Changing Glows: Looooong day ahead! (OPEN)

[Thorney]

Who: Realwyn
What: Chores, Changing Glows
When: Morning, right after breakfast
Where: Great Hall for now, other places in the weyr once that is done.


The Weyr was a biiiiig place. No one had to tell Raelwyn that; she had spent many turns in them. However, the weyr never seemed more expansive than when one was charged with changing glows. That is, every…single…glow…in the whole of Cerulean. Of course, this chore was shared with others, so the candidate did not shoulder the burden alone, but it was still a daunting task to be set before her. The harper never complained though, for it was not in her nature to resent doing any work for her weyr. She had grown up doing these chores, and it was second nature to her now. However, the ease that came with knowledge did not change the fact that the candidate had one long day ahead of her. She grinned. Perhaps she would run into some interesting people, moving throughout Cerulean.

The girl chuckled as she felt her bronze stir slightly from his spot on her shoulder, raising his small head to trill softly at His. If there was one thing Tydus hated, it was being left alone, and so Raelwyn brought him with her wherever she could. Of course, the flit had to keep to the barracks when she had kitchen and Infirmary duty, but if she was just changing glows, dusting books, or working on the dock, he was always at her side. Impressing questioning thoughts upon his girl, the little bronze yawned, sitting up and steadying himself as she moved. Laughing, Rael shook her head, pausing for just a moment to scratch his back. “I’m afraid I’m not done yet, no.” Moving on to the next glow, the candidate quickly replaced it. “We’ll be out most of the day.”

Sides heaving in a draconic sigh, Tydus took to circling over his girl’s head as she moved about the Great Hall, clearly bored with the mundane chore. Green eyes flicking up occasionally, Raelwyn was both amused and annoyed with the impatient emotions quivering along their bond. The little bronze was an imperious thing, and was generally displeased greatly by being forced to attend dull practices. Doing her best to stay out of the kitchen workers' way, since they were still cleaning the Hall from breakfast, the candidate wondered if she would meet with any others who had the same chore as her. Cerulean was huge, as was any weyr, but most of the time glow changing always started in the great hall. That way, by the time they moved on to the living quarters and such, most of the residents would be having dinner. Rael had found out the hard way back at Fort, any time there was food being served was a bad time to change glows in the weyrhall.

As she neared the end of the row of glows, the candidate was mostly alone, and decided to fill the silence. She began to hum, but it quickly changed to soft singing. The harper loved music, as did Tydus, and it was a nice way to help pass the time for the both of them. Raelwyn inwardly sighed in relief as her bronze stopped his impatient circling to land on her shoulder, settling down and tilting his head to listen to her voice.

[Kristin]

Let‘s be here all day. Here, meaning the beach that F‘ren and Eneth were currently on. While I would love to spend time with you Mine, M‘ma won‘t be happy if you skip chores. Eneth‘s voice was laced with amusement but also honest regret at having to lose his bonded. The bronze dragon preferred F‘ren to spend all his time with Eneth, unfortunately his bonded one was still a lowly weyrling and had to do chores all the time. F‘ren cursed and jumped up. Of course he needed to go but he was changing glows today and he hated that task. He hadn‘t been planning to shirk his duty, not really, but it had been nice to dream of a nice, lazy day with Eneth. He put his arms around Eneth‘s neck and hugged his dragon tightly. Stay with me? Eneth knew that his bonded meant in mind, not presence, and promised His that he would.

F‘ren knew he had wasted enough time already and started running to the Great Hall, his dragon‘s comfortable presence in his mind. He assumed that the other ones that would be working with him would start there and he preferred company while doing this dull chore.

When he arrived in the Hall he noticed with glee that Raelwyn was also changing glows today. He hadn‘t met her again since the arrival of the eggs and he regretted that. He didn‘t even know her that much as a result of their limited time together but he already knew that Rael was a person that he wanted to know better. He started to call out to her before he heard that he was singing. F‘ren slowed down and walked slowly and quietly to Rael so he wouldn‘t disturb her. He really had no idea that Rael had such a good voice, he loved listening to her and he stopped before reaching her, just listening to the beautiful melody. After a while he knew that he had to start working and took the last few steps towards Rael and Tydus. "Good day Rael," this was followed by an outrageous bow. "And good day to you, handsome Tydus." An even more outrageous bow. "Seems like we will be changing glows together today." He grinned at Rael. Maybe glow changing wouldn‘t be so bad today. "And I have to complement you on your voice, I had no idea you could sing so beautifully. You, my dear Rael, are full of surprises."

[Thorney]

Soft voice continuing the lilting melody, Raelwyn stepped to the next wall and continued her chore. Her tiny bronze was completely silent, not even uttering so much as a peep to interrupt her song. As she finished the first ballad, the girl paused and grinned at her flit, scratching under his chin. "How about your favorite, little love?" At Ty's excited cheep, the candidate smiled and began again.

Speak softy to my lizard fair,
Nor raise your hand to me.
For they are quick to take offense
And quicker to champion me.

As the last line faded of the short tune, Tydus trilled his pleasure, eyes whirling in delight. Though the meaning of all the words did not quite reach him, the little bronze knew that it was about him, and how he would protect His. Chuckling, Raelwyn reflected that there was indeed no better song to describe her dear flit, as he was her greatest champion and swiftly took insult when any dared treat his bonded in a way he didn't appreciate. Absorbed as she was in their reverie, the candidate did not hear the approach of the boy behind her, and whirled in surprise as he spoke.

Eyes widening, recognizing the voice of the weyrling before even getting a look at his face, Rael laughed in delight, watching as he made a great show of bowing to her and her flit. Green eyes practically dancing at his admittedly splendid entrance, the candidate did her best to dip in an equally grand curtsy, Tydus steadying himself easily as she did. She was no holder's daughter, of course, but the girl did well enough. "My dear F'ren, what an unexpected pleasure!" The harper said, her voice clearly betraying how happy she was. Raelwyn had not seen the bronze weyrling since the arrival of the clutch from Southern, and she had started to wonder when they would run into each other again. As large as the weyr was, the girl had actually begun to wonder if she would see him at all. To run into him like this was an unexpected pleasure.

For his part, Tydus watched the boy before him rather mildly, having grown less aggressive after gaining a bit of age and especially making friends with L'mar. The green weyrling seemed to have made a remarkably good impression on the tiny bronze, and now his opinion on other males had become a bit more pleasant. Oh, he wasn't about to flap over to the kid and start cuddling up, but neither was Ty going to show him outright dislike anymore. This truly please His girl, as well, and Raelwyn grinned. It would be nice to spend some time with the bronze weyrling without having the flit's mistrust and dislike constantly quivering along their bond.

"Oh, Faranth, you have this dreadful chore too?" Laughing, the candidate shook her head, holding out the glowbasket she had so he wouldn't have to go fetch his own. Raelwyn felt a bit of a blush try to stain her cheeks at his praise, but hoped her tan would keep it from being seen. "Oh, why thank you, very much." She said softly, smiling at the boy. Her chores weren't going to be as bad as she had first suspected today. Not at all. "I haven't really been able to learn much, since I was Searched before I had much of a chance to study at the Hall, but music is my hobby." Aware that they couldn't stand for too long, or they may garner trouble, the candidate winked at the weyrling and moved on to the next glow. "Speaking of surprises, F'ren, you seem to hold a few yourself. I haven't even seen a holder with the ability to bow quite as extravagantly as you just did."

[Kristin]

Well she seemed happy to see him, which was good. At least she hadn‘t forgotten about him. No one could forget you F‘renmine Eneth was quick to assure him and F‘ren laughed out loud at his dragon‘s reassurance, which he hadn‘t really needed. I know. I‘m unforgettable He answered smugly. Realizing that Rael didn‘t know why he was laughing, he composed himself. „Sorry, I was talking to Eneth. You know how it is.“ She had probably been in Cerulean long enough to not take offense when a rider‘s attention went to his dragon in the middle of a conversation, but you never knew.

Her firelizard seemed less hostile than the last time he had seen them, which was good because last time he had acted like F‘ren was going to hurt Rael or something. Granted the firelizard had been beginning to warm up to F‘ren a little bit but he seemed even more relaxed now and F‘ren wondered why. „So it seems like your little Tydus doesn‘t hate me anymore. Why the change?“
Eneth for his part was slightly disgruntled by how much F‘ren thought about one of those things. Why should you care what some pesky firelizard thinks Mine? They are stupid. F‘ren rolled his eyes, his dragon‘s irrational dislike of firelizards was starting to get tiring. I know they‘re not anywhere near as smart as you are, my dear Eneth, but they‘re fun nonetheless and it‘s nice talking to Rael when Tydus isn‘t glaring at me. Eneth didn‘t answer, but F‘ren felt Eneth‘s reluctant acceptance, for now...

F‘ren did notice Rael blushing, but he brushed it off. He was used to people blushing at things he said. Like Ranen. At Rael‘s mention of his bowing abilities, F‘ren grinned. “Oh, I’m a man of a quite a few surprises Raelwyn.” An outrageous wink followed before he had the time to think about it. Oh, shards. F’ren hadn’t been meaning to say it so flirty. He had already decided that Rael should be a friend nothing more. At least yet. But flirting was what he did around attractive women, sometimes even men, he just couldn’t help himself. He quickly moved back in friend mode. “I think you should think about studying music more sometime if you have the opportunity. A talent like yours deserves to be honed.” F’ren told Rael earnestly and quickly moved to the next glow to change it. He would like to finish this chore as soon as possible.

[Thorney]

As she continued to the next glowbasket, Raelwyn turned her head slightly to peer at the weyrling over her shoulder, wondering what he was laughing at. For a moment, the candidate thought she might have sat in something, and was about to search her clothes for any unwanted substances when the boy collected himself and explained. A small smile curved her lips, and the harper laughed quietly. “Well, not personally, since I have yet to Impress, but I know how it is for you riders. Do not think to apologize for it.” The girl had been in weyrs going on four turns now, first Fort and then Cerulean, and she had learned the habits of riders well enough. Nothing that concerned human and dragon would ever bother her, no matter what. “My duty to your Eneth as well, dear weyrling. I hope to find him in good spirits?” Now that she knew the bronze was awake, she wanted to convey her greetings to him as well.

Eyebrow quirking, the candidate grinned when F’ren mentioned her flit’s good behavior, scratching under the little pet’s chin lovingly. The bronze stretched his neck out and hummed in contentment, his half-lidded gaze wandering from His girl to the boy at her side. All seemed to be well, so Tydus was satisfied to sit and enjoy the attentions of his bonded. “Well, he was barely six months old last we met, so he was a little brash and young. He has just a bit more age on him now, which is partially why. Although, I think the largest contributing reason is another weyrling somehow managed to get on his good side. A greenrider named L’mar; do you know him? Ever since then, Ty has seemed to stop thinking all other males are threatening.” Shrugging one shoulder only to keep from jostling her bronze, Raelwyn tossed the boy a look that clearly said ‘Jeez. Flits.’

Raelwyn felt her blush grow hotter at the weyrling’s reply, rather flirtatious in words and actions. The harper couldn’t help but smile at the attentions, though she was better at being clever rather than coy. Dutifully changing the next glow, she cast a sideways glance at her companion, her gaze discreet. F’ren certainly fit the stereotype of any bronzerider, that was for certain, in both face and body. There weren’t many who were interested in men that would miss his sinfully good looks, of that she had no doubt. “I do like surprises.” The candidate replied, rather certain someone far more attractive than her had his attention. When he changed the subject, more serious than flirtatious now, Rael was flattered at his words. The weyrling sounded sincere, and the harper turned towards him and smiled brightly. “You think so? Thank you very much, F’ren, that is very kind of you to say. I have always loved music, but between lessons and chores…” Grinning, the girl shook her head. “Well, I’m sure you understand; weyrlings are even busier than candidates. Still, I’m certain I can find time to study more.” Moving on, Raelwyn quickly changed the next glowbasket, also ready to be done with the chore.

[Kristin]

„Eneth is at the moment relaxing on the beach, so yes I would think he should be in good spirits now.“ F‘ren envied his dragon, especially after seeing the beach and the inviting sea through Eneth‘s eyes. Shards, he wanted to be in the sea now. With all those chores and other weyrling stuff, F‘ren was a very busy man. A very busy man who was slowly getting paler from all the time he spent inside. That‘s why dock work was best because then he could be outside and let the sun do it‘s magic while he worked. A lot of his time also went to Eneth and because of this, F‘ren was sorry to say, he had been neglecting his appearance a little over the last few months. Faranth! He hadn‘t even thought lately to maintain his eyebrows. They must be all bushy and disgusting by now. The vain weyrling couldn‘t stop himself from feeling his eyebrows to check if they were as bad as he feared. They were not, but they weren‘t great either. F‘ren cringed every time his finger went over a stray hair, what would Raelwyn think? Rael... F‘ren quickly put his hand down and concentrated on his task, a faint blush adorning his cheeks as he sneakily watched Rael to see if she had noticed something. It would never do if it got out that he tampered with his eyebrows. The teasing would be endless and F‘ren did not like to be teased.

He nodded at Rael‘s explanation of why Tydus was changed until she mentioned L‘mar. He looked startled at Rael. L‘mar had managed to befriend Tydus? In F‘ren‘s experience L‘mar just always seemed to be up to something and that he now had a firelizard ally terrified F‘ren. Who knew what mischief his fellow weyrling could cook up with a firelizard by his side? „Yes, I know him.“ F‘ren said carefully. „He‘s fun.“ And he was fun, especially when he pranked other people but F‘ren always had to be on his toes around L‘mar to be sure that F‘ren wouldn‘t be L‘mar‘s next victim.

Weyrlings busy, hadn’t he just a moment ago been thinking the same thing? Yes, it was safe to say that he understood Raelwyn. He hadn’t practiced his craft in ages. Not that he missed it that much. “Yes I know. I’ve given up weaving myself since I impressed Eneth. But my case is different. I was an average weaver not brilliant like you are as a harper and I didn’t like weaving all that much. But hey, you’re welcome to sing more now. I may be tone-deaf but I love listening.” He was going to talk to Eneth about Rael but found to his chagrin that his dragon had fallen asleep. So much for promises to stay with him. Oh well, it wasn’t that bad. His company was delightful.

While he continued working, he kept sneaking glances at Rael. She was beautiful, her eyes especially, but they were friends now. He knew that if he went there with her there would be no turning back and he would lose her friendship forever. Being attracted to someone physically and liking their personality as well, as F’ren did with Rael, usually meant that if the feeling was mutual a relationship could be started. But F’ren didn’t do relationships and had no desire commit to anyone in the near future. Not even Rael. So he would only hurt her if their relationship went any further than friendship. There had been this pretty friend at Silver Cove and eventually they’d both decided to start an open relationship. Everyone had been happy. Until the girl started wanting F’ren for herself. He had politely told her that no, he wasn’t going to give up other women and no, he didn’t want to have children with her. After that conversation F’ren had ended up with a bruised cheek and a destroyed friendship. Nope, not going to happen again.

[Thorney]

Chuckling at the weyrling’s reply, Raelwyn nodded, secretly thinking she would rather be at the beach like Eneth, rather than wandering through the entire weyr changing glows. At least F’ren was with her, though, so the chore was going to be far more tolerable than she first anticipated. Far more. “I have to admit, I envy him, then.” The candidate laughed, smiling as she turned her head to regard her companion. “Of course, the beach is always beautiful here, so there are not many times I wouldn’t rather be there. It’s so different from Fort. We had the lake the swim in, of course, but most of the time it was full of dragons, or too cold to get in the water.” Sighing, the soft sound more blissful than sad, the girl smiled. “Everything here is so warm and beautiful, nothing like it was back up North. I came here because I wanted to help after Silver Cove, but I did not imagine I could so quickly fall in love with it.”

Blinking, realizing she was probably rambling, the candidate turned back to her glowbasket, continuing on with her chore. She did not intend to talk F’ren’s ear off, after all. Sliding her green gaze to the side, the girl felt one brow lift as she caught him fingering his eyebrows. A little smile curving her lips, Raelwyn quickly turned back to her chore, hoping he had not seen her looking. She did not want to embarrass him, and besides, the harper had her own amount of vanity, and there was no harm in being concerned with your appearance. Well, to a point anyway. She liked to look good, but, neither was she the most attractive girl around.

To be honest, Raelwyn could understand the weyrling’s shocked expression, having learned that L’mar of all people had been the first one to break down Tydus’s hatred of all things male. The greenrider was a quick-tongued and mischievous boy, and in spite of that or maybe because of it, he was her best friend. Grinning, the candidate couldn’t help but laugh at his expression, her bronze chirping as she did. Although the flit did not understand why His was so happy, he would share in it. “He is fun, indeed.” The girl replied, trying to master her mirth. “I think he found the key to Ty’s ego. L’mar called him king and gave him more compliments than I remember, and that’s all it took for my little bronze to loosen up.” The flit chirped, getting the image of the weyrling from her mind. Were they going to see the boy-who-called-him-king? He was his favorite bigwing bonded!

Nodding in understanding as F’ren spoke, the girl’s mind wandered back to their first conversation. Now that she thought about it, all she knew about the boy was he was weyrbred, and he had Impressed bronze Eneth half a turn ago. Well, that just wouldn’t do at all, the candidate reflected, and she tilted her head to the side, regarding the handsome weyrling. “You are a weaver? Where did you learn the craft?” Being weyrbred, she rather imagined it was from his mother or crèche nanny, but that didn’t matter. She was curious about him. “Ah, well if you didn’t like it, I suppose it’s just as well you have no time for it now.” Grinning, winking at F’ren, the girl moved on and changed more glows. Raelwyn could feel that sharding blush coming back when he complimented her singing, though she did enjoy hearing someone appreciated her craft and hard work. “I’m not sure if I am brilliant, but that is very kind of you to say, F’ren. My deepest thanks.” Trying to master her blush, the girl pursed her lips and thought. If he loved to hear her sing, then she would love to perform for him. Rael did like to ply her craft when she had an audience that valued it. Taking a breath, she began to sing ‘The Golden Egg of Faranth’, her voice soft so as not to disturb the hall but loud enough for the weyrling to hear. As she sang, her bronze tilted his head and listened quietly, his eyes slowly whirling in pleasure.

[Kristin]

The Northern Continent... F‘ren shuddered. He couldn‘t imagine living there. He hadn‘t even been to the Northern Continent before and didn‘t have much desire to go there either. F‘ren thrived in the warm southern atmosphere, where it was almost never cold and he loved the lush greenery and clear, warm seas of the South. But when Eneth and him would finally learn how to fly and go between he supposed a visit to the North might be in order. But he would visit during summertime, that much was for sure. „I‘m glad that you have managed to fit so well in here, I love it here too. Of course I loved being in Silver Cove too.“ The Weyrling fell silent. He had become very good at making himself forget what happened in Silver Cove, but occasionally some small thing would make him remember. Sometimes he let himself remember his friends that were now gone but only when he had Eneth by his side. Now was not a time for such somber thoughts and F’ren forced everything Silver Cove related to the back of his mind. But this time, when he smiled at Rael, his normal cheerful grin was a bit forced and it didn‘t reach his eyes.

It seemed that Rael had not noticed his... Eyebrow episode. Because she continued talking as nothing had happened, which was a relief. At her explanation, F‘ren nodded. Of course Tydus was just like a typical bronze. F‘ren was very familiar with his own dragon‘s ego, and if he was honest, his own as well. He wasn‘t very bothered with it. Bronzeriders were supposed to be egotistical. They had a right to be, as the riders of the biggest, best and most clever dragons after golds. Not everyone was good enough to impress a bronze, you had to be special to get a bronze to bond to you. And F‘ren wasn‘t blind, he knew that he was handsome, clever and strong minded. Those were the traits that had attracted Eneth to him.

„Yes, a weaver indeed. I learned from an old woman in the Weyr that used to work in the kitchens but was too old to be of any help anymore. So she taught a few of us how to weave to make herself useful. I was her favorite pupil. Although I think that had more to do with my dazzling smile and charm than my weaving capabilities. But I learned the trade well enough I suppose.“ He remembered that woman fondly. It was true that she had liked F‘ren more than many other people but the feeling had been mutual. Over time she had actually become one of his best friends in the Weyr and had helped him a lot after failed hatchings when he felt worthless.

He laughed to himself when he saw Rael blushing again but quickly forgot it when she started singing. Her firelizard seemed to appreciate it and so did F‘ren, who worked quickly but let his mind be occupied by Rael‘s voice. It was soothing and also distracted from the boring act of changing glows. F‘ren said nothing while she sang but instead smiled encouragingly at Rael before focusing again on the glows.

[Thorney]

Laughing softly to herself as she watched the weyrling, Raelwyn smiled, having evoked that reaction most of the time she mentioned the North. Many in Cerulean had been born in the South, or had been here too long to really remember much else, and they all seemed to have an acute distaste for her homeland. Of course, the harper did not blame in the slightest; on the contrary, after having lived at the weyr for half a turn, she quite agreed with their sentiments. Although it had been difficult adjusting to the heat at first, cutting off the sleeves on her clothes and wearing light skirts to accommodate the change in temperature, she had quickly grown used to the unusual climate. Now the candidate thrived in the heat, her skin tanned and used to the warm weather. She had no desire to ever return to the North, either, and even if she, Faranth forbid, grew too old to Impress, the girl had decided she would make a living as a harper in the South, as opposed to returning to the Hall.

Growing quiet as F’ren mentioned Silver Cove, the candidate watched him from the corner of her eye, noting as his voice silenced. Though she was sure he tried to forget, the terrible last days of the weyr would haunt him and all the others who had experienced it for many turns to come. The weyrling’s smile was a hollow version of his former grin, but Raelwyn let it go uncontested, certain that if wanted to talk about Silver Cove, he would. Though she enjoyed the handsome boy’s company, they were not what any would call close, and really just barely friends. If the harper got her way, they would grow much closer and become good friends, but right now, she doubted he would feel comfortable talking to her about it. Perhaps the day would come that he did, but it would have to be his decision. Rael would not push him. The thought of the awful things made her eyes mist over, but the girl blinked the tears away. Poor Silver Cove…

A half-smile curved the candidate’s lips as F’ren expanded on his weaving history, not very surprised that his good looks and had contributed to the woman’s favoring of him. Smiling fully, Raelwyn tilted her head so she could see the weyrling’s face as she spoke. “It sounds like she was a lovely woman. You were lucky to have her.” Changing another glow, the girl pursed her lips and then focused her green gaze on the boy once more. “I think many candidates find such a motherly figure in the weyrs. I, too, grew close to a nanny at Fort, named Nye. She was like family to me and the other candidates as we waited to Impress.” Nye was a prominent figure in the harper’s life, bringing fond memories with her name. It was she, more than anyone, that encouraged Rael to follow her heart and move to Cerulean.

The song flowed easily as the girl moved, her body completely in tune with the words and the rhythm of her voice. Tydus was utterly silent as she sang, listening contentedly. As she finished, the harper smiled at F’ren, a little embarrassed at the silence that followed. “The Golden Egg of Faranth is one of the oldest ballads I know, but it is still my favorite. I wish I had more skill with instruments, but I did not receive much training for them before I was Searched.” Moving on to change the next glow, Raelwyn noted they would soon finish with the weyrhall, and move on. Hmm, where to next?