So this is solid ground? [Tag: Tera]

[mimi]

Date: 75.05.28
Time: Midday
Location: Cliffside Sea Hold's Docks

The interior of the ship was dark but it was not quiet. Lanterns swayed as the waves rocked the boat from one side to the other and the splash of water echoed around him. The rigging high above creaked and shuttered in the grip of the sea wind and the sound of voices echoed down below. The stench of sea water seemed to permeate everything. It was thick in the ship's wood, the air, his ragged clothes, his very skin... Everything.

It was the boat sliding up against a dock, the thick sound of wood upon wood, that sent Andilan in to a fit, awakened sharply from his meager sleep. He landed with a solid thud upon the floor as he fell out of the cot, arms striking out and legs flailing until he freed himself from the blanket that had been placed over his form. He could feel his weak legs shuddering beneath him as he struggled to stand but only managed to brace himself on his hands and knees until the world stopped spinning behind his mind's eye. It took him a moment to recall the storm and his effort to swim to shore only for the thin sliver of shore to disappear the longer he fought the waves.

The young man groaned to himself as he lowered his belly to touch the floor and pressed his cheek against the cool boards. He could feel the film of salt water upon his skin, the water evaporating thus leaving the salt behind. Salt was everywhere upon him. It covered his skin, knotted his hair, and chapped his lips leaving them bloody no matter how he licked them. The thirst was what was worst and he would have traded one of his arms for enough water to quench that thirst. It wasn't until that he opened his eyes that he saw a full water skin hanging on a small peg next to the cot that he had been laying in. He scrambled to the waterskin, tearing it open with his teeth when his fingers were deemed too clumsy to grasp the cork. He swallowed the water in big gulps, even almost choking at it certain points, until he could drink no more or else be sick where he sat.

Andilan could feel strength coming back to his limbs but he was still in bad shape. They still quaked as he attempted to stand but the noises above were too loud for him to ignore any more. He leaned heavily against the walls as he made his way slowly towards the upper deck. Sunlight peeked through the door until his calloused hand pushed it open and he was left blinking widely as he attempted to see through Rukbat's bright rays. It was midday and there were few clouds to shield the young man's eyes. A few men spied him and told him to sit down upon the deck until someone could be fetched to retrieve him.

When asked for his name, he brushed them away, and simply took a seat upon the deck's stairs. The ship's crew didn't poke him too much more for information when it became evident that the information was not forthcoming and their load of fish had to be unloaded.

[Terayne]

The sky was open and nearly cloudless, and a pale form soared through it, wings catching the updrafts off the road leading to the Hold. A playful corkscrew downwards had a delighted squeal echoing from the creature's shoulders, and laughter followed, the dragon also rumbling its amusement. As it grew closer, it became obvious that is was a Green, large for her size, and so pale as to be almost white, with shadings of darker emerald and forest upon her belly and wing membranes. Upon her shoulders, a slender figure, brown hair blowing wildly in the wind, untamed and wild.

The Green eventually soared downwards to settle lightly to the ground, wings folding in to her sides and a foreleg cocking to allow her rider to leap lightly to the ground. The female's sharp hazel eyes danced around those there, seeking the captain of the ship she had been sent to meet. The Weyr wanted fish, and Korina and Awrith had been sent to bring it back.

Mine.... There is someone here we should take with us...[/i]

The voice lightly stirred through the rider's mind, and she blinked, glancing at her Bonded one, who was staring around her intently, wings fluttering faintly. She could sense the dragoness didn't know WHERE the person was, just that they were here. Interesting, she thought...

[mimi]

Andilan sat there for several long minutes as the sun beat down upon his shoulders. The shirt and pants that he wore were almost in tatters and it was surprising how the fabric had not come free of the seams themselves. He had no shoes to speak of and was barefooted. His calloused feet tapped out his impatience as he watched men carry back and forth barrels of fresh fish. The stench of the scaled creatures were almost overwhelming when the wrong breeze caught the thickest of their smell and threw it around. His nose curled and he turned his head away and focused his attention upon the open sea where the waves rolled gently. It was a sharp contrast to the storm that had almost overtaken him.

He would have missed the sound of a dragon's wingbeats if they had been any softer but the sound was foreign to him and his eyes followed the sound. Dragons....curious creatures. He knew of them, of course, and who didn't considering all their folktales and songs...but had never seen one up close but his attention was broken when someone starting coming his way.

"Eh....so this is the kid you pulled from the water?" The grubby man addressed the first mate who only nodded. "I guess he'll do. He looks strong. I'm sure we can find a place for him in the Hold. We always need an able bodied man." The statement was met with a dark scowl from Andilan who slowly stood and began to walk in the direction of the ship's plank where it connected with the dock. "H-hey! Where are you going!?"

"Away from here!" Andilan snarled, "I will not be someone else's slave labor." He said before his feet hit the deck and he took off running.

[Terayne]

Korina was about to move forwards towards the boats when she heard a commotion and turned, one brow quirking slightly in curiosity. Behind her she sensed Awrith moving, shifting, and she glanced back to see if the Green was still settled. She was most definitely NOT, staring intently at one of the boats, from whence, now Korina was aware of it, the commotion was actually coming. Frowning, the Greenrider started forwards, her rank knots showing sharply against her brown shirt.

Her frown and knots kept anyone from getting in her way, and she soon stopped, watching as the young man came off the boat then started... Running? Oh dear.... Awrith dear.

The Green rose to her hindquarters, wings flaring as she did so to balance her. She was smack dab in the lad's way, and Korina knew it. "Hey kid, what's wrong?!" she called to him as she moved back towards her Bonded to keep the Green from going too far. Awrith hadn't made a sound, had merely risen to her flanks.

[mimi]

Andilan's barefeet slapped the docks hard as he ran, he ducked men with their loads and he staggered several times as his weak legs threatened to buckle. He caught himself with his hands and managed to keep going despite skinning his knuckles against the rough wood. The brief exertion was all too quickly catching up to him in his exhausted state and he instantly knew he was cornered when he saw the large girth of the Green Dragon blocking his way, her Rider moving to intercept him. He knew well enough to know that it would be a grave mistake to attack a Rider but the men chasing him were already too close for him to simply backpedal and find another way off of the docks. He skidded to a stop, his chest heaving and his limbs visibly quaking from exhaustion, as he looked around for another way out.

The edge of the dock bit in to his heel as he was increasingly cornered from both sides. He paced a step or two on either size, both towards the dragon then back the way that he had came but all escape routes had already been cut off. He turned his head back to look at the men running after him....several crewmen and the firstmate, along with the man from the Hold. He then looked over his shoulder at the churning water behind him.

"Rider! Stop that man.There has been a misunderstanding." The Firstmate said as they came closer.

"Hey kid, what's wrong?!"

"You tell me." Dilan snarled angrily, "I have done nothing wrong."

[Terayne]

Korina stopped as she saw the cornered look starting to enter his eyes. A hand came up to him, palm up, in a peace gesture, and she glared at the seamen and the Holdman as they got closer. Idiots had the boy confused, she realized. She then turned back to the lad. "No, you haven't," she said gently, moving a little closer so he could hear her. A motion of her hand had Awrith relaxing down to all fours again, and the Green crooned soothingly, a slightly apologetic note to it as well for scaring the kid.

"We're sorry if we scared you. We didn't mean to," she added. "Now. Why are you running?" The Weyr's responsibility to keep peace in their Holds was on her shoulders now, and she had to make sure that nothing happened that they would all regret.

Mine. He's it. He's the one I felt.[/color]

Alright my love. But not just yet. He's scared, and we need to get him calmed down. He thinks something's wrong, and we need to find out what it is.

[mimi]

The peaceful gesture from the Rider at least put her a little more on Andilan's good-side then the men who helped him but were now chasing him. Perhaps he was jumping to conclusions but he would not be used for manual labor...not after the whole ordeal he had just been through. He would not be passed between hands like some piece of meat!

"Now. Why are you running?"

"Rider, we found this boy adrift after a storm. He will not give us his name. We thought it best to relinquish him to the Hold and let them find him work and care for him." The firstmate went to explain only to be caught off by Andilan.

"You pass me off like a tool to be used by another. I don't need your help. I don't need anyone's help!" The young man snarled as his eyes flashed dangerously. "Now. Leave. Me. Be. I will not be used. Not again."

[Terayne]

She listened intently as the story was told to her, then blinked in surprise as the lad snarled. Cocking her head slightly, she waited until he was done, then looked to the seamen. "I'd like for you men to leave. Now," she said firmly, her eyes telling them she was not joking. "I wish to speak with this lad alone, without you here."

Once they had done as she'd said, she looked to him again. "You are not a tool," she said quietly. thoughtfully watching him. "They only wished to let the Hold take responsibility for your care. You would have been given a job YOU wished to do, not that they told you to do. That's all." She considered him for a moment, then glanced at Awrith. "She, however, has told me you are possibly destined for better things..."

[mimi]

The Crewmen looked among each other but nodded gently, conceding that the man was in better hands with the Rider then he was with them. The other man seemed a little soured that all his exertion was for nothing but there was little he could do to argue. Andilan was a free man and he had done nothing wrong so there was little reason to hold him.

The young man's lips pursed and pinched together as he shoved his hands deep in to the pockets of his tattered pants as the Rider went to address him. He did not look fully in to her eyes but instead scowled in the direction of the docks with his head tilted downwards. However, when the attention of the conversation drew to him and what the dragon thought of him, Andilan could not help but shift his attention to the dragon even though a snort of disbelief passed through his nose.

The young man was almost critical of the dragon as he examined her. His hardened eyes followed the lines of her body, the gentle curve of her folded wings, as well as the lines of her face and riding harness. His jaw clenched and unclenched as he almost seemed to think, his entire body tense. "She is delusional." Andilan stated finally and rather bluntly. "The two of you don't even know me. If this is some 'pick-me-up pitch',I don't really appreciate it."

[Terayne]

One dark brow rose at his critiscm of her love, and her eyes narrowed, flashing dangerously. Awrith looked to her rider and rumbled softly, letting her know she didn't take it to heart, which had Korina mentally grumbling, but relenting. "She knows what she's talking about, believe me," she said firmly. "If she thinks you are good to be a rider, you will more than likely become one. Greens are THE best Searchdragons, and they KNOW what they're talking about." She cocked her head once more, and the Green puffed up proudly, causing her to chuckle.

[mimi]

Andilan could not help but feel smaller beneath the gaze of the Green dragon. Her swirling eyes peered through him and he struggled to bring up his walls, to ignore how his chest vibrated as the dragon rumbled pleasantly despite his harsh words, to glare at her just like any other person who dared to cross him....but he felt sick.

His limbs quaked and his stomach rebelled against the water he had guzzled so greedily earlier. He found a crate a step or two away and leaned against it as he rubbed a calloused hand against his face as he felt himself breakout in to a cold sweat. How long had it been since he had last eaten? Two days? Three? "I still say you are wrong." Andilan muttered darkly beneath his breath.

A sarcastic chuckle passed through his lips as he tried to ensure that his legs would continue to hold his weight. "Seriously, I am not someone you want to try to Impress a dragon to. You have no idea who I am or what I have done, where I have been. Do you seriously want to send me in to the thick of your precious offspring?" He said as he lifted his eyes to the Green beast, no longer speaking to the Rider. "Just look at me."

[Terayne]

I have, child. And I say you are worthy to Stand. The firm voice slid into the lad's mind, tinted with concern for his obvious unwell state, but still gentle as well, soothing. She sensed her rider's surprise-she usually wouldn't speak with Nonriders-but she knew she'd done the right thing. The past matters not to a dragonet needing their Own. Only their future as one.

[mimi]

Andilan had never felt or heard another voice in his head beyond his own. There was no warning. No glint of foreshadowing or even a ripple from the Dragon as her mental voice broke through the thin film of his mind and spoke to him. The look on his face was indescribable. He blanched, clearly surprised and unsettled by the strange voice in his head. He felt things within those words that he was not prepared for.

The Green was gentle and concerned for him but he quelled at the thought of her being so. He was not a good man...he didn't feel like a good man. He was so angry, he felt the rage seething inside of him, and he hated himself for it... and in turn hated everyone else.

His calloused hand touched the side of his head as he looked away, a scowl upon his features, even as his legs slowly folded beneath his body and so allowed him to sit against the side of the crate. Rukbat's rays warmed the dock but Andilan turned his eyes elsewhere and purposefully looked away from the Green. He was obviously conflicted and so was effectively clamming up as best he could. Her acceptance was not something he knew how to handle and so he rejected it as best he could.

[Terayne]

Awrith shifted slightly as she watched the boy, then turned her gaze to her rider as he turned away. Korina considered him carefully, then moved to stand near her dragoness, lightly stroking the soft hide. Now what? she wondered. "What kind of life have you known?" she wondered, unintentionally speaking aloud and causing Awrith to rumble softly and lower her head, curling it about her rider as both females watched the boy. "What has made you so hard, the unrivaled love scares you so?"

[mimi]

Andilan's head tilted slightly, his ears catching the Greenrider's words as she spoke them softly to herself. His shoulders tensed as his temper flared. His eyes turned to her, their sharpened edges examining her critically almost angrily. She had known no hardship like he had if she had to ask such a question. He was young to have so many scars yet the worst was covered by the rags he called clothes. He had nothing to his name and his name was worth even less then that.

But she was right. He turned his face away from her as a huff of irritation passed his lips. "Are you Riders so sheltered within your walls?" He could not help but ask sharply though he refused to look at her.

His attention and anger was distracted by a man coming their way with a small bundle of clothes beneath his arm. The man glanced to the Rider before locking eyes with Andilan who did nothing more then narrow his eyes at him before diverting his gaze. Whatever was going on....the boy was on the losing side of the conversation. " I figured....I had these spare clothes. They're almost too small for me but it looks as though they might fit you, kid. Its better then what you have on...." He said as he laid the clothes next to Andilan's calloused feet before smiling weakly to the Rider. " Ma'am..." He said politely before slipping away.

Andilan stared at the clothes for a moment before he took off his tattered shirt and reached for the articles of clothing at his feet, grabbing the shirt and unfolded it, seeing if it would fit, before he pulled it over his head. The clean shirt was soft against his salt covered skin and it did wonders to feel it between his fingers. He glanced at the Rider with a soft frown before he crossed his arms and rested his back against the crate. "Get me some food and we might talk more...." He finally relented.