Post by Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro) on Jan 7, 2013 16:15:26 GMT -8
K’tar perked up slightly as he saw D’ziel enter the room. Surely D’zael wouldn’t be far behind, and then he could get this gift out of his hands and begin having fun. He waited for a little while, but D’zael didn’t appear. Holt still hadn’t shown either, and K’tar was starting to half-seriously think about heading over to his friend’s weyr to find out what was going on.
There were more people arriving, so K’tar decided to walk around some and see if any of his other friends had arrived.
Viarth, can you ask Korith if Holt’s ok?
Outside, Viarth raised his head. Korith-friend? K’tarMine wishes to know if HoltYours is alright?
"Pounce reminds me a bit of me, if we're going to be honest." A grin flashed over Elora's face. "I don't think Hocteth and I would get along. But Saphireth and Hocteth probably would. She likes things calm."
Her grin softened into a smile at the thought of her dark Blue, and Saphireth responded with a soft wave of love.
"And me? Caring for a pet? I barely got Saphireth through her Hatchling stage." It was an exaggeration, and they all know it, and Elora's laugh was lighthearted and happy. Just like her life had been, lately.
It was a nice change.
She followed D'ziel's example and looked around the room; his hesitant question about dancing kept the soft smile on her face as she turned her attention back to him. She wasn't dressed for dancing as she had once been used to it; she was in tight pants and a top and boots, not sandals and a dress and an elegant hairdo.
But she did like to dance.
And he was sweet.
"I do dance, if the partner is right." And she flicked his eyes up and down his body casually, the smile turning into a wide grin. "Are you asking?"
Holt continued to stare out at the trees. He sat next to Korith, in their weyr's entrance but out of the rain for the most part.
I didn't find her anything.
Yes, you did. A little silver trinket of a necklace. Yorvan even let you have it for a good price.
Not what I meant, and that's what he told us.
It was fair and you're just letting the rain make you homesick. Now go to that party or I'll have-- Korith stopped abruptly as Viarth spoke. Holt was left wondering why his Blue left off in the middle of a rather seriously put threat. It wasn't like Korith. He must really think him off today...
He will be when he gets himself to that party. Which he will if I have anything to say about it. The Blue turned back to his Rider. That was Viarth. And now you've even evoked the rare concern of his Rider at your absence. We're going.
Holt said nothing as he got up on Korith's back. A gust of wind chilled his chest with angled rain so he did up the top of his riding jacket tighter, but he was already much colder now. Korith made a straight glide to the Bowl and wasted no time out in the cold (which was much colder when you were covered in raindrops).
Seeing the light of the party and even hearing the dull roar of the crowd gave Holt a smile. Thanks.
Go have fun. Korith nudged his Rider on and then took off to find a dry place again.
Rilora smiled to see R'le find her. The last party, as she remembered, she hadn't gotten to talk to him much. "Oh, it's good to see everyone in a good mood, ah, y'know," she clipped 'for once' out of her sentence, not wanting to bring up darker subjects. She looked around for good measure to emphasize the smiling faces, or at least the pleasant ones.
"Speaking of having fun, here's T'kar," Rilora commented, noticing the smile on the Rider's face.
It was short lived. That wher Handler, the cranky one, was walking up behind T'kar, with purpose. She didn't look like she was here for the party.
"Here we go again," Rilora sighed in an aside to R'le, though she hoped too late that Dalonia wouldn't notice. She put on a straight face and was about to step towards her but T'kar moved to include her in their circle of conversation. She opened her mouth to add something to T'kar's inquiry but she didn't want to suggest that her news was unimportant nor did she want to encourage a full report at this hour, so she quickly shut it again and waited for her to speak. Sorry R'le, she thought to herself. With any luck this wouldn't take too long.
D’ziel chuckled a little, enjoying the laid back, but still humorous, conversation. He wasn’t sure what part of his description of Pounce she was drawing a comparison to, but he wasn’t curious enough to ask. “Calm, yeah it sound like they would get along. I think he would like some quieter friends.” Hocteth always seemed to befriend dragons like Viarth, who was fun, but could drive Hocteth up a wall in no time flat. D’ziel didn’t quite understand how that worked.
“I can see you have reason not to get a pet right away.” D’ziel was visibly amused, though he added more seriously, “They do grow up pretty fast though.” Hocteth was basically full grown, and graduation was around the corner.
In retrospect, D’ziel should have expected the question. He had asked about dancing after all. It didn’t take him that long to think of an answer though. After all, he liked to move.
“Well, I guess I’m asking you now. Want to dance?” He paused a moment then looked sheepish again. “Well, if we are still being honest, I’m pretty mediocre, but I figure we could still have fun.”
The Woodrider quirked a brow at him and chuckled softly, inclining her head to let him know she would do as he'd asked of her. She then eyed the jacket covered package curiously, then shrugged, not letting her curiosity get the better of her. That could be a bad thing, after all, and might upset Cr'wean. She strictly forbade her firelizard's curiosity as well, and though Chantelaube cheeped, she did as instructed, keeping her little nose and paws to herself.
When he returned with the chair she gave him her most charming smile. "Thank you kind sir," she said lightly, her tone just shy of teasing. She then seated herself more gracefully than he had and looked around them. Her flitter chirped as the musicians began warming up and fluttered her wings excitedly.
R’le listened to Rilora’s aside to him and looked at the handler anew. Huh, it seemed like she was known for something, but he was missing some information. It wasn’t something that was pleasant though. He wasn’t blind, he could see that. The artificial smile was still on his face as he thought about what to do. He really, really wanted to have fun with his Weyrleader friends tonight. If there was any chance of getting one or both of them free he needed to know more, or have some more leverage to change things around. An idea struck him, and he leaned over to Rilora.
“Excuse me for a minute.” One of R’le’s more suspicious smiles had made its way to his face and he stepped out of the circle and vanished into the crowd of people. His gift was still in hand, but now he was on the lookout for a different reason. It took time to find her, but since it was her idea, Lithena was around. R’le deftly avoided the other people in the party before arriving at the Black-Green rider.
“Lithena, I need some reinforcements.” His opening phrase was probably something not to worry about. To the casual observer that is. He promptly snapped his fingers though, having forgotten something. “Ah, and I don’t know who Dalonia is. Something about being a Wherhandler. Still, doesn’t look good for our Weyrleaders. I’m staging a rescue mission.” Something about R’le was being devious tonight. Perhaps it was the glint in his eye that said he was ready to start some trouble if Rilora and T’kar didn’t get to having fun in a minute. It washed away in a second, under the weight of a pleased realization.
“Oh, and happy not-a-turnday party Lithena. Good job.” The box under his shoulder was presented promptly to the other rider, which was exactly the right size to hold what he had placed inside. He knew Lithena liked a good party, so he had gone ahead and gotten her a good party dress. It was black, and good for dancing in, since that was half the fun at a party. He’d had to ask Rilora after the size thing, but he kinda figured he could pick the style well enough. Hopefully. R’le hardly noticed that he had switched gears so suddenly, but he had to get things right, otherwise he might just forget something important. Best everything came up then he could repeat if required.
Post by Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro) on Jan 9, 2013 17:13:34 GMT -8
Viarth was quite relieved when Korith replied. Certainly the Blue, like his rider, was ridiculously serious at times, but that had never lessened Viarth’s friendship with the other weyrling. Where else would I be? It’s too bad-uncomfortable-cool-wet to be outside-where-sky-is today.
Viarth’s tail twitched. K’tarHis had taken canine-Altahyr to the party, which meant he didn’t have any other creature physically nearby. It was a good thing friend-Korith could stop by.
Meanwhile, at the party, K’tar was working through the crowd, looking for any of his close friends. He was about to give it up entirely when he saw a very welcome figure over by the entrance.
“Holt!” he cried, waving.
Picking up on K’tar’s excitement, Altahyr barked. His tongue was hanging out of his mouth the whole time, his tail thumping against K’tar’s leg.
“Eh.” Cr’wean wasn’t particularly good at responding to complements or teasing. So he just kinda looked grumpy in his chair, perhaps a little bit sulking. Embarrassment came easy to the Lifewing rider, it was just sort of how things were. So he looked grumpy. All the time. Social situations were his bane. Ah well, at least he could try. He looked sidelong when the flitter got up to observe the musicians, noting how the firelizard reacted to the prospect of music. Huh.
“She looks like she’s about to leave and go dance by herself.” Cr’wean noted simply. “Or join in with the harpers. I can’t tell which.” He’d never had a firelizard so he wasn’t sure which it might be. He debated this when he caught sight of K’tar moving about the party. He followed the Weyrling with his eyes before he went to the edge of the party and met up with Holt. Excellent, exactly what he needed. Now having a lock on the Bluerider he debated the merits of going up to him immediately . He decided against it, partially because he wanted to enjoy his seat for two minutes, and the other being he though the lad might want to enjoy some time actually being at the party before a gift was unloaded on him. He did keep an eye on the pair as they spoke though.
Ylara was about to reply to his comment when she noted his distraction, and her head turned slightly, catching sight of the lads by the door. Smiling faintly, she waited, then inclined her head. "She adores the music. The Pink in her is very strong," she said lightly. "Although she IS primarily a Citrine,' she added after a moment, when she sensed hunger coming from her little one, who had finally picked up on the smell of the food. Chuckling softly, she waved down a drudge and asked for some food to be brought over, not wanting to feel rude and just get up and leave the Lifewingrider by himself. She was oddly fond of the strange man, though why she couldn't ascertain, which was part of her reason for coming up to him in the first place. He always looked so... Grumpy. Just once, she'd like to see him smile.
Elora tilted her head to the side and briefly wondered if N'kio was a jealous man and what he would say if he saw her dancing with D'ziel. But dancing was in her nature, and monogamy was not, and if he couldn't deal with that than perhaps he couldn't deal with her.
Already thinking of reasons to push him away, even though I don't want too.
But he wasn't there tonight, and even if he had been, it didn't matter. Her life didn't revolve around him.
So a smile flashed across her face, the biggest one she could give him, and stepped forward to link her free arm with his. "I would love to. But it's hard to dance with presents. Is there someplace we can put these?"
D’ziel watched as she tilted her head for a moment (which had him a little bit nervous), but then break into a smile. Oh good, he would have been disappointed if she hadn’t wanted to. Hopefully they could both have fun, Elora hadn’t looked like she was having very much fun before he walked over. As Elora linked arms with him he considered her words with a smile.
“True. Let’s see…” The Moonlight Weyrling glances around, noting some people sitting around the area for dancing. If he could get one of them to guard their stuff that would probably be easiest. That was when he spotted a bright orange and black flitter. Ah, perfect.
“Alright, I think I got someone to watch our stuff.” He guided Elora to the Green rider from his hatching, who currently had a Neon Tiger sitting on her lap. Strictly speaking D’ziel was not super familiar with Mau, but she seemed nice enough and was conveniently located. So he led Elora there and opened the conversation when Mau looked up at them with a friendly smile. “Mau, would you mind watching our gifts? We were hoping to go dance…”
“I completely understand.” The Greenrider gave a wide smile and motioned to the area beside her, which already had one wrapped present sitting there. “I’ll watch whatever you need. Have fun dancing.” The flitter in her lap chirped, and Mau began to pet him, reminding D’ziel of being ‘trapped’ by Pounce. Looks like she wasn’t going anywhere for a while anyway.
“Thanks Mau.” D’ziel carefully put down his gift next to the one that he assumed Mau was going to be giving to someone. He waited for Elora to do the same and then they would have free hands to dance.
If D'ziel trusted her, Elora supposed she could trust young Mau, too.
Funny. She trusted D'ziel. When had that happened?
But she gave the firelizard an absentminded pet on the head as she placed her bag on the floor next to Mau, flashing a smile to to the Greenrider. "Thank you, Mau."
She stepped back and turned to D'ziel, the smile still on her face as she reached forward and took his hand. "Come. Let's dance. I shall teach you what you don't know, and you can tell me how your brother is. Twins, if I remember right?"
She could do this. Being a person, a social person, making friends; she had done it once, abandoned it all for the Weyr, been afraid to jump back in. Abandoned all attempts because of distractions by N'kio.
But she could do it again. After all, her and D'ziel were friends. That was a start.
Ah, very good then. the Blue said, relieved to be out of the cold in short order. He angled straight for Viarth's weyr and it took sometime between no time at all to far too long. In the chilling rain it was hard to be sure.
While landing he asked, How's everything else besides? all the while while trying to shake some of the water off himself. Mine still hasn't made sense of all this becoming-a-real-Rider business. Plus he's been terribly homesick besides. And I don't want that to skew his decision. He's been thinking about taking a shift Watch Riding at Dragon Ridge...but won't we have enough time to visit out of lessons? Maybe not...I'm sure they keep us older ones just as busy as the younger ones. Korith sighed. But I ask how you are and then carry on about Holt. Apologies. He's been...even quieter lately. The Blue clammed up and stared at his friend, waiting for an answer.
---
Holt had barely left Korith's side when K'tar showed up. He felt soaked, and his jacket was still having issues with serving its purpose. Part of his undershirt was wet now too and cold besides. But all the same he tried to put on a good face for K'tar, even though he felt miserable outside. He made his way towards the other almost-Rider and his canine at a fast clip. He didn't have a lot to say until they made it inside. He didn't want to speak, if his teeth kept chattering that would be embarrassing.
Inside, while better, he was not as instantly relieved to be in the warmth. It almost made him feel colder, and he didn't want to leave K'tar dejected for lack of words, though he hoped K'tar would understand. He shed the soaked jacket and hung it over the shoulder that was already wet from the rain, more or less. Holt finally felt well enough to give his friend a quiet, wry smile and a 'miss me?' expression. So at last he was settled in just enough to speak. "What did I miss?"
Mau smiled and waved as Elora and D’ziel headed out to dance, before giving a glance to Hammer in her lap. The neon Tiger was sitting up and looking as regal as possible. Even an absent minded pat had him in a good mood. The Green rider chuckled a little before stroking him again and watching the people dancing at the party. It was nice sometimes to watch rather than participate. She rather hoped everyone was having fun. A quick glance to her gift made her worry though. A little longer. If they didn’t show up in a little bit Mau would have Qui asking after them.
--
Hand in hand, D’ziel walked with Elora toward the other dancing as she asked him about D’zeal. A quieter smile spread across his face as he thought about it for a moment. Dan, huh?
“Dan… he’s the quieter one. We’ve always been together, I mean, until I impressed. I mean, I always want to be going and doing something, but Dan would go and always be thinking about something. Still, he’s the best guy, you can always count on him.” He smiled a bit than added, “I’m glad he impressed. Now I have two friends who are Darkblue riders.”
D’ziel paused a moment and noticed now he had to go about dancing. It was rather evident from the way he got into position that, he may have been taught at some point how to dance, but was strictly a novice. He smiled a bit sheepishly, like he was apologizing in advance for the mistakes he was probably going to make. Still, he was going to try his best, and he wasn’t afraid of jumping in head first. So, a little awkwardly he caught the tempo and hopefully, they would start dancing without too much embarrassment on his part. Still, it wouldn’t be too bad to be embarrassing. Things were easier with friends.