|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2020 1:40 pm
 |
|
|
 |
Dragging a hand over her face, Kedah sighed. "... I have eleven siblings, and don't even ask how many cousins." Honestly, it was a little ridiculous. "All but one of my sibs are male. I've got one sister, and she's still little." Faranth, how many brothers did one person need to have? "I don't think my parents are showing any sign of slowing down, either. Since they're not the ones having the babies, I guess it works out." Having two dads was one thing. Having two very family oriented dads was another.
"So... basically, anytime Thread falls up here it's anyone's game as to whether I might lose somebody." And Kedah was no less close to her sibs than anyone else. It was something that got to her sometimes, though she tried not to let it. A number of them were already riders, and putting their lives on the line for Pern on a regular basis. Some were too young for that, thankfully, but... it was enough.
Nodding at Haveli's words, Kedah continued to peel tubers. "Yeah, the Touching is always interesting. Kind of gives you a preview of what might be coming, but nothing's ever certain." Privately, Kedah thought that there was a lot to be worried about, but she wasn't intimidated. They'd get through this all, somehow. "Right, they do start out pretty small... but look how big they've all gotten." She could hardly imagine what it would be like to actually Impress a dragon, though she'd heard it described often enough.
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2020 2:05 pm
|
|
|
|
"That's the other thing - as of the latest clutches they seem to be getting even bigger. I can only imagine what they'll look like in one, two Turns from now." Dragons appeared to be doubling in size with each one that stepped from the shell, but was that really a bad thing? Larger dragons could mean more protection, and even the smallest of whites would need to soar high and hard when Thread fell. Would the Weyr even have weyrs large enough for them? It was an amusing thought.
Not amusing so much was the fact Kedah had eleven - eleven siblings, though the mention of the parents not being the one lent some idea to it all. Not full blood siblings then, but that didn't make the bonds any less. Siblings were siblings. "I can't even begin to imagine eleven brothers...and single sister. I had my hands full enough with just keeping Arlie safe from our father, so - " She just off there, figuring out what she was saying, and frowned deeply. The tuber in her hand was finished anyway, she'd just been holding it, and so it was moved to the side. The single slice had been successful despite being clumsy, so she opted to do it again. "Either way, how do you keep track of namedays? Sounds like an adventure."
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2020 2:22 pm
|
|
|
|
Pressing her lips together, Kedah thought over what Haveli had said. "Mm... yeah, they are definitely getting bigger, at least in terms of the clutch size. Probably due to Threadfall, I'm guessing. That's also worrying. But... I don't know, we've got pretty big dragons in general." They had so many reasons to be worried, at this point, though Kedah wasn't one to fear anything lightly. Setting down the last tuber in the pile, she leaned back. "You know, all signs point to some rough Falls ahead." And eleven siblings... were definitely a lot to keep watch over. Not that Kedah didn't have plenty of older sibs trying to do the same to her.
"It's a lot," she admitted with a little shrug. "I've got my hands full all the time. And the littles are the worst of it, you know? Even with the creche it's hard to make sure they aren't under foot." There'd probably be more before too long, if her dads had anything to say about it. Was this really even necessary? "I keep a calendar. You'd have to, right?" Good memory or not, there was more than just her siblings' Namedays to worry about. "But the plus side is there are twins in there. Cuts down on the number of Namedays."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2020 2:42 pm
|
|
|
|
"I wonder if my parents would even bother to have more children. They seemed loveless enough that it was a surprise to me they had any at all, but who knows." Perhaps she'd done her job and there wouldn't be, but that...hmm. It did bring a bit of a smirk to her lips, those thoughts, but it vanished and she went back to peeling. Kedah was done despite their conversation and Haveli wasn't so clearly she needed to step up the pace. Why bother someone to talk if you couldn't keep task with them? Her knife made more scraping noises as she increased her speed, still careful not to cut at her fingers with an eagerness. "And yes, to the calendar."
That was on that, she didn't have anything more to add to family talk. No additional siblings, no wacky hijinks, no silly parents. They'd started this whole conversation off with her specifically stating her sister was dead, so where did one go beyond that? It wasn't like Haveli had any amusing childhood antic stories to share.
"And I suppose I should get in on the betting this time. I've never done it before but I don't see the reason why I shouldn't join in. A bit of light hearted hopes never hurt anyone." Haveli was the type to weigh her options more than make blind bets; she never went in to a situation where she wasn't 100% certain of the outcome, even if she believed that she could survive those incidents anyway. Her self-confidence may have taken a few blows over the course of the Turn but it was still there. Bruised and a tiny bit bloodied, but still there.
Waiting for a comeback, if given the right situation. Like a hatching, for example.
"You ever toss a few marks down?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2020 9:43 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2020 8:46 am
|
|
|
|
Ah, was this the time to more or less play who's who with the candidates, to see if Haveli knew them all as well as she should? It had been nearly four turns since her arrival here after all, saying she didn't know her fellow candidates would bring shame on someone who had pride in her memory.
"I wouldn't be shocked if Kinye is called this time." Haveli mentioned the name of the young girl in passing, though she was hardly young now. Still younger than Haveli, of course, but certainly not a fresh candidate. "Or Dehka, though honestly I'm surprised he isn't a rider already. Back when we had that massive double clutch I could have sworn he would have walked away with a dragon at this side." She paused in her peeling to consider who else there was. "There are the twin girls, and their companion - any of those three would do well this time around, though hopefully the dragons will look to all three at once." Some of the clutches as of late had a painful habit of pulling siblings apart, but Haveli wasn't enough of a fool to think it was on purpose.
She might have in the past, that day on those Sands those Turns ago, but not now. She couldn't afford such naïve thoughts now, not when she had plans to reach and steps to take. Haveli couldn't afford to allow herself any more setbacks when it came to thinking, to holding herself upright. She'd survived this long and she was going to keep going. "Of course I'd be a fool to say I didn't wish well for either of us but who knows. It's fun to speculate about others." There were other candidates she could think of too, who would do well if not for a few things here and there.
"As for colors, well. We've both mentioned how Thread is getting stronger, more dangerous, so the idea of a Gold coming from this clutch isn't too far fetched. Pern will need all the Queens it can get for more clutches if we are to survive this Pass, and plenty of bronze and browns to chase her." Haveli was aware she sounded painfully metallic minded, so she carefully chose her next words. "We will need vast amounts of blues and greens to fight as well, their numbers just as important if not more. It is all hands in the air."
The tuber she held was resumed in peeling, careful as to not snap the single piece she carefully was working on. "As for white dragons...who knows there as well? To every dragon their rider, and to every rider their purpose."
Even if it was to just die, she thought in a bitter and dark moment.
...Arlie...
"But for you, I'd hope to see you on a dragon as well. I tend to have a good eye for this, or at least there's joking that standing near me on the Sands will bring luck."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
