Flight Fascination [Search]

[Zen]

Fala - Blue Trey

A Green dove out of the sky, talons extended. The herd of ovines where she found her target scattered and bounded away in different directions, bleating frantically. As the Green rose once more there was a woolly caprine in her claws and she flew to ledge to consume her chosen meal.

Fala watched the whole ordeal with a detached fascination. She wondered what it would be like to fly. Sometimes, standing at the bow, the wind caught up in the Reckless Abandon’s sails pushing them along at generous speeds, her hair whipping out behind her, she would feel, almost, like she was flying. But the Abandon was limited in her flight, water was her sky and water ended, grew too shallow for the large ship. The sky was endless and all encompassing and she could go anywhere on the slightest whim if only she could fly. Surely that alone would be worth anything else came with the life of a rider, wouldn’t it? The ability to fly….

She sighed as a breeze rustled past and Trey shuffled his bright wings from where he perched on her shoulder. She reached up absentmindedly to scratch him under the chin and wondered briefly about Kiko. The little Green and raced off before they’d even landed and she hadn’t seen her since. Flirty little Green, she was probably scouting the males of the Weyrhold and finding the best places to beg for food.

Turning away from the beast pens, Fala wandered back the way she had come. The Abandon had docked and was going to stay docked until after the Gather to be held here at Cepju in only a few days time. Her mother had told her to explore the Weyrhold a bit and relax, maybe talk to some dragonriders? She shook her head and glanced back to where the Green was tearing into her meal. She grimaced a bit, wondering what it really meant to be a dragonrider. She’d heard lots of stories, met plenty of riders (though never really talked to them for very long unless it was to attempt to sell them something), but she didn’t really… know. She was sure some of the stories were fake. They had to be… and if they weren’t then….

“Mmf…,” she groaned softly, rubbing one hand over her face in some attempt to clear her jumbled thoughts. Trey trilled questioningly at her. She smiled softly and scratched him again, “It’s all right… I’m just….” She looked up as a Blue and Green dragon flew over, heading toward the feeding grounds, losing her train of thought.

[Rose of Pern]

Z'ron had been taking his blue for a dip in one of the larger rivers when suddenly the dragon had darted off and headed down along the shore. It was definitely not what his rider had in mind as he had been quite content to just give the dragon a bath and then get on with getting some food in his stomach. That had been the goal anyway. It seemed his dragon had other thoughts in mind at this point. This way, Z'ronmine!
"Awekth, where are you going?!" The young man spoke even as his dragon was already off on his goal without waiting for the young man. The blue was always the more single minded of the pair and Z'ron was definitely wishing his dragon was more of the sit and wait type at this moment.
The Blue had taken to the air, leaving his rider floundering at the edge of the water. The blue was not overly large but he was a prime example of what a blue was supposed to look like. The right size and shape although his shade of blue started out light at his muzzle and darkened as it went down to the tip of his tail. He had flown past the newly arriving group of people before he turned around and circled for a few moments before he moved to land near the young woman.
The blue stopped and looked at her a few times, the head tilting as he just stared at Fala. He waited there for a few moments even as a brown haired figure was slowly approaching from the direction the dragon had clearly come from. The Dragon glanced back towards the figure then back to Fala before flipping his wings to his back. The blue looked rather pleased with himself but he made no effort to speak to Fala, he just stared at her.

[Zen]

Fala - Blue Trey

She paused at the sound of wings overhead. Large wings. Wind buffeted her as she looked up to see the Blue circling, landing. With a muffled scream she scrambled backward, away from it, as it grew closer, lower, and larger from the nearness. What was it doing? Couldn’t its rider see she was there and that the Blue had almost landed on her!? Well, it was a good enough distance away, but when a dragon suddenly appears over you and lands beside you out of nowhere it can seem that way.

Trey lifted his wings and screeched threateningly at the dragon. However, he wasn’t quite as inclined to attack something so… large… as he normally would have been. His claws dug into Fala’s shoulder in what the Blue thought to be a protective and comforting gesture, but it only made Fala wince slightly, “Ow, Trey… stop tha-” She broke off as she noticed the Blue just staring at her. Uneasy, she took a step back. What on Pern did it want?

She peered a bit closer at it, noticing its lack of rider, and swallowed nervously. “H-hey! If you’re hungry the food’s THAT way!” And she pointed back the way she had come emphatically. “So… s-shoo! … Stop looking at me like that!” It was really starting to freak her out. She gazed around frantically, looking for someone who could help her. Her gaze came to rest on a man approaching, and if she hadn’t been frightened out of her wits she might have realized he was coming from the same place the dragon had. She waved her arm at the man, “Hey! Can you… do something? About…,” she waved her hands at the Blue, “He keeps staring at me… what does he WANT?”

Trey, spotting the man as well, was about to take off in attack mode but Fala lifted her hand and placed it heavily upon his back, indicating he should stay put, as much as he would to attack SOMETHING at this point.

[Rose of Pern]

It continued to stare at her for a few moments, head tilting in much the same way that one would expect a bird staring at something that is mildly interesting to it. Awekth's head would tilt suddenly back one way and then back the other. When the firelizard screeched threateningly at him, the dragon snorted.
Hush! The voice was for the firelizard, the dragon seeking to quiet it's annoying noise. Awekth's wings ruffled just a little at him before it glanced back at Fala. When she said something about food, the big eyes just blinked at her and he made a huff noise. The dragon almost sounded sort of insulted when she said that. He made an irritated noise and glanced back towards the approaching young man.
Z'ron finally caught up and panted. He was in good shape but it was a bit of a distance to run. He held up a hand. "One... one second." He kept taking in those deep breathes before he glanced back at his dragon who was flipping his head between the two people like he was trying to draw his rider's attention to the young woman. "What? Slow down, Awekth." The rider looked like he was no more then twenty turns.
This one, Z'ronmine, this one.
The dragon actually bounced a little before prancing back to Z'ron and head butting him between the shoulders and attempting to lightly push the rider forward. Seemed the blue dragon was just as pushy as the woman's little firelizard.
"Shards, Awekth, what have I told you about pushing me around?" The Rider glared at his dragon but didn't quite answer Fala about why the dragon was staring at her so intently.

[Zen]

Fala - Blue Trey

She made a small noise of annoyance, and maybe a bit of unease, at the back of her throat as the dragon continued to stare at her. Maybe it couldn’t even understand her. She’d been around dragons before and she thought most people said they were pretty intelligent creatures, but maybe that was just one of the many untrue stories she’d heard about them so far. She gave a small jump when it huffed and made an angry sounding noise, or at least that’s how it sounded to Fala.

She held up her hands in the universal gesture of ‘I mean no harm, I come in peace’ sort of thing, dropping them again as the man finally came to a stop near the dragon. She lifted an eyebrow and shifted impatiently as the man caught his breath. As he addressed the dragon she finally realized he was probably the Blue’s rider. Good. Great. He would certainly be able to tell her what his crazy dragon thought he was doing. Trey eyed the dragon and his rider with a certain contempt in his whirling crimson eyes, but remained quiet and stayed put, for now.

A short growl-like noise escaped her lips as the rider seemed very much to be ignoring her. Though, perhaps it was sort of understandable, he did have a big dragon pushing at him which probably made it hard to focus on much else. Still, she was quickly losing her patience with the whole ordeal. She took a deep breath to calm down a bit, feeling Trey’s claws pinch her shoulder again as he strained forward, clearly wanting to be let loose to fix the source of his bonded’s frustration. She cleared her throat and composed herself a little better, now that her previous shock was wearing off, “Excuse me… can you PLEASE tell me what on Pern is going on?”

[Rose of Pern]

Awekth snorted again at her when she held up her hands. Even if it bothered him for a split second, it was quickly passed over. He wasn't the type to hold grudges nor even to look for reasons for anyone to be angry. Even if he wasn't liking the attitude of the little firelizard, it was not important right now. No, he was totally focused on Fala and his rider relaying the message. Sure, he could have spoke directly to the young woman but that simply was not done. Not right now anyway.
Z'ron was glaring at his dragon who looked more like a hyper puppy then an awe inspiring dragon. The rider rubbed the bridge of his nose as the dragon pushed him forward yet again. It was eager for Z'ron to inform the young woman exactly what he had said earlier before taking off.
Z'ronmine, tell her.
The dragon's voice was insistent which brought a sigh from the rider. Then the comment of the woman brought his attention around to her instead of his annoyance at his dragon. He flicked those eyes over towards her before he spoke. "Sorry, little bit rude of him but Awekth tends to get a little single minded over things." There was a brief sigh as Z'ron glanced back at the dragon. It was clear the blue had done this before.
Finally, someone did decide to explain but it ended up being the dragon. He was simply too delighted with himself to bother waiting any longer for his rider to inform the young woman. "I think you'd be great." The voice was spoken directly to Fala. While there were similarities between it and Z'ron's voice, the difference was easy to pick up. The dragon's voice was both deeper and gentler. It almost sounded wise where the rider sounded like a little boy. "You will, won't you?"
"Awekth wants you to stand." Z'ron said as in explanation to his dragon's words. Trying to help get the point across even if the dragon was still staring at her with all the wistful look that a dragon could manage.

[Zen]

Fala - Blue Trey

She huffed a bit at the rider’s little explanation that explained next to nothing. She barely registered his apology. Single minded about what? She felt about ready to scream. Would someone just tell her what was going on already!? Her grip on Trey tightened in the slightest as he made a low growling noise, his tail lashing out behind him.

Her eyes widened a bit and she stared at the young man for a moment before looking around. What…? She’d clearly heard a voice just now… saying… she’s be great? At what? It sounded kind of like the man in front of her but… not… not quite. And his lips hadn’t even moved! How had this day turned so crazy? Or maybe she was just going crazy. She was certain she heard someone speaking just now but no one had! She was rubbing a hand over her face in some attempt to wipe away her confusion when she heard the voice again.

She’d just opened her mouth to ask ‘will what?’ when the rider spoke. Awekth… the dragon… wanted her to… stand? She was standing…. She flushed a bit as she realized what he meant by ‘stand’ and felt more than a little stupid for being so slow to comprehend. “The dragon… he talked to me?” So it was true… the dragons could talk? Her gaze narrowed at the Blue, “Well why didn’t you just tell me what you wanted to begin with and save all this time!?” What a frustrating creature!

A blank look passed over her features as finally the full meaning of this whole ordeal crashed down on her like a ton of firestone. “Wait… what? Stand…?” She’d heard of course that there was a clutch on the sands, due to hatch any day really. Stand… for the clutch on the sands… when they hatch? Her mother was going to go crazy when she heard…. She was being Searched.

You will, won’t you? the Blue had asked. I think you’d be great. Frustrating as the Blue was, he seemed a bit endearing now that she thought about it. Would she stand? If she refused her mother would be so disappointed. She could stand for one clutch anyway… it wouldn’t hurt… but she didn’t want to stand forever like some people did. She sighed and scratched her head, thinking for a moment, “I’ll stand… and see if you’re right, Awekth. I know my mother would be happy if you are.”

[Rose of Pern]

The dragon butted his head against his rider's back. It was rather enthusiastic it seemed. Genuinely liking this idea of it's. Awekth wouldn't answer back as Z'ron spoke up, the young man nodding as he did answer the question. "Yes, he does that sometimes." There was another huff noise from the dragon who then proceeded to crane his neck around his rider as if trying to get Z'ron's attention again.

He turned a little to lightly pat the side of the dragon's neck. Awekth cooed softly before glancing back at Fala. There was a brief snort again before he tilted his head back toward his rider. "Dragons usually don't speak with people other then their rider." Z'ron explained as he sighed a little at the young woman. "He was getting impatient with me trying to catch my breath so he decided to speak up and tell you." Z'ron wasn't much older then Fala but he seemed to carry himself a little higher now that he wasn't half curled over trying to catch his breath.

"But I think you'll do good so I talked to you." The Dragon spoke again directly to the woman before he went silent and merely huffed lightly at his rider. Despite being the more hyperactive of the pair, he did seem more mature. Something about how the blue stood there and now waited patiently for everything to get explained. Of course, that was not going to last long.

"Yes, stand." Z'ron grinned from ear to ear then. He couldn't help but find the sudden shift in the woman rather amusing. Before he could say anything else, his dragon huffed lightly causing the rider to roll his eyes and begin fumbling through his pockets. "Awekth has the tendency to run after anyone he thinks is good to stand." Z'ron said by way of an explanation. Then he finally pulled out a small circular piece of wood, a dragon was carved on the surface and painted blue. The painting was close to Awekth's coloring, and more so then it was to the other blues she may have seen about. "This is a Search Mark, or token. When you go see the Candidate Master, you'll need to give it to him."

The Dragon nodded at Fala and it almost seemed to smile at her.

[Zen]

Fala - Blue Trey

Yet another story confirmed. She supposed as a Candidate she would learn a lot of things about what was true and what wasn’t when it came to dragons. Of course, with the clutch soon to hatch she might not have a whole lot of time to learn much… what if she Impressed? She wouldn’t know anything and she’d have to figure it all out as she went, she supposed… but she kind of liked learning that way. Now that the prospect of Impressing a dragon was actually a viable reality she was kind of excited. With the sudden disappearance of his bonded's negative feelings, Trey relaxed on her shoulder and almost seemed friendly toward the stranger and his dragon.

That voice came from nowhere again. She smiled a little at the Blue. It was his confidence in her that she found endearing. It was hard to be annoyed with someone who had so much confidence in you and seemed so happy to have found you. She tried to sound exasperated but ended up sounding more amused than anything at what Z’ron said next, “I kind of noticed…. The way he came out of nowhere like that and just stared at me…,” she reddened a bit, “I thought he was about to eat me.” Yes, she’d been around dragons before, but never so close, and never without their rider present. She had no idea what a dragon might do when it was alone.

She tilted her head a bit when the man pulled out what looked something like a mark. She took a step closer and reached out to receive it as he explained what it was. Tilting it back and forth, she soon noticed the similarity between the carved dragon and the one standing before her. Proof that she’d been Searched? She closed it in her hand and looked up at Z’ron, “Okay… so… what exactly… do I do now? I mean…,” she laughed, a hint of nervousness within it, “It just seems like it’s too simple. Being Searched.” She honestly didn’t really know what she’d expected being Searched to be like, but certainly it was more complicated than this in her imagination.

[Rose of Pern]

Z'ron would chuckle at that before shaking his head. "Nah, he prefers something with a little bit more meat on their bones." He wasn't flirting, he was actually being honest on the whole thing. Fala was much too small to eat. Z'ron patted the dragon's neck again. "You wouldn't be the first to react that way." He said in clarification as he noticed the slight blush. "At least you were more prepared to deal with him then one of the Hold girls he searched half a turn ago. She actually fainted." There was a bit of a grimace as he thought about it. It had not been a pleasant experience for anyone really.

There was a bit of a chuckle before he went to explain. "They like to have proof as occasionally people show up and try to get into the Weyrhold to start trouble." It had been Turns since it happened but that is why the tokens had come into play. That and to make sure no one rider was just searching pretty young things for his own amusement. "It really is kind of simple." He said with a nod before motioning towards the other side of the Weyrbowl. "All you have to do is go to the Candidate Master. He'll ask you some things and then assign you a cot and a place to hold your things."

It all seemed simple to him really. Of course, he had been a Weyrbrat so it wasn't uncommon for him to find it so darn easy. "There are usually lessons you got to take but I don't think you'll have to worry about those so much. The eggs on the sands are supposed to be hatching soon." Awekth huffed and nodded his head as if agreeing with his rider. "If you want, I'll walk you over there... or well, it'd actually be faster if Awekth flew us over there if you'd like to save your legs some walking."

[Zen]

Fala - Blue Trey

She felt a little bit better about her own reaction as Z’ron explained how one girl the dragon had Searched had fainted. Fala hadn’t even screamed! Well… she had a little, but only the once, and it wasn’t even a very loud scream. But, anyone might scream at a dragon descending on them out of nowhere… almost on them anyway. “Aheh… good to know…,” she laughed lightly and returned to looking the token mark thing over as he explained a little more about what she’d need to do now.

It was so strange how simple it all really was…. She had loads more questions but she figured the Candidate Master would probably be the one to ask and she wanted to get the basic stuff done so she could go tell her mother she’d finally been Searched like she wanted. There were probably a few more days at least before the hatching according to talk around the Weyrhold so she should be able to ask all her questions in between… hopefully.

She was about to tell him she’d be fine on her own when he suggested flying as an alternative. Her eyes grew wide with excitement at the prospect. She’d never flown before, never been on dragonback… it was a rather exhilarating thought. She nodded emphatically, “You’d let me ride with you? On your dragon? He wouldn’t mind?” Picking up on Fala’s thoughts of flight, Trey took to the air and flew around overhead, trilling happily.

((icky short post T.T))

[Rose of Pern]

(( No worries ))

Z'ron smiled at her before chuckling. "Why wouldn't I?" He was mildly teasing when he said it. It was just his nature to do so now that she was no longer scowling at him or his dragon. He nodded regardless. "He wants you to stand, I don't think he's going to object to taking you to the other side of the Weyrbowl." He did move to hold out his hand towards her, just a kind of request to see if she would take the ride with him.

Awekth shifted on his feet, body tilting so that he now had his body next to the pair. One of the large blue wings had folded in such a way that invited someone to climb up. The riding straps were still on from the earlier flight so there was the easy way up the side of the dragon. Awekth tilted his head towards the young woman, those big eyes swirling as he regarded her with a rather contentment.

"So, what about it?" He would let her make up her mind while he remained standing there next to his dragon.

[Zen]

Fala - Blue Trey

She laughed, “Yeah, I suppose if he’s so excited about me standing this short of a trip probably wouldn’t bother him.” She hesitated when he offered her his hand. Physical touch was something she avoided with most everyone, especially people she hardly knew. She glanced up to where Trey was still flying around, keeping an eye on her as he felt the subtle shift in her mood, his trilling ceased. She shook her head in the slightest, sort of snapping out of her hesitation, as he asked for confirmation as to what she wanted to do and then nodded, “Of course I want to fly. Since neither of you mind.”

She looked up at the Blue’s back and shifted a bit, then took the initiative and climbed up, quite done with hesitations and delays. After she was situated on his back she ran her fingers over the smooth Blue hide curiously. She liked how it felt and smiled a little before looking back down at Z’ron with a slight grin, “I’m ready to go when you are.” Trey glided down to land on her shoulder once more with a satisfied warble.

[Rose of Pern]

Z'ron nodded. "Exactly although most dragons don't mind giving others a lift." There was a bit of a bob of Awekth's head towards Fala. There was also a sound from the dragon that gave an agreement to the statement. "The only time that it really bothers them is when they're doing it on their own." He offered the bit of information to try and make her feel more at ease. He was a bit surprised that she wouldn't take his hand but he didn't think too much on it other then making sure that she was up there fine without trouble.

With an easy sort of leap, Z'ron was astride the dragon and adjusting the straps in front of him. "You'll want to hold onto the straps in front of you there." He volunteered that instead of asking her to hold onto his waist or back. He figured she'd prefer that if she wasn't willing to hold onto his hand to get up onto the dragon. Awekth made no move of being uncomfortable with the two on his back, not even shifting when she ran her fingers on his back. "Now going Between is going to feel strange. It's like you won't feel anything but cold; you won't even feel Awekth beneath you."

He figured he might as well explain that before they were aloft and about to between. "Don't worry, we'll both still be here." The dragon would spread his wings and leap up into the air. The wings spread out as he made to get himself into the right distance from the ground. "Betweening will take no more then the time it takes to cough three times. Ready?" Without waiting for her to respond, Awekth would blink between and pull the two riders with him.

[Zen]

Fala - Blue Trey

She grabbed ahold of the straps he’d indicated with a nod, quite relieved she wouldn’t have to hold on to him instead. Her eyes widened when he started talking about Between. They were going there? Now? Her grip on the straps tightened slightly. She’d never ridden a dragon before, and she therefore had never been Between. She was never sure what to think about the fabled Between. If she didn’t have firelizards that popped in and out of Between on a regular basis she might not even believe it really existed.

Then Awekth was taking to the air. Her stomach seemed to flip as the ground fell away beneath them and only open air surrounded them. The wind was stronger, tugging at her from either side and she held tightly to the straps as she peered over the Blue’s side at the ground below. There was some fear in her of being so high up, but not enough to overwhelm the excitement of it all. The prospect of going Between was more interesting to her than it was fearful, after all she knew little of what to expect from it. Yes, Z’ron had given her a short description of what was to come, but she didn’t really understand until they suddenly winked away into nothingness.

A scream rose in her throat but no sound came out at the sudden, sheer lack of everything. She tried to tighten her grip on the straps, but they didn’t seem to be there, and neither did Awekth. "Don't worry, we'll both still be here." Then there was light and sound and wind on her face and Trey nuzzling her cheek and her grip on the straps was so tight her nails were biting painfully into her palms, but even that was a relief because she could feel again. Her face was pale and she felt her heart beating a mile a second within her chest as she took deep breaths in attempt to calm herself.

Attempting some humor to return to normalcy, she murmured with a nervous laugh, “Well… that was probably the worst experience of my life….” Dragonriders did that a lot… all the time. If she Impressed a dragon she’d have to go back to that place of nothingness again and again. She took a few more deep breaths as she realized that, and asked about it, “Does it… get better? I mean… I imagine the first time, like just now, not knowing what to expect at all… its worse than all the others right? I think I could deal with it again… knowing what to expect now….” She trailed off, finding herself to be rambling a bit.

((I figured it would be ok to have them come out of Between in my post, if not I’ll change it~))