Another Night [Moo/D'gan]

[Shoki]

76.01.23
After Dark

“Prrrrr.” Ethilask walked alongside Lan, who was rubbing her head. She did so like that. It would be even better if he got that area just under her chin that she so- Oooo, there it was. “Prrrrr…” Yes, it was a good night. Lan didn’t have that flying thing, the two low, two short high whistles. She wanted to chase it some more. He never let her do that though. He did have the white thing, the three high, two low whistles thing in his jacket. She didn’t really care, so long as he didn’t feed it in front of her, that would just be wrong. For now he was feeding himself. That was okay. His food didn’t smell nearly as good as what he fed her.

They continued their rounds for a bit, quiet but for the low rumble she tended to have. He had the weird shaped stick on him, which she had zero interest in. It made it harder for him to eat she supposed, he still had a bit of the not-so-tasty in his hand that was also holding the strange stick. It was sharp with the metal thing on the end, she supposed. She hadn’t much seen him do much with it but do a bunch of stabs and swings in the air. It was very silly. Still, at least he did that sort of thing around her, she did so like him spending time with her.

Lan put the last bit of roll in his mouth and then pat Ethilask again. He carried the poleaxe casually, just getting used to it. Been a while, but he’d been doing well with it, but it was a bit heavier than just a knife. Still, he felt a lot better now, felt more like he knew what he was doing now. That was good. He kept an eye on the area around him, as well as Ethilask. He didn’t know if it was distracting her, but the petting seemed to keep her from sulking. The Black-Grey Wher looked toward the upcoming hall and let out a single “Rrr” to alert him that someone was coming this way. Apparently not too distracting then. Lan waited to see what would come of it.

[Moo]

As of late, sleep hadn't been coming easy for him. He wasn't entirely sure why, because it could be from anything, really. Restlessness. Nerves. Smoke inhalation. Regardless of the reason, it still happened, and he knew he wasn't about to approach any healer for a remedy. It would work itself out in time. He found that taking walks around the Weyr helped, although he knew Mosiliath wasn't too keen on the idea of him walking alone at night.

But D'gan liked taking them, and with his newfound sleep schedule, they had become a habit he wasn't keen to break. Things were quieter at night, even with the activity of the patrolling whers and wherhandlers, and the mindless motion of walking about helped him gather his thoughts -- and there had been much to think about, especially considering all of last turn.

The Wings had been training harder than ever before (T'kar was the Weyr's shining example of that), and ever since the kidnapped Weyrling and the missing Lord and Lady of Cliffside, the Weyr's day and night security had been lifted from a moderate to maximum. Squabbles and rumors had broken out over the newest Queen dragon, the fields caught fire, and Rilora -- the Weyrwoman, he reminded himself of her proper title -- had grown secluded in the face of it all.

D'gan shook his head, yawned, and rounded one of the lower passageways. There was a lot to consider: a lot that wasn't being discussed, that needed to be discussed, and needless inactivity was not something he handled well.

"Rrr..."

He glanced up at the sound and halted where he stood, momentarily surprised. But once he registered just what that sound had come from, his tired, solemn expression brightened. It was a large, Black-Grey wher and one of the younger Wher Handlers, though he was a boy he had seen only on rare occasion. He supposed it wouldn't hurt to talk with him for a moment; it was important, after all, to see how the night watch viewed everything.

D'gan offered the boy a friendly smile.

"You have a nice looking wher. What's her name? -- and yours, as well? You'll have to forgive me, names aren't really my thing."

[Shoki]

Lan recognized the man that appeared. D’gan, he was a Wingleader and a Kingrider. He couldn’t quite remember the name of his dragon, but he knew it was a Tiger, that he knew. Of course, just being a dragon rider was enough reason for him to try to straighten up the best he could and give D’gan whatever help the man needed. Well, as long as that help didn’t interfere with his job. He wasn’t about to volunteer to go swimming and leave his post without good reason.

“It’s no problem. This is Ethilask.” He gave her a pat and the Wher automatically sat up in a very lovely way and looked as proud as could be. Of course she knew when she was being spoken of, and just had to look her best. “And I go by Lan. Was there anything I can help you with?” Lan didn’t look too serious, even though he was standing up straight, he still had a friendly smile and didn’t look super stiff. He was more inclined to like people who took an interest in any of his group of wards, although it was even better when Ethilask got the attention. Made things easier on him. Not that Ethilask liked everyone, but any attention bolstered her pride, and her swingy nature made keeping that in balance something he had to consider constantly. Of course he had to keep Arc attended to as well, but it was good that the White flitter didn’t actively try to hurt him when she was in a mood. She just hide under something.

He really loved his group, but they could drive him crazy sometimes.

[Moo]

With a grin, D'gan kneeled down before the large Wher, only extending his hand for her to sniff once he had been properly introduced.

"Ethilask, hmm?" he repeated, talking more toward the Watchwher than her handler. Despite his recent walks in the evening, it wasn't too often he crossed direct paths with the Weyr's nighttime denizens -- so any time he did, it was always a pleasant surprise to see the gnarled beasties up close.

"You have a lovely hide," he complimented, his gaze moving over the Wher's black-and-grey coloration. "Very beautiful."

After a moment's more consideration of Ethilask (whers liked attention as much as dragons did, right?), D'gan stood up and mirrored her handler's polite, attentive bearing. "You've done a very good job training her, Lan," he commented with a smile and a tilt of his head toward the Wher. "Have you two been assigned this particular post for very long? Are you finding everything alright?"

Of course, he wasn't really asking if everything was to the boy's liking -- naturally, as it was work and a responsibility both, there could always be something not to his preference. Rather, he was asking if anything out of the ordinary had happened. He hadn't really planned on going over the particulars of the boy's work, but if need be, he knew enough about night watches to hold a basic conversation.

After all, it was one thing to get reports on the Watchwhers and their handlers, but it was another thing entirely to hear directly from them. And since he was here and talking to Lan, he figured it wouldn't hurt to get his opinion on how the Weyr was handled at night, and see if there was anything he could personally do to fix any problems Lan might have encountered.