’t weak. And the tried and true method of doing that was showing them he was strong…
But Mine, Olloth’s voice cut into his thoughts. You have me now. They will see you with me and know you are strong anyways. The simple draconic logic brought a smile to R’nen’s face as he continued to listen to the lesson.
Schedules and times and orders… it could make his head hurt. He had adjusted to his schedule as a candidate, but it hadn’t been nearly as structured. So they were supposed to wake up, then feed, bathe, and oil the dragons, then eat themselves, then a break, and then… what was next? He wasn’t sure he would ever remember where he was supposed to be. But then again, maybe for Olloth he could, he reasoned with himself, moving his hand to rest on the dragon’s warm brown hide.
And then it was time for Lessons… At first, R’nen barely suppressed a groan. He had never enjoyed lessons before, somehow they just never clicked with him.
But this wasn’t the kind of lesson he was used to- it was learning how to feed Olloth. R’nen silently decided that they should come up with a new name for it. Lessons were much worse than chores, but there really wasn’t anything else he would rather be doing than learning how to take care of Olloth.
I’m not too much work? Olloth asked as R’nen found a carcass that looked acceptable- perhaps not the largest, but one of the bigger ones- and began to cut it up. Not at all, love, R’nen replied with a slight laugh as he sliced carefully. He was no stranger to a knife, really, but he also didn’t have much practice cutting meat like that and he didn’t want to cut himself. Finally he had a few pieces to feed to Olloth, and the dragon hummed contentedly as R’nen fed him, bumping his head into his rider’s side gently as soon as he had finished in the hopes of more. “Hey,” R’nen laughed. “I’m going, don’t worry.” It still felt somewhat like a dream, even as he stood there cutting up raw meat, but if it was a dream, it was one of the best dreams he had ever had, so he couldn’t bring himself to really care all that much.
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Post by Mello on Jul 23, 2010 13:42:35 GMT -5
I have internet here! Unfortunately, we're moving into our new house Saturday, at which point I will not. I should be back regularly in about a week :-)
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