Caught in the rain (open) 9.20.3073

[summerrain]

Kokoro had been tending the fields, like usual, paying no attention to the skies. She had zoned out again, also as usual, when the first clap of thunder sounded, followed by the start of a sudden downpour. She dragged her hand tools to the shed, making sure that it was closed and latched before making a run for the Weyr. The only thing keeping her from Journeywoman farmercrafter was her age. She was under eighteen Turns old, and regulations demanded that only those over eighteen were deemed Journeyman and Journeywoman crafters.

She darted through the downpour, making it to a large tree at the edge of the field. It had been left because it was out of the way. Many of the other farmercrafters liked to sit in the shade to rest before moving to another field. Kokoro looked up. The clouds were the same color as her grey eyes, and the rain didn't look like it would stop anytime soon. She sighed and leaned her back against the thick tree's trunk, stray hair falling about her face in its usual corkscrew pattern, but most remained tied back in the white ribbon she had used to keep it back. Rainstorms like this could be really long, or they could be really short. Days, or pulse beats. She wasn't too worried, but she began to wonder what would happen if no one came looking for her. There was only rain falling from the sky, no sound or light, so there was still little danger to a Dragon. She wasn't sure if a LifeWing could between but didn't expect to be picked up by one.

No one would be surprised that she'd gotten caught in the rain. She often zoned out, and tended to loose focus on most things while doing just one. Even time was relative for her. She often brought a lantern with her to the fields simply because she had often lost track of time and had to walk back in the dark. It wasn't uncommon for her to miss a meal, either. Most of the Weyr knew of her absentmindedness, and tended to accommodate for that. There were always those that treated her no differently, which was accepted and even welcomed.

As a distraction, Kokoro began thinking of the Silver dragon she wanted. What would be a good Dragon name? Azorith seemed like a nice one, but Ryuuth was good if it was a male. Mnementh was an interesting name she'd come across in her research, as well as Ramoth. Ramoth sounded like a pretty dragon name, perfect for a Gold Queen. Of course, that had been before the other types of Queen dragons had come into existance. And of those, she liked all but the mysteious Abyss Queen. It seemed too vain and self-absorbed, but there was only one in existance. The Azure was just as mysterious, but that was a completely loyal dragon. She smiled slightly, watching the sky as her mind wandered.

[Kaya]

It's going to start raining in about five minutes. the Blue announced as he kept pace with his Rider's jog.

That's a guess and you know it, Holt replied in beat with his footsteps. The Blue threw him a surly look but said nothing. They paced on for another three minutes in silence. Holt turned to run along the fence between the herdbeast field and the side where food was grown. When he reached the fence he jumped it, knowing that the crop side would be significantly cleaner to run on.

Mine! No fair. I can't do that, Korith protested and sprinted ahead on the other side of the fence. He was getting bigger, that was for sure, but the dragon didn't want to risk ruining the fence if he misjudged his jump. There was a gate just ahead. He glanced back to see H'rarn running after him. They both knew there was a gate ahead. It became a race.

The Blue outdistanced his Rider with his head start and came to a stop at the gate. As he did a large drop of rain landed on his nose and Korith let out a loud snort. H'rarn let his dragon through the gate and looked out to see the only near shelter was a tree that someone else out in the rain was heading towards. He could run home in the ran but he usually liked to take a break if he went as far as the fields. It was a long way to go for him still.

So the two of them headed for the tree. It was a good and steady rain by the time they got there and Holt was uncomfortable but trying to keep his spirit up. Politeness was something he'd learned well from his parents and home community.

When they got to the tree H'rarn gave a comfortably regular greeting, "Hello," and tried to find a better spot under the tree. "What are you out here for?" he asked with a smile.

You can let her known the rain will stop soon enough. Korith announced. Holt rolled his eyes.

You were just lucky about the rain starting. It looks to me like it's going to be raining for a while.

I bet you I'm right. Stops within an hour,

"We don't have a way to measure the time, Korith. But if we did I'd take you up on that bet. Sorry," he addressed the girl, "I think Korith is done interrupting now. What's your name? I'm H'rarn, but my friends call me Holt."

Holt wiped more of the rain off his face as his hair dripped. Obnoxious. He'd really rather Korith be right, but his own since of weather just didn't think the rain would let up.

[summerrain]

Kokoro's curls had straightened out with the weight of the rain, making her hair reach down past the middle of her back. She grabbed at it, wringing it dry when the other person approached. A Weyrling, it seemed. And one with an Original dragon color.

"I'm Kokoro," she said. "Senior apprentice farmercrafter and dragon Candidate. Pleasure to meet you." She smiled slightly, her grey eyes shimmering with mystery. "You were one of the ones to Impress at the last Hatching," she noted. It was a statement that could've been a question, but wasn't. "Your dragon is a lovely color. Do you mind?" she asked, reaching a hand out to the beast. If permission was given, she would scratch the dragon at that spot above the eye ridge. If not, she would draw back her hand.

"I was tending the fields when the rain started," Kokoro said. "I lost track of time, and the rain surprised me. Thankfully I managed to get the tools in the shed before they got too wet. The Master Farmercrafter would give me shard if the tools rusted." She looked at the sky, her bak against the tree. She didn't seem afraid of whom she spoke. She was a curious child, indeed.

[Kaya]

Holt didn't even have time to open his mouth when she asked to touch Korith. The Blue was his own soul and stretched his head forward so that it would come in contact with Kokoro's hand. He liked being scratched. He took a few steps forward towards her so that she might be able to reach the other spots on his head that he liked rubbed. She seemed nice.

"Looks like Korith gave you an answer, Kokoro," H'rarn mentioned, crouching down against the tree on the other side of Korith. He gave the Blue a pat and then took another look at Kokoro. She looked about his age and rather soaked. There was a damp white ribbon in her rich brown hair. She looked rather slender to be a farm worker, and she was out here by herself too. It struck Holt as a bit off but he supposed that, like Korith, the others would have seen the rain coming and gone inside.

"He also says he expects the rain to stop soon," Holt added, tilting his head back to look at the grey sky. A raindrop almost hit him in the eye. He made a face and rubbed it off. Rain. There was so much more of it here at Rainbow Mists. "So, who is this Master of yours to give you such trouble over rain in the wettest place in the world?" he asked. She seemed comfortable enough in the fields and the rain, perhaps she had always been here.

[summerrain]

Kokoro laughed quietly when Korinth reached his head toward her. "This seems like one of the Original dragon colors," she mentioned. She closed her eyes and began singing quietly one of the few legends she remembered from the Harper Hall in Golden Flights Hold.

From the Weyr and from the Bowl.
Bronze and brown and blue and green
Rise the Dragonmen of Pern
Aloft, on wing, seen, then unseen.

"Your color is beautiful," Kokoro told Korinth. She smiled slightly. This was a sociable dragon. She wondered if all other Blues were like this.

"It's not so much in getting the tools wet," Kokoro explained. "It's more like this. If the tools rust, they must be replaced, and that takes a while." She looked up at the sky, pulling her hand back from the Blue's head. She ti=ucked it behind her with the other. "The Master just doesn't like having to wait for new tools. And, as I have been told," here she stopped, laughing quietly. "If you cannot take care of simple farm tools, how can you take care of a growing dragon?" She sighed softly. "But that is true. Tools do not complain, true, but care must be taken to make sure the metal does not rust, and that the woo does not rot."

She watched the rain, a glimmer of worry in her eyes. "If this rain doesn't stop soon, then the crops could get root rot," she said softly. "That could easily devistate the whole field, and even affect the herdbeasts. It would be bad for us all. Too much rain is just as dangerous as too little." It would be hard for someone to know that if they hadn't worked fields most of their lives. Her parents were also Farmercrafters, and they influenced her choice. She liked knowing that her parents had taught her almost everything she knew about her chosen Craft.

[Kaya]

Korith let out a hum as she scratched his eye ridge though he quieted when she started singing. His shoulders relaxed and his wings drooped down into the grass. The rain was chilly but the rub left him with a warm feeling in his chest. He tilted his head so she could get the spot a little further back he liked scratched. The complement was just icing on the cake. The Blue was disappointed when the song finished. He had liked it and though didn't understand it entirely he had the feeling that it was a story, and Korith liked history.

Tell her that her color is pretty too, Korith told H'rarn, looking at the darkened chestnut hair at the beads of water dripping of its ends.

"Original colors-?" Holt started quietly, voicing what Kokoro had just said. He had been to just barely two months of classes and as much as Korith loved history he was as ambivalent towards it. Names and conflicts and dates and more names. It did occur to him though that Pern had once had fewer colors, and in fact, some Weyrs, especially in the North, still had a rather smaller amount of colors than Rainbow Mists.

Trying to save himself and hoping she hadn't heard his quiet statement Holt pressed on to assure her" "Korith is indeed Blue, not DarkBlue. He's a deep color for a Blue to be sure, but he says he's Blue and I believe him," Holt amended with a smile. Then he remembered to add what Korith had said, "And he says to let you know that your color - by which I think he means your hair - is pretty too."

"As for the tools, you would think they'd have a way to make them that didn't wear down as quickly in all this rain. We're on the bay, practically since it's just over the hills, and this part of the world rains all the time. That's why it's so green. And in any case, dragonets are far more insistent than farm tools and when not following their unaware Rider generally have the wherewithal to get inside before it rains." Holt nodded to himself and noted how many people had been headed toward the Weyr on the main path on his run out here. He felt safe on the main path, especially when there were people, even though the strange happenings in the jungle had not yet been resolved. "If you're that concerned about the rains being bad for us all how is it that you feel comfortable out here alone with a band of murderers lurking perhaps in our jungles?" He asked, one eyebrow raised in curiosity.

[summerrain]

"Originally, there were only five dragon colors. Golds were the only Queens. Bronzes and rare Browns were the only ones that caught a Gold. Blues chased Greens, the only Threadfighting female dragon," Kokoro said, going into the history she'd learned from the Harper's Hall. "There was once a time when there was a single Weyr, and only about two hundred dragons in that Weyr. If I remember right, it was called Benden Weyr. And they had a single Gold Queen." She looked at the sky. "But that is past. Now there are many colors, almost as many colors as there are different kinds of people."

She smiled at the compliment payed by the dragon. "Thank you," she said with a smile. "It's lighter when it's not soaked by rain, though." At H'ram's question, she simply shrugged. "It's something that's always been part of Farmercrafting," she said simply. "Tools are taken care of, for dull tools make tending the fields even harder for the tender." It was something she had been taught by her parents. "And, as a child, my parents didn't always have the recources to buy new tools." Her cheeks pinked slightly, but she turned away. "And I never really knew about anything in the Jungle. It just never seemed to bother me."

[Kaya]

Holt listened to the story with polite interest. He felt echos of the information light up in his memory as she narrated the past. A world with only a handful of dragons and a handful of colors, it felt barren in stark contrast to the world he knew. He wasn't much of one for history but he did know the legends told at Dragon Ridge, well, at least the ones that one of his friends liked to tell, and retell. Well, hopefully he had the chance to get to a proper Harper Hall some day.

Still, it bothered H'rarn that Kokoro didn't seem to know more about the jungle. Sure, it wasn't a favorite topic of conversation, but she had to travel through part of the thick trees to get to the fields and stables from the Weyr proper. She ought to know. "They found a strange group of men in the jungle, well, some Rider did, and by the time they went back to ask them questions all they found was a hastily made grave and two men in it. Nothing's been seen since but even I feel a little off on the main path out here. I mean, were they just trying to pick a place no one would find the evidence and just happened to be by the Weyr? Was this a one time revenge thing? I think everyone's worried it will happen again. Or that it will happen to one of us. ...I know it's not the nicest bit of conversation, but I think it's worth your while to know. I mean, I was under the impression that you had always lived here but...maybe not? I'm from Dragon Ridge myself..." Holt finished lamely, trailing off. He had barely looked at her while talking. He didn't like sharing bad news and disliked seeing peoples' expressions when he did. Korith nudged his Rider's hand in a quiet expression of comfort.

[summerrain]

Kokoro listened intently to the young Weyrling's words. "I've been here for two Turns already," she admitted. "But rarely am I told all of everything. I was Searched from Golden Flight Hold. Never had any reason to worry while I was there." She didn't feel the least bit concerned about the strangers from the jungle. "There's no reason to worry as long as they haven't proven a direct threat to us," she said with a shrug. "At least, I don't see why we should worry if they haven't come out and attacked us." She began humming again, only proving her serene calmness over the whole situation.

Drummer, beat, and piper, blow.
Harper, strike, and souldier, go.
Free the flame and sear the grasses
Till the dawning Red Star passes.

She had a thing for stories from the Harper Hall. Had she not become a Farmercrafter, she had been told many times that she could easily have been a wonderful Harper. Her memory for the oldest of old legends and stories surprised many. Even those who claimed to know her well. Even the ones the children sang before apprenticeship were ingrained into her memory.

Watch-wher, watch-wher,
in your lair.
Watch well, watch-wher.
Who goes there?

[Kaya]

Holt listened as she spoke, mind wandering to each rain drop that struck his skin. Maybe it would stop raining soon enough as Korith said, but the rapid cool down from his jog was starting to make him feel more than just a bit uncomfortable. A particularly large drop fell from the tree and hit him in the nose. H'rarn blinked and scrunched his face as he shook the water off. I need to get out of this, he mumbled to Korith.

As you ought. It's raining pretty good now. See if Miss Kokoro wants to come back with us? Korith agreed. The rain was starting to get to him. The tree could only keep them so dry (not nearly dry enough) and the wind made it chillier.

Holt moved to stand back up as he said, "Well, I don't want it to take them hurting the people here before we get cautious." He offered his hand to help Kokoro up if she liked. "Korith is requesting that we head back to the Weyr. Would you come with us?"

[summerrain]

Kokoro turned to the Blue. She smiled slightly, but it lasted only a moment. A rumble of thunder cut through the air. "Wouldn't one of the Riders come searching?" she wondered aloud. "After all, this tree is the only cover around, and they will probably guess that I came out here." She did vanish to the fields often enough. It was a habit of hers that had developed while she still lived in Golden Flight Hold, and being Searched hadn't done anything to it. She was confident, yes, but was her confidence correctly placed?

She didn't mind being wet. The only issue would be her hair, but she had a ribbon that would take care of that issue. Though... What if no one came? She turned away from the Blue and his Rider, clasping her hands behind her back. "Though... If we want to make it back soon, we should probably leave now..." She didn't want to go quite yet, actually, but if there was thunder, there was lightning.

[Kaya]

Holt stood still as the loud sound shook up his spine. This was not good. They should not be by this tree. They should not be out here. Why hadn't he turned around earlier? They needed to go. Panic was welling up inside of him and he fought for the words to express to this ever calm girl what kind of bad spot they were in.

"Kokoro, we need to go," Holt insisted, looking straight at her. They would follow the main path back. The trees should be thick enough in the jungle that one was as likely to be hit by lightning as the other. "Dragons don't fly in this weather. Not the smart ones. We need to go," he repeated, this time glancing toward the field to the fence and straining to see the jungle beyond. The rain was falling well enough that they'd bee soaked through by the time they made it back, but at this point making it back at all was Holt's goal.

Mine...I don't like this, Korith intoned, already moving away from the tree. He continued sending the urgent feeling to his Rider. They needed to go, but it would be wrong to just leave the girl they'd just met. So he waited, tense and already wishing they had never left the Weyr that morning.

[summerrain]

Kokoro smiled slightly. "It'll let up soon," she said, sure of it. "When I was apprenticed under my parents, they taught me how to tell the weather." She pointed to a lighter patch in the clouds. "There, see?" It was a large patch of lighter colored clouds, indicating that rainfall was not happening there. "In under a candlemark, those will reach us. And then we shall be able to walk back without a problem." She turned, flashing the pair a smile. "There is no reason to fear as long as you know what to look for." She fell silent. Within minutes, what she said proved to be true. The darkest clouds, the worst of the storm, had blown off, and there was just a light rain now. "Though, you are right," she said again. "Rarely will a dragon fly in such a storm. And then almost always above the cloud layer where danger is least."

She smiled kindly at the pair. "You have such a magnificent creature to share your life with..." she told Holt wistfully. She longed for a dragon of her own, someone who knew her whole heart without her having to say anything. "I can only dream of the day when I am gifted with such a friend..."