No Excitement Here [Open]

[Aarin]

It was a beautiful day at Trelis Weyr. The spring sun was shining down bright on the island, so it was time for Aarin to make like a dragon and sun himself silly. The boy stretched out on the soft, triangular, green-blue grass, his face turned up to the sun and his closed eyelids glowing orange. His hands rested behind his head as was so comfortable to him, and his legs were stretched out. He always had loved south-facing hills. They got so much sun, all the time. The grass still retained the sun’s warmth against his back. There was really nothing quite like this. A few dragons soared lazily overhead, and he occasionally felt their cool shadows pass over him as his vision went momentarily dark. That was fine too. The whole thing was so supremely relaxing that even his thoughts didn’t stray far. He completely ignored the fact that he was near the bovine fields, and their peculiar scent was wafting over him. He was so used to it that he honestly did not even smell it anymore. It was quiet, here, except for the occasional mrrrr of a herdbeast. Few strayed down this way, mostly because of the smell, and the fact that a lot of people felt it was dirty. Well, that just meant more sunning hill for him. He was outside the fencing. It wasn’t like he was about to go lay in a cow pie. One foot swung to an unheard beat as he just soaked up the sun and the quiet and the gloriousness of not having chores for a day. He heard the noise of someone nearby, but he did not even crack an eyelid or even make a move to indicate that he had noticed them. Nope, he was just far, far too happy where he was. It was unlikely the person even saw him, anyway. Most people looked him over immediately, and that was how he liked it.

[jillianna]

Jillalene smiled as she wandered through the grass keeping her eyes on the large blue figure in the skies above her. Eulurth's wings grew stronger every day. He insisted that she fly with him, but unlike the river, there could be serious mishaps with flight. She'd has to promise an extra oiling and a second bucket of meats to get him to simply work on getting. Better on his own.

So intent was she on the beautiful form of her large blue riding the winds, she did not see the figure in the grass until she had tripped over him landing on her stomache and chest hard enough to knock the air from her lungs.

" Oof! What on pern...?

[Aarin]

As the shuffling got much, much closer, Aarin finally did open one eye just a slit. Of course, he opened it just in time to watch someone blunder into him. His eyes opened completely as the foot collided with his side, and he grunted as the whoever-it-was crashed down on top of him. Thankfully for him, he was mostly stuck with the legs end of this careless wanderer. He sat up, resisting the urge to rub at his side where shoe had met ribcage. The legs ended up in his lap, and a careless arm draped over them. He scratched at his head as he observed the surprised figure on the ground. A girl, then, and she appeared to be roughly his age, give or take three years or so. For all the time he spent observing people, he was pretty poor at aging them. Teenager was about as close as he could get. So, this young female teenager just happened to trip on him? Well, he probably looked like a rock or… something… to her. Whatever the case, it was certainly not a big deal to Aarin. He leaned over towards the stranger, blinking curiously and with a slightly worried frown on his face. “Are you alright, miss?” he asked, his voice soft but diction crisp.

This was but a mere bump in the road on his way to a relaxing day. She would be gone again soon, he was sure. Few who were not Beastcrafters stayed around long, and those were not the knots of the Beastcrafthall. They looked familiar, though. What were they, again?

[jillianna]

She took a few gasping breaths to make the sudden deprivation slightly easier. The heels of her hands stung slightly as she pushed herself up enough to roll over and disentangle her legs from what she had tripped over. Well. A boy. Velkan's face danced through her brain and her mental groan reached her partner as his worried mind found her.


"What is it 'lenemine? Why are you hurting!? And why did you just picture Thormyth's?"

She felt the wind beneath his wings as he banked sharply and headed in her direction. He was very protective of her and she sighed. Its fine Eulurth love. I simply tripped is all.
She felt his doubt and the way he explored her mind to see if she was really hurt. In all honesty, her breathing was in some question and her hands stung slightly, but nothing was broken, her skin wasnt even marred, though she had a feeling she'd have some interesting bruising tomorrow. She must have fallen on a slab of rock covered by grass.

I'm fine I promise love. You're doing beautifully. Get some more practice. When she looked up, the guy was close. Very close. Leaning towards her and frowning. She scooted away, backing up and dusting herself off trying not to blush and barely succeeding.

"I'm fine. Thank you. I just wasn't expecting a person to be laying out in the tall grass like you were..." She saw him studying the knots on her shoulder and smiled. "I'm a weyrling. You're a new candidate right?" She nodded at his. She knew those knots. She'd worn them for a while before pairing with Eulurth.

[Aarin]

Oh. Oh, yes. That was what they were. This clumsy thing that just fell over him was a dragonrider, albeit a young one, with a young dragon. He cast an eye skyward, and saw a shadow circling overhead. That would be her dragon, then. Right. He looked off past her shoulder. “Yes, well… You could say that. A Candidate for the time being, but first and foremost, I am a Journeyman Beastcrafter.” He said that last bit with the pride that was completely lacking in his statement of being a Candidate. “A pleasure to meet you, even in so unconventional a way. My name is Aarin.” He resisted the urge to ask her who her dragon was, or if she had Impressed at the last Hatching. Chances were, she got that all the time, and would be less than pleased to answer it again. Aarin pulled his legs in to the butterfly position. One hand fell into his lap and the other uncomfortably covered up the knot on his left shoulder. “There are many things in the tall grass,” he said, a little bit of warning creeping into his voice. “You may want to be a little more careful. What would your dragon do if you hurt yourself?” Probably not the most sensitive way to put it, but she really should have been more careful! Not because she tripped on him, but just because she was a dragonrider, now, and Pern needed her.

[jillianna]

She smiled and sent for Eulurth. His annoyance was almost tangible. She had just told him NOT to come to her and now she beckons? He roared his annoyance as he changed directions and headed toward them.

oh shush you great brute. I'm only wanting to show you off to a new candidate.

She felt Eulurth's prideful nature stir at her confidence in him and couldn't help a small laugh. "Beastcraft is truly a noble trade. I was a harper before becoming a candidate. Honestly I would have been a harper first and formost as well until I met him. I'm Jillalene. Nice to meet you, only, meeting one half of a person isn't ideal..."

Eulurth landed far better than he had been earlier that day, only skipping one or two steps before coming to a halt beside His and standing tall gazing down at the young man.

"This is my other half. Eulurth."
Eulurth looked over the boy with amusement, then disdain as he saw the boys hand go to cover the mark of candidacy.

Why does he cover the candidate's mark? Does he think he is too good to be chosen? It is a priveledge a young human like HIM should be glad and proud to have... The growl built up in his chest as the boy started to lecture his, then died down as his placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Easy darling. I'm sure he's not meaning any insult." Turning her gaze on his she shrugged. "I'm not always such a clutz. I am more capable than i look. And what would he do? " She smiled again, less sweetly when he snaked his head in front of her and snapped his jaws. "You'll feel more proud of becoming a candidate when you meet your other half."

[Aarin]

Aarin startled and could not help but scramble back a bit when the dragon landed next to his Bonded. However, he stood up to give the dragon its proper respect. So she was a Bluerider, eh? Interesting. He probably would have pegged her Green. Shortly after landing, the dragon started growling, and was definitely giving Aarin the stare-down. This was an unhappy dragon, and he looked incredibly unhappy with Aarin himself. Oh dear. What had he done? Jillalene's words helped some in clearing up the confusion, at least for him, but he might want to patch things up before he was quite literally half a man. Eulurth looked hungry. He licked his lips before responding, and his fingers slipped through the knot as to grasp it rather than unconsciously covering it. "A pleasure to meet you as well, Eulurth." He bowed. "I am sorry, I did not mean to insinuate that you were clumsy. It's just that all sorts of things hide in the grass- rocks and ropes and bits of broken glass. It's okay. Sometimes the herdbeasts lame themselves too." Did he just insinuate that she was a cow? Not intentionally, anyway. There was a particularly good reason that Aarin did not speak much, and that was because he shoved his foot so far in his mouth he often choked on his knee.

Yeah, that wasn't a happy dragon. "Um... I... right. It's not that I'm not proud," he said, going a bit pale, and his voice was small. "It's just that it's really a temporary condition. The Crafthall wants me right back when I don't Impress." Yeah... Eulurth looked really quite hungry after all. Somehow he survived being eaten by a brooding mother, only to be consumed by an irritable weyrling. Oh, this was so odd a world. "I think the Weyrwoman just wanted as many Candidates as possible, and they noticed I'd lived here for a while and had never gotten picked out. It was more of a move of desperation or whimsy that I was made Candidate rather than having been deliberately picked." He looked over at the fence into the herdbeast enclosure. He could jump that pretty easily. "Well, yeah. I am sure I will see you around, Jillalene, Eulurth's rider. Be safe." And with that, he began to edge away from the pair, keeping an eye on the snappish dragon.

[jillianna]

Jillalene lifted her skirts slightly to reveal lace-up knee-high hide boots with a nice thick sole.

"I thank you for your concern. But im quite used to the terrain in and around trelis, both in daylight and darkness. I Usually dont have a problem , but then again, there are usually no young men laying in this particular patch. " Had he just insinuated she was no smarter than a herdbeast? Possibly, but instead of reacting, she tilted her head.

"You're a strange one aren't you? You realize, don't you? The Crafthall cannot recall you until you are dismissed from candidacy. Like it or not, you're a candidate until you impress or pass out of age. Oh you can continue your Craft if you so choose, but their authority doesn't override the fact that you were chosen." Her eyes took on a sad light and Eulurth's look went from reproachful to sad.

The dragon sat and settled his head against her side, where she scratched his eyeridges comfortingly.

Tell him Lenelovemine, he should understand what he's been chosen for...

" The dragons depend on the candidates. We need everyone chosen to be there. No matter if they're left standing. being left standing is okay. Better to have too many candidates than not enough. Sometimes the odd dragonet will impress one of the watchers, but if a dragon chooses you, and you're not there. It could between from panick and sorrow. They're at their most volatile emotions when they first hatch."

She actually laughed as Eulurth decided he'd had enough of polite conversation. He stood, bumped her side with his head and launched himself in the air again, thistime with more control than he'd had the last time.
She watched him for a moment before something else the boy Aarin said caught her attention.

"Desperation or Whimsy? Every candidate is chosen for a reason. They saw something in you that was worthy of candidacy and that's why you're here now. " Her smile widened. "You can just say bye and walk away you know? Neither Eulurth or I will bite, you know."

[Aarin]

A strange one? Why yes, he most likely was. This was a revelation neither shocking nor foreign to him. It was something he had long since come to terms with. All that introspection would eventually lead him to such a conclusion. However, the fact that he would not be handed right back to his Craft somewhat was. He figured this was a once-and-done deal, for him anyway. He was old and was just kind of fetched one day. The fact that this may last more than one Hatching… well… He resisted the urge to shudder. He had no idea how long it would be between Hatchings, and if he did not Impress, he would be stuck with Candidate chores for a loooong time. He did not think he was up for that. No, no. He would definitely call off these Candidacy shenanigans after Standing once. If he waited too long, it would be much too hard to get back into his studies, and then he would have to start all over again. Not only would he be displeased, but his Master would likely rap him upside the head with an ovine herding stick. And no one likes being rapped upside the head with an ovine herding stick. Considering this, he almost missed the most important part of Jillilene’s speech. Luckily, he tuned in just in time. Whoa, hey now. Was she… sad? That was… what?

“Well, I certainly would not want a dragon to between on my behalf,” Aarin said. He was kind of grateful the dragon had flown away. The Blue had given him the shivers. “I am sorry if I have come across as rude. If you do not mind me saying, for all I find them beautiful and fascinating, I also find dragons quite intimidating. While I know, consciously, that no dragon would ever do harm to me unless I did something to Its or an egg or something; subconsciously, I guess I’ve seen too many of my charges picked up by a dragon and borne into the sky, or dropped on and torn to bloody shreds. When you’re standing right there when that happens, well… I’m sure you can understand where I’m coming from. I meant no disrespect, dragonrider.” He gave a small bow (very small, and polite!) as his eyebrows scrunched up and his mouth formed a thin frown.