Catch Me if you Can! [open]

[Itoshii]

75.11.11, late Evening

The Weyr activities were at a wind down for most of the Weyr. Dinner sat happily in contented bellies and while some settled down for an early bedtime, others were wandering about with their friends or loved ones, enjoying the last hour or so of the sun's warmth. For some, however, the night was the beginning of their day. Whers of all kinds were rousing from their sleep and rumbling their hunger to their Blood-Bondeds. For one particular pair, however, the time for breakfast was done and over with.

"Pandesk! Come back here you!" An all too familiar shout rang across the peaceful Weyrbowl, the owner of the voice quickly putting his free hand over his mouth and wincing apologetically as he passed a confused visiting dragonrider before continuing his chase. Taunting him from a few yards ahead was a Brick where, prancing playfully with her prize- a sock. In one of the man's hands was a boot as he skip-walked around the weyrbowl after her, one foot bare.

Finally he stopped and leaned against a bench, dropping the boot on it and putting his hands on his knees and he sucked in some air. Blasted wher... "You would think I'd be used to this by now..." he panted to himself as he watched her drool happily over her trophy a little ways down at the next bench.

[Moo]

"Pandesk! Come back here you!"

Orabel, who had been on her way back to her weyr after socializing in the dining hall, froze stock-still as the shout rang out in the Bowl. Someone yelling? At this time of night? Was there some emergency going on? Raiders? A chase?

But when she turned about to find what she should be running from, she caught sight of a slightly disheveled, slightly attractive man trailing after a bounding wher. She held a hand in front of her mouth as she laughed aloud to herself - at her imaginative mind, for one, and the situation playing out before her, for two: the wher had his sock in its mouth. As the man chased after the squat, little creature, a curious smile fixed itself on her lips. She had always taken the night shifts and its workers for granted, and hardly ever gave them the time of day.

Night, she corrected herself, and smiled even more at her cleverness.

However, here was the perfect opportunity to meet one of the night workers. After all, if she wanted to be a productive member of the Weyr, she had to get to know the people who worked in it as well. And just like that, her mind had been made up. She would help him, and maybe talk to him a little bit, if he didn't mind her intruding so late -- ahh, so early. Had his watch already started? It was a thought she had never considered before.

All tiredness gone (for now), Orabel peered around the Bowl before making her move and walked over to the man with one boot. She had never spoken to any of the wherhandlers before, and he was funny and just a little bit cute, and what did she have to lose? She began to size him up as soon as she came nearer to his bench.

Pandesk, well, that must obviously be that wher he's running after. And that explains what he's doing up so late. He's a wherhandler! Hmm. I wonder if he'd like some help.
Orabel, shouldn't you be retiring now? Where are you? What's keeping you? Teel is testing his wings and he's knocking everything over in here!
He is? Oh, man, just try to keep him from messing things up too much? I'll be there soon, Ali. There's just this guy here that I want to --
A boy?! Oh, Orabel, why didn't you tell me? Is he a Rider, too? Shall I start composing a nice quadrille song for us? You know, I think I have the perfect tune…I never used the one I composed for the Hatching Feast, either...

It took all of Orabel's effort not to laugh - how ridiculous would that look, laughing out loud with no one around? No, she would resist. Biting her lip and rolling her eyes at Ali's idea, she fought down the desire to laugh and responded silently.

Calm down, no songs just yet. He's a wherhandler, and I'll..I'll let you know when I get back.
Never worked with a wher before, but I can make do where it counts. Very well, my dear…Have fun and be safe out there. Let me know if you need help?
Will do!

And so, feeling a little more confident now that it was evening - it was common fact that everyone looked better in the evening light, anyway - Orabel brushed her long hair back behind her shoulders and walked up to the man on the bench. She smiled when she heard him speak, and looked over to the wher he was addressing. She wasn't sure if it was a boy or a girl, but it looked incredibly content with the sock it was slobbering all over.

Orabel glanced over to the handler and waved to get his attention.

"Hey there...ahh, looks like you need a hand. A sock, actually. Want some help?"

[Itoshii]

Pandea glanced up as he heard a voice close to him and quickly stood up straight, then blushed slightly as he realized just how much taller he was than the girl before him and tried not to stand so straight, not wanting to seem overwhelming. He tugged at his sleeves, trying to seem as un-awkward as possible, then looked back to Pandesk with a sigh.

"It's every night with her. A sock, a boot, once she ate my bath sand." he shook his head and looked back to Orabel. He was horrible with names but he was positive she was a Rider, and attractive, and her dragon was a pink if he wasn't mistaken.

"Some help would be wonderful." he replied, running his hand through his hair in a disgruntled manner, "Pandesk is much better with new people, with me she just thinks it's funny." As if in response the brick wher made a poor attempt at a warble, the drool-soaked sock hanging between two of her teeth as her tail thumped the ground a few times. "Oh, just give it back you oaf!" he shot at the overly smug beast, then glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, though his tone was affectionate he hoped he didn't take it as an aggressive gesture.

[Moo]

Orabel's eyebrows lifted as the Wherhandler stood up. She whistled low and nodded her approval; he was much taller than she had realized. She liked that. Although…he seemed to hunch himself over. Was there something wrong? Was he feeling okay?

However, he went along with the conversation as if nothing was wrong, so she decided she would do the same as well. It didn't feel right to ask anyway, if he wanted to keep things private. Orabel laughed as he explained what trouble the wher got into every night. "Bath sand? And people say dragons are trouble! In that case, I'm just glad Ali sings instead of steals."

When he accepted her help, she nodded again and offered him a small smile. It was a much better ending to her night than simply getting ready for bed - and how often would she help chase after a wher with a sock? She wasn't quite sure how to start, exactly - did you just go up to the wher and grab it? Or was there going to be some kind of plan? 

But when the silly wher warbled and wagged her tail, Orabel grinned and took a few steps closer, unable to keep from moving forward to examine her.

"Oaf? Awww, she's no oaf. I'll bet she's really clever." She moved to the Wherhandler's side and crouched low, peering ahead to watch Pandesk as she taunted them. Even in the fading light, Orabel could make out the mottled colors all along the wher's hide. She smiled and turned to the Wherhandler.

"She's really pretty, too. I never -- well, I never really noticed whers before, but Pandesk is really cool looking. Also…" She took the moment to pause and stare across at the man beside her, her forehead wrinkling and lips pursing slightly as she thought.

"So…if her name is Pandesk, then what's your name? I forgot to ask earlier." She pointed to herself. "I'm Orabel, and you might know my dragon Alineshith - she's the Pink dragon that likes to wake up early and sing songs."

[Itoshii]

Pandea had to laugh, it was almost more like a giggle really, at Orabel's comment on Pandesk being clever. "I suppose she can be, if you want to never find your favorite boots again. Or your only belt." He glared at the wher, though it was only a half-attempted one and tried to nonchalantly approach the sock-thief, which only resulted in her bounding around behind the bench she had taken up residence near.

He sighed again, though he agreed that Pandesk was a good looking wher, "She is very beautiful. Though, I may be biased." His frown turned to a grin as he admired her hide. He held out his hand as she introduced herself, "I'm Pandea. And Alineshith's songs are lovely! It's very nice to end my day- er- night with a song. Pandesk seems to enjoy them also."

(Horrible shortpost -shot-)

[Moo]

Orabel nodded in agreement as he commented on the wher, though she completely understood his bias. If anyone had asked her who the most beautiful Pink dragon in the Weyr was, well, there could be no other than Alineshith. She accepted his hand when he offered it, and shook back with a firm grip. "Pandea? Nice name. Good to meet you, finally."

But when he explained how much he and Pandesk enjoyed Ali's songs, she couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I'm-I'm not laughing at you," she gasped, launching quickly into an explanation, her face turning a shade of pink. "It's just that not a lot of people share the same thoughts on the matter. Most think of Ali's singing as a nuisance, though of course they wouldn't say it to her face. But you…you really like it? You're not just saying that?"

A small, more genuine smile lifted the corners of her lips. "I'll have to let her know she has some admirers! She'll be thrilled."

A few moments had passed before she realized the conversation was being spent entirely too much on her. Removing her hand from his, Orabel tried to focus on the task at hand. It was just a little more difficult when the cute Wherhandler was right next to her, that's all.

"Right, well, that's enough about me for one day -- I mean, night. So…where do you want me, Pandea?"

The moment she said it, she could feel her face heat up from embarrassment. She hadn't really meant it to sound…well, like that, so she quickly amended her question.

"I-I mean, where's the best place for me to be to help you with Pandesk? Should I move around, or should I try and crawl up to her, or…what should I do? I want to do this right."