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 Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2017 5:23 pm
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One very welcome element of the onset of winter was that Nadry would be spared any further mud-slinging on rest days for the duration of the season. Less welcome, and something she hadn't fully considered until it became a fact of life, was that her increasingly large dragon still needed to be bathed and oiled, it was really sharding cold outside. Not only did getting him properly scrubbed all over now take a lot more work than it had before, it was now miserably cold work. Being wet was one thing. Being cold was one thing. Being wet and cold? Awful, and almost enough to make her miss the mud. Almost.
The almost-Senior Weyrling shivered in the fluffy towel she'd wrapped around herself as she plunked the last of their supplies back into the bucket where they belonged and griped to her brown (who found this all very brisk and refreshing, the nerve), "Somehow I feel like this was glossed over in dragon care. How is everyone not sick all winter?"
She received a mental shrug in answer, although it was accompanied by a touch of remorse and an affectionate nuzzle. I am sorry you are cold, Mine. I wish you did not have to be.
"Maybe once we can go between, we can go somewhere warmer for baths," she suggested with a chuckle, although she doubted that was an encouraged option. Real riders should be tough, and impervious to the cold! "At least once we can fly on our own, we won't have to walk all the way back to the Barracks to change." They could fly back to their own Weyr and she could change in private. Faranth, did she miss personal space. Tomorrow would, hopefully, put them one big step closer to that.
It would be a cold trip, though, with the wind.
"Way to spoil it, love. Thanks."
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Posted: Sat Dec 09, 2017 12:23 pm
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"Forgive the intrusion," Dr'stan put in softly. "But real riders often wear thick fur lining in their jackets. I suspect that they're quite warm." Little Cynosuth was peeking out from behind him, and she was certainly large enough now that it was only a fiction that he could hide her. Only in her imagination was such a tactic effective. Hello, dear brother, Cynosuth told Menankith, who seemed more ready for this than she.
Pondering Nadry's words for a moment, Dr'stan glanced at the shivering girl. "One thing you might consider would be asking a dolphineer how they manage in the cold water. I'm certain that you could acquire whatever garb that they wear to keep warm." In the meantime, however, the rider removed his own jacket, and placed it over his companion's shoulders. She probably hadn't known that he was lurking nearby, but he'd mostly been trying to convince Cynosuth to leave the comfort of the Weyr for a bath.
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Posted: Sat Dec 09, 2017 5:21 pm
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Cynosuth, sister, Menankith thrummed fondly, Have you come for your bath? The water is very refreshing! Had the brown not turned his attention to his little green clutchmate, eyes brightening with pleasant colors as he crooned upon noticing her, Nadry was wrapped up enough that suddenly being spoken to might have startled her, but dragons, thank Faranth, were much harder not to notice than people. Not that there wasn't almost always someone in the vicinity, busy Weyr that they lived in, but being aware that there was a person nearby didn't necessarily bring with it the expectation of being spoken to. She'd been much too focused on getting her dragon sorted and then getting inside to pay too much mind to who else was about.
"Oh, D'rstan," the girl dipped her head in polite greeting, a self-conscious flush to her cheeks. Because she'd been caught being...cold? Looking a bit daft for it? Yes, that. She did have a lovely winter coat (lovely and now a touch small), but she was almost as loathe to get it wet or even damp as she would have been to get it dirty. As a child, she'd never been in more trouble than she had been when she didn't take immaculate care of her clothing, and it was a habit she had trouble breaking, even if the end result was catching a chill. "Quite warm until they're quite wet, I imagine."
"I hadn't thought about dolphineers! I'll have to do that, it's a wonderful idea." One that would never had occurred to her on her own, that was for sure. But now he was giving her his jacket, and it did help, but...but- Nadry ducked her head both in gratitude and awkwardness. At least it was Dr'stan and not a certain other someone, or she might have wanted to melt into the snow. "I- ah, thank you. But...won't you be cold now?"
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2017 7:45 am
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Little Cynosuth padded lightly over to her larger brother, giving him a soft nuzzle. He was good and noble, and a dear friend. Yes, we thought to beat the crush, if anyone might come. But your company is always pleasant. Now that she was standing outside of her rider's reach, she felt a touch anxious, but not so much so that she left Menankith's side. What were you saying, just now? Did I interrupt?
As the girl flushed, Dr'stan felt slightly ashamed of himself. He had not meant to creep up on her. "I do imagine that water would make such jackets uncomfortable. However... on a flight to a warm bath, they might suit." It was a thought, at any rate. Her response to his other suggestion pleased him, and he continued his walk toward the water. "Dolphineers surely must deal with harsher climes than ours, and they do so with such grace. I have no doubt they'll have good advice for you." As to his own jacket... "Ah, no, I am quite used to the chill."
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Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2017 7:57 pm
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Menankith crooned as her returned the nuzzle, half-extending a wing, more in a gesture of fondness than protectiveness - not that she wouldn't have that if she wanted or needed it, but there was hardly any need at bathtime. And certainly no call to crowd her. He was just very pleased by the company of his small, dear sister. No, it was nothing important, he assured her, Mine and I were only discussing the cold, and how we might avoid chilly baths in the future, once we have graduated. It won't be long at all now. The brown turned his head up to the sky with hopeful longing; soon, very soon now, they would share the freedom of the sky with Theirs. Responsibility and risk would come along close behind, and before they knew it, Weyrlinghood would be behind them. Even before that, they would have their own weyr, although Menankith didn't mind the barracks. His rider, however, was increasingly anxious to be out of them.
"It will be nice to be a real rider, one day, and have such a jacket...and fly to warmer baths." Nadry considered the possibilities and how close they now were with a little smile. It was a thrilling thought not only because it would be warmer, but because it would be somewhere new, and she'd never seen much of anywhere but her tiny cothold and the Weyr. "I've never met a dolphineer," she admitted. Or seen a dolphin, which likely went without saying.
"If you're sure," the girl finally accepted after giving him an assessing glance, still concerned that Dr'stan would get cold, despite his insistence that he was used to it, but she was glad to be warmer.
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Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2018 5:35 am
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A flash of bright fondness swept through the little green, and she nuzzled against her large, terribly gallant brother. He was so dear, and so kind. It will not be long, she agreed, her happiness in seeing him evident in her tone. We are nearly there. Perhaps we might think of ways to stay warm? It was clear that Cynosuth genuinely found the topic intriguing. How indeed might they avoid the chill, given that they were in High Reaches, which was reported to be quite cold indeed.
Dr'stan gave a soft laugh at Nadry's words. "Ah, but you are a real rider, my dear. Simply not quite up to the task of defending this world from Thread. But soon." He strode beside her companionably, finding it surprisingly easy to relax around the young woman. For all his age, he was still a weyrling himself. This was a very new experience, apart from the caring for a dragon bit. "Well, you will have plenty of opportunities to meet dolphineers in the future. If we don't have any who visit the Weyr, you might just find one on Search." He squeezed her shoulder to assure her that he was quite sure about the jacket, indeed.
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Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2018 7:56 am
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Menankith was all too happy to be nuzzled against, eye bright with blue and green as he thrummed from deep within his chest. His smaller siblings were, without a doubt, his most dear, and Cynosuth perhaps among his very favorites (not that he kept such a list, or was even fully aware that he had favorites or why). She was good and sweet and gentle, and so very small; not that her delicate stature defined her, no, but combined with her nature, he found her to be one of the siblings he most wanted to make the world better for, whether she had any complaints about the current state of things or not, because such goodness deserved it. And it didn't hurt that she said lovely things, and was more welcoming of his company than many others, to whom he was little more than a silly upstart. As to the topic of staying warm, he hummed thoughtfully.
I suppose it would be hard to heat the entire lake like a bath, he mused. I wonder how much flaming it would take to make it warmer? Or how long it would stay warm... It was idle, fanciful talk, an improbable suggestion at best even if they could flame, but it was an amusing train of thought. Although I doubt such frivolous use of firestone would be looked upon well.
"I can't say I feel like one yet," Nadry confessed, pulling at the borrowed jacket and staring ahead. They were just weyrlings who couldn't fly yet - though soon - and there was a lot to come after that, as well. She still felt far out of her depth, more often than not, but here she was regardless...not that being caught chilled out in the cold and wrapped up in the jacket of her older and much larger classmate helped the childish feeling much. "I wonder if Menankith would like Searching." The query was met with a feeling of mild, if currently distracted, curiosity. It wasn't something either had ever really considered, as the brown was preoccuppied with his greater quest change the world, or at least the Weyr. "Knowing him, he'd probably want to take all the girls."
And encourage them to do dangerously unconventional things. That he would certainly find appealing.
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2018 8:05 pm
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Cynosuth trotted happily beside Menankith, and then stopped before the lake. Do you think that we could stay at the warm place, dry off, and then bundle up on our way back between? she asked. Not you and I, of course. But our riders? On a rest day, there should be time to dry, shouldn't there? Maybe if we only used enough flame to make a fire for them. She was curious about this idea now, and thought it rather fine indeed!
Weren't Nadry and Dr'stan friends? And couldn't friends spend time together like that? Unless there was someone else that they should go with. The little Green rather liked the idea of going with Menankith - he always seemed pleased to see her, and that made her feel warm inside, even in the dead of winter. That of course was what friendship was for.
"Hmm. Well, it will take some getting used to, I would think. I confess, I am not used to being something other than a dragonhealer. It's a bit of stretch for me, although I do know all about dragon care. The actual being a rider part wasn't in the picture anymore." The practical speech from the quiet rider was almost surprising, but then again, Dr'stan felt comfortable in Nadry's presence. Young or not, they were similarly shy. "If he does like Searching, I say pursue it. Faranth knows we could use more female riders."
It might have been a little chilly, but Dr'stan was used to it... and more than willing to brave the elements if it meant helping a fellow weyrling out. He had spent more than his fair share of time outside in the cold with much less than this, and it was hardly noteworthy. The man stopped beside his dragon, gazing out over the water. "Have you given any thought about what you would like to do?" he asked, turning to face Nadry.
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2018 6:13 am
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If it is a rest day, I don't see any reason why someone would object. We will learn to go all sorts of places soon enough - why not go somewhere nice? They wouldn't have to every time they needed a bath, only in the winter! And it was for the good of Theirs, really, so that they wouldn't catch chill. Sick riders wouldn't do anyone any good at all!
There was an awful lot to dragonriding, even as a weyrling - not that Nadry hadn't been prepared and willing to work, but it was hard sometimes, though not prohibitively so. She certainly didn't have any regrets about her choices, not when they had led her to Menankith. "That must have been a surprise! At least Cynosuth is sure to always get the best care." She glanced at the pretty little green with a smile. "I didn't know anything very relevant, outside of what they teach every candidate. Just a bit of leatherworking."
"Give it a couple turns and we could have V'mel swimming in female weyrlings. I'm sure he'd be thrilled," she chuckled. But what she wanted to do? That was not a question she had been often asked in her life, not with any sincerity or without stipulations, until Menankith. She looked over and up at the brown, whose eyes held a steady blue in the presence of his sister, and considered the answer. "I want to be a good rider," she said finally. "I want to deserve him. I...hadn't thought about it much past Impressing. I feel like I used up a whole lifetime of wishing, when he turned out to be mine. Past that..."
She shook her head. It still seemed unreal sometimes, impossible. He'd changed everything. The brown turned to butt his head against her with gentle fondness, and she caught at and rubbed behind his headknobs. She was past that first month of reluctance to have him outside of arm's reach, but now and then still needed to remind herself that he was there. He was hers.
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