Stormy Plains/15.07.01/just before midday

[Simile]

N'rim finished pulling on the jacket he held. It would do. He grinned and laughed a little. "With an attitude like that, you'll make a fine Rider."

He mounted his Darkblue and settled himself before reaching down a hand to the now Candidate. "Have you ever had the chance to fly before?" he asked curiously. He had met a few Candidates that had in the past, though he couldn't say they were incredibly numerous.

After he was on and settled, N'rim cast a glance over his shoulder. "Hold on," he said with a mischievous grin.

Lakrinth leaped into the air then, beating his wings hard against the air and taking off rather quickly, gaining altitude. Soon they were soaring over the Weyr at a rather great height. Lakrinth circled around, as if to allow Kalitar one last time to say goodbye to the place he had grown up at. N'rim did not complain or stop the DarkBlue from doing so. "Isn't it beautiful," he said, taking one hand to motion all around him.

Yeah. There was something rewarding about flying on dragon back above the clouds. The feel of wind, sun... everything... It was just so much better. This is where N'rim and Lakrinth really felt alive. If it were possible, they would spend every waking hour in the skies...

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

Kalitar’s grin, which he’d started to master, returned full force in answer to N’rim’s grin. Catching hold of N’rim’s hand, Kalitar swiftly climbed onto Lakrinth’s back. “Only once,” he said in response to N’rim’s question. Then Lakrinth took off and Kalitar gave a wild whoop of sheerest exhilaration.

Kalitar stared down at the ground as Lakrinth circled, waved in the direction of the tower and fields, as though someone could see him, even though no one on the ground could. “It’s amazing!” he breathed, half in response to N’rim and half just a statement drawn from him in awe. He quickly settled into the rhythm of Lakrinth’s flight, and was no longer making any effort at all to control the wild excitement that shone through his face. Giving in to temptation, he threw his arms up into the air; he immediately lowered them, a little embarrassed by his child-like display.

[Simile]

N'rim grinned, laughing, though it really was a sound simply caught by the wind up here. He was rather grateful for hte moment that his hair was short so it wasn't always getting in the way. Not like some people he knew who kept their hair too long, not that he was naming names. He really didn't quite understand it.

Perhaps it would just be best to head back to the Weyr... but... perhaps... They could fly over a few more Holds first? He wasn't entirely sure what to do. Was he going to find anymore Candidates this way?

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

Kalitar had absolutely no interest in returning to ground. He was flying, free, with no one to call him in for lectures about appropriate behavior. Glancing down, he saw people (or what he thought were probably people) and he imagined that they were staring up in awe, even as he himself had often done.

“This is awesome, N’rim, Lakrinth,” he said. He felt a little awkward saying something out loud to a dragon, but he wanted to let them both know that he was enjoying himself, especially as it was Lakrinth who was doing all the work of keeping them airborn.

“N’rim, how fast can Lakrinth fly if he doesn’t go between?” Kalitar asked, deciding that it would be best to speak to the rider and let him relay the comments to Lakrinth. It might have been more polite not to ask at all, but Kalitar’s curiosity was awake, for it seemed to him that the beats of Lakrinth’s wings contained a massive amount of power, easily enough that they could exceed the speed of the racing runners, whose field was still just barely visible, filled with the runners, most of whom still pranced around in continued nerves after the presence of a dragon. Obscurely, Kalitar felt a moment of guilt about that, but he forced it to subside, not wanting to ruin all the fun he was having by letting himself feel guilty about inadvertently causing runnerbeast antics.

[Simile]

N'rim gave a slight smirk. It was, of course, awesome. He blinked, thinking for a moment. "Pretty fast..." He didn't have an exact figure in mind. It was something he should know.

The Darkblue gave a huff of annoyance. His rider should no this and the fact that he didn't... Let him look like a fool! Mine is not the best with such things. But let him worry a little bit. It is more fun that way. That was all that the dragon said. It looked like they were coming closer to a mining camp... and another Hold...

The dragon spiraled downward, not explaining himself to his Rider or to Kalitar. There was another down there who needed to be searched. N'rim knew what his dragon was doing without so much as having to ask the dragon about what they were doing. "Seems he has picked up another Candidate-to-be." N'rim smiled.

The dragon's spiral was slow, relaxed, unworried. He wasn't in two much of a hurry as he picked his spot to land outside the camp. They were certain to have Whers around, but what was a Wher to a dragon? They were ridiculous, pointless things to the Darkblue. But that was that and this was something seperate.

[Kaya]

It had been a good trip to town. His mum had wanted a few things, and his pa had been looking to get a new blade for shaving. In the bag was also one sweet, which he had picked out initially thinking of himself. Now, however, Holt was inclined to find some other person in need of a dash of cheer. Maybe that one girl from ball last game. She looked fairly disappointed to lose, Holt considered, strolling along. The mining camp would come into view as soon as he finished this sloped bend. The universal urge to go home drove him up the hill faster - but something stopped him at the crest.

Not too far up, a blueish dragon was circling. It wasn't their usual Watch Dragon, who was posted at the Hold. His dragon was lighter in color. Perhaps it was news from the Weyr? New leadership or some such that the authorities would be interested in, no doubt. Dragons were nice to watch but they weren't very important to a mining life. Nonetheless Holt knew the songs, and started humming one of the children's' melodies to himself.

Part way through the song it occurred to him that there were quite a few more colors than the songs mentioned. Maybe it was still being worked on, a new set of songs. Or maybe tradition was just that and they'd have the same songs forever and ever no matter what happened.

Holt picked up his feet a little faster, anxious now to get home.

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

Kalitar had to swallow a grin at Lakrinth’s addition, though it took him a couple seconds to realize that the dragon had indeed spoken to him.

Leaning forward slightly, Kalitar scanned the camp. There were neat stacks of sacks and stones in the distance, near what appeared to be holes cut into the rock. Must be a mine camp, he thought, realizing that he was seeing mine shafts. There were already some people visible, including one boy who was approaching from the direction they’d been heading in. The other boy looked up at them as they circled down, then lowered his gaze to the camp and started walking faster. Glancing from the ground to the boy, Kalitar idly calculated that if Lakrinth continued the same rate of approach, they should land at about the same time as the boy arrived.

Kalitar let his gaze flicker around, wondering who the Candidate-to-be was, but his gaze quickly returned to the ground around them. He didn’t recognize anything, even the ridges in the distance, but by the angle of the sun, he hadn’t lost track of time while they’d been flying, so they hadn’t been airborn for very long. Lakrinth must be really fast! he thought.

[Simile]

Lakrinth gave a draconic rumble. I see him, Mine. We will reach him shortly. With that, the dark blue continued the decent, though he seemed to move a little quicker for a moment, before pulling back to land gently, though, perhaps a heavily on the ground. Ah. There he was. Just a short distance away. Best to let him know.

You, boy... Come here to speak with me and mine. The Dark Blue then moved so that his rider and Kalitar could take to hte ground that they had alighted on. N'rim gave a slight sigh then slid down, then leaned against his dragon, patting the dark blue hide as he waited, not overly excited, it would seem, as per usual.

Lakrinth settled himself, carefully wrapping his tail around his paws and gave croon. He looked at first N'rim and then Kalitar with a whirling eye, then again at Holt. Another promising Candidate, this one will be. The Queen cannot complain about these boys. No, not at all. It would be a pointless endeavor to do so... N'rim resisted the temptation to hit his forehead with the palm of his hand at Lakrinth's sudden irksome confidence in himself. It was rather ridiculous, to be honest!

[Kaya]

He was about to the entrance to the camp when that same dragon he'd seen further up the road landed squarely in his path. Holt frowned and redirected to go around the dragon. They had surely seen him coming, and of course they'd want to talk to the ones in charge, all of which would be found on the other side of camp. His mum had insisted on manners however, and though the rude dragon irked him Holt tried not to let it show beyond the crinkles that forced their way onto his forehead.

You, boy... Come here to speak with me and mine.

Holt's brow furrowed more at the voice. He had never heard anything like it. Intrigue taking over frustration now, Holt looked up at the dragon. It seemed to be looking at him. Was what he heard its speech? It was odd. He didn't have any other words to describe the rest of how the words had felt in his mind. ...other than tingly.

Still, the way he'd been addressed was a second blow to his sixteen Turn old esteem. Manners, he thought to himself, approaching the dragon with confidence, trying not to let his cautious displeasure show. What could a dragon possibly want with him?

"Yes, sir?" Holt asked the Rider, glancing back at the Blue (was it still called a Blue?) to acknowledge him. It was then that Holtrarn noticed the boy on the dragon's back. Strange. "Your dragon wished to speak with me?"

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

Kalitar watched, his light blue-grey eyes narrowed slightly against the sun, as the other boy approached. He thought that the boy was a little annoyed about something, but he couldn’t really think of what it could be. To tell the truth, he wasn’t even absolutely sure that the other youth was annoyed, certainly his words were polite enough.

Perhaps it could be that we just landed in front of him, Kalitar thought, reflecting on the crinkles of the boy’s forehead. He kind of wanted to say something, at least a greeting, especially when the other boy noticed him, but refrained from doing so: one of the consequences of growing up around those with rank was constant lessons in manners; while Kalitar was just as willing not to follow all those rules when there wasn’t anyone around to know, the simple fact that he was seated on a dragon, behind a dragonrider, and in the presence of a stranger of unknown rank was enough to keep him from speaking out of turn.