[PRP] Uncertainty (Rio/Alya)

[Meepfur]

Staying in one place for any real length of time was a foreign experience for Rio, who'd never spent more than a handful of sevendays anywhere, and even that had been rare, a brief stint at a Hold or Crafthall here and there. By the time the Hatching had come around, his time in the Weyr had far exceeded the length of previous stays anywhere else. It was an odd feeling, for sure, but not a bad one; while he enjoyed the variety of people he met and became friends with while travelling, he appreciated being able to see the same people from day to day, to make and keep friends and have the opportunity to really develop relationships with them.

Not that it took him any time at all to develop attachments - even deep ones - as he'd always been one to form bonds quickly. That he'd made friends with those he'd just happened to be standing closest to at the Hatching hadn't been an exception or surprise at all, although the...dramatic nature of it had probably contributed somewhat. Their little group had gotten lucky and escaped injury, and two had Impressed. He'd not seen much of Isilje or L'nik since, but that was to be expected, with baby dragons to take care of and all the new duties that came with Weyrlinghood. A tiny part of him was glad he hadn't been the only one left behind, that he'd not been left all alone out on the Sands, but any time that selfish thought occurred to him, it was quickly swept away by guilt. No, he was sorry that Alya hadn't Impressed; being alone for awhile wouldn't be so terrible, as long as everyone else was happy.

A trill in his ear stirred him out of his thoughts, and he reached up to scritch fondly at the green flit draped over his shoulder. "Besides, I've always got you, hmm?" he murmurred. The green nibbled at the red streak of hair he'd pushed behind his ear. "Oh, I see. You're really just hungry, is that it?"

"Here." He passed her the remaining half of the meatroll he'd brought to snack on while he enjoyed a slow rest day morning on the beach.

Tsunake

this is such a zombified start, I'm sorry. orz idk if you wanted it present time or closer to after the Hatching, so I left it vague for whatever~

 

[Tsunake]

Alya certainly had gotten herself in a pickle this time. Did she risk Standing again to be possibly maimed or murdered? Did she dare try to suffer through the doubt and uncertainty of standing alone as baby dragons scampered past and left her while those she knew walked off with their new partners? She wasn't even sure she was brave enough to go through it again. She'd certainly thought she was ready for any sort of adventure... but now, well. And it wasn't like she could go home, either! Married off to some boy she didn't even care for, forced to bare children and spend her days in the kitchens working on her baking...

She grimaced at the thought and lengthened her stride, appreciating the temperate weather of Western... and her expression brightened significantly when she recognized a familiar figure feeding a flit. "Rio!" She all but sang as she raced across the beach, not minding the sand she was kicking up. That was one thing she was grateful for--she still had Rio with her. L'nik and Isilje... she really hadn't seen them since. But, she reasoned, they were dragonriders now--not just ordinary people anymore. Not like her and Rio.

"Why hello, pretty lady!" Alya crooned at the green flit, her eyes bright as she looked them both over. She had to belong to Rio--why else would she be sitting so sweetly on his shoulder? "She's beautiful, Rio!" There was no envy in her voice, just genuine admiration.

Meepfur

 

[Meepfur]

His companion was not a dainty eater at all, and by the time she'd finished, he had crumbs both on his shoulder and in his hair, but he didn't mind. There was very little the flit could do that he would ever regard as more than a passing annoyance; she was his fast friend, and besides that, just too cute to ever be irritated by or say no to. Which was why she was maybe a little on the plump side. Just a little. And that only made her cuter, right?

He'd started to hum at her when the sound of his name being called interrupted him, and he beamed a bright smile when he saw who it was, returning the happy call. "Alya!" He would have jumped to his feet, if it wouldn't have unbalanced Queenie. He stood carefully instead, while the bright green crooned out her own greeting. "Isn't she?" he agreed, just as happy as he would have been if the compliment had been for him. "This is Queenie. Queenie, this is Alya!"

No less friendly than her bonded, the firelizard untwined her tail from his neck and leaned forward, reaching out with a trilling query that had clear meaning. Could she go and cuddle with the nice lady? Could she?? "You're shameless, you know that, right?" Rio chuckled and ran a finger along her jaw. "Yes, you can go and see her, if that's alright with Alya?"

While she looked pleadingly at the young woman in hopes of permission, Rio rolled his eyes. "I swear, she spends more time begging for food and attention from strangers than she does with me."

Tsunake

 

[Tsunake]

"Queenie!" Alya practically cried, absolutely smitten with such a name. How absolutely precious... As soon as she realized what was taking place between the two, she spread her arms wide, welcoming the green firelizard with delight.

"She's so cute!" She crooned at her, looking immediately to Rio with such sparkling eyes. "Have you had her all this time?" Alya looked so pleased, her eyes bright. "After the hatching.... I hadn't remembered how sweet they could be. " There had been bits and moments, for sure! But... still. To see the affection between Queenie and her owner.... it warmed her heart in a way that she hadn't felt since witnessing the more brutal hatchlings of the last clutch.

Alya's lips unconsciously twisted in a more bittersweet smile, remembering what had occurred only months ago. "Do you think I'm meant to be a dragonrider, Rio? I'm not so sure, anymore."

Meepfur

 

[Meepfur]

"Mm," he confirmed with a fond nod, a warm smile dimpling his cheeks as Queenie settled herself into Alya's arms, nuzzling and crooning and generally acting as though the young woman was a long lost friend. "We've been together for ages, it feels like. She does an awful lot of flitting about, though, even for a flit, especially now that we're here. She pops back to the caravan a lot to visit all her friends." It delighted him to see his fellow candidate so pleased, her eyes so bright, and he decided in thst moment that she clearly needed a flit of her own. He would have to do something about that.

"Ah, now that...that's a hard question," Rio admitted with a sigh and plopped himself back down into the sand, patting the spot beside him in invitation. "That's getting into fate, there. The safer question to start with is, I think, is it still what you want?"

Tsunake

 

[Tsunake]

Alya felt her heart melt as the firelizard showered her with affection, muffling a squeak even as Queenie continued to be the cutest thing ever alive. Her skin was so soft, and Alya spent several moments merely fussing over the plump green. If her arms weren't full of preciousness, she would have dramatically thrown herself down next to Rio with a sigh... but she settled for simply taking a seat and then sighed.

"I don't know." She admitted, frowning at the older boy. "I just... I wanted a dragon. Who doesn't? I wanted a friend who'd be with me always.... but..." She remembered her terror, her panic, her despair as a candidate had lost his life. Alya bit her lip, her arms tightening gently on Queenie. "But after all that, I thought, maybe I am just a silly little girl who should go home. I don't want to... but someone like me? Fighting Thread?"

The girl gave a bright laugh that sounded hollow, dropping her gaze down to Queenie so she could immerse herself in stroking the little green. "It all seems... really scary."

Meepfur

 

[Meepfur]

"It is scary," Rio agreed, while Queenie continued to soak up the attention being lavished upon her and return it in kind. "It's a lot of responsibility, and it's dangerous. It would be silly not to recognize that. But it's not silly to worry, or doubt. Everyone does, whether they admit it or not."

And yes, he was absolutely included in 'everyone.' He didn't relish the idea of being scored, or accidentally flamed, or worse yet, one of those Weyrlings who never even made it to graduation. But. "You can do anything you set your mind to, if it's what you want. There's all sorts of someones like us who have, and probably no shortage of them who've had those same thoughts."

"But even if you were to decide you don't want to be a rider, or a dragon doesn't find you, is there something else you want to do?" Some people were 'dragons or nothing,' and found themselves if they aged out, while some had other ambitions to content themselves with. Where did Alya fall? Although it seemed absurd to him that a dragon wouldn't want Alya, sooner or later.

Tsunake

 

[Tsunake]

Oh, Queenie! If only she could make two of you and spirit one of them away! Having something to do with her hands was helping to keep her focused and light-hearted, rather than focus on how deep this conversation was getting. She peeked at him occasionally through her eyelashes, staying quiet as he spoke. Rio made things make so much sense, somehow--it was a talent of his, she decided.

Blowing her hair out of her face with frustration, Alya shook her head. "I don't know what I want. I was so excited to just leave home, and find my own life! But I don't have any skills or talents, besides baking. And by baking, I mean..." She lowered her voice conspiratorially. "I could probably poison someone with a pie for you, if you'd like!" She'd always wiggled out of lessons whenever she could.

"I just wanted an adventure. A new life. I'm never going back home, if I can help it! But... I guess I was so focused on getting out that I didn't think about what would come after it!" She gave him a bright smile, but inwardly, she was much less cheerful about this than she seemed.

"If you don't find your dragon... What do you plan on doing, Rio?"

Meepfur

 

[Meepfur]

"A poison pie, hmm? That has all sorts of potential," he speculated, grinning. "I mean, who doesn't love pie? If anyone ever crosses us, now we know exactly what we're doing to get back at them." Not that Rio would ever actually do such a thing - he was extraordinarily difficult to get on the bad side of anyway - but it was an amusing thought.

"But it's alright not to know what you want. Finding out can be its own adventure!" He leaned back, resting weight on his hands. "Me? I'll go back to being a Trader, probably. I'm not all that good at any one thing, but I like people, so it suits me, and it is a sort of adventure. A...little more dangerous than it used to be, granted, but I'd go back all the same."

Tsunake