[PRP] About Dragons [Goran/Ichta]

[demon_pachabel]

The Touching™ had been a more exciting affair than Ichta had perhaps been ready for. Her little heart was ready to burst out of her chest and she sat with her tapestry spread out in the common area where several Candidates were already whispering excitedly to each other. A certain Red Egg got a lot of chatter even besides the large Golden egg and the smaller, more bronze colored one. Some talked about the rolling eggs and the two eggs that had collided.

Ichta couldn't shake the image of Urideth above her not once, but twice, fussing over children and herding Candidates about - either out of the way of eggs like the one that had attempted to roll over her or off of the sands altogether.

"This is going to be an energetic lot of children, that much is for certain," Ichta murmured quietly to herself as she looped another stitch of green fabric through her pet project. It was still slow coming and perhaps nobody would be able to tell what it was by this point. That was fine.

A loop here, a stitch there...someday it would be big and beautiful and she'd look at it proudly. Maybe in the same way riders did their dragons.

Tsunake

Hi, I started this one OuO

 

[Tsunake]

The Touching had been more than Goran had ever dreamed, and after having his mind touched repeatedly by the young, personable dragonets, the big man found himself hopelessly dreaming about them. He could understand now, he thought, why his postion as a Candidate was so enviable. To find your life partner on the sands, to have no secrets between you and a creature that found you worthy of admiration, love, and respect... To have that kind of endless support--it was worth the chance of failure, he thought. Of course, before, he'd accepted the thought of failure as just another path in his life... but now, he found himself dreading it. Faranth willing, he would find a dragon for him. If not... he would survive, yes, but it was going to be much more painful than he initially realized.

His distracted mind had him pacing through the Weyr whenever he had a spare moment, needing to work his muscles to try and burn off his excess energy. It was a testament to how worked up he was when he eventually found Ichta working quietly by herself--and instead of standing awkwardly or deciding to leave, he veered straight towards her with purpose. The other Candidates were straight up ignored.

Goran said nothing at first, merely settling next to her so he could better study what it was that she was working on. It was hard to tell what, exactly, it was... but from the looks of it, it was hardly complete. After a moment, he lifted his gaze to study her intently, thinking for a while.

"Why does everyone act as though the best a boy or girl can do is Impress a bronze, or a gold?" He wanted to know, his brows furrowing.

demon_pachabel

Have an unusually excited Goran!

 

[demon_pachabel]

The pointed movement out of her peripheral caused Ichta to visibly stiffen before she looked up. The sight of Goran caused her shoulders to ease a bit and she offered him a smile as he seated himself next to her. There was a palpable energy to him compared to previous meetings. Perhaps, like everybody else, the Touching had excited him.

His question wasn't what she was expecting as she looked back down to her tapestry, stitching as carefully as she had with his shirt. A side glance at the one he was currently wearing made her wonder if she should have just switched tasks - but for once, she'd prioritize what she'd already started.

"Metallics. Usually only a Bronze can fly a Gold - a Queen - and only Golds can clutch. I've heard rumor that Browns can sometimes do it, but usually it's a Bronze. They also grow the biggest. A Weyr thrives around the presence of Golds, so they're considered the..." she sighed, "the most important." Her tone implied that she didn't quite agree with that. But she was just small little Ichta, what did her opinion matter? "That's why the Weyrleader and the Weyrwoman are a Bronze and a Goldrider respectively. They're the breeding couple in authority."

Tsunake

 

[Tsunake]

He listened intently as she spoke, determined to to absorb every bit of information. Metallics... Was leadership truly so important? True, a breeding couple meant more dragons, which meant the better the chance they had to fight Thread. Still-- "Every dragon is important." He muttered, shaking his head. To think that someone might be disappointed if they Impressed a Green or a Blue? Goran had to strangle the urge to punch someone in the face, if he ever heard as much....

Well. He might still punch someone.

"I see." He grunted though, at least able to understand why their might be that kind of mentality floating around. Still, any creature that chose you as its companion... that was special. Extraordinarily so. The big man shifted his weight a few times, gathering his thoughts again before he spoke.

"I'm glad you didn't get hurt." By the rolling eggs, by the angry Uridith...

demon_pachabel

 

[demon_pachabel]

She'd met at least two dragons up close and personally (well, three if she counted the Golden Uridith). Outside of the Queen, neither had been Metallics, and they'd both been majestic in their own rights. Even if Cinonth had tried to Search her a second time, the silly dear. Even having been so close to a Queen, she didn't find herself holding any of them in lower esteem by comparison. "I think so too," Ichta smiled at Goran's words. "If they weren't, we wouldn't have them at all." Nature didn't keep things for no reason.

Another loop, another green stitch. It was mapped out perfectly in her mind. Would it turn out as well? She wondered sometimes.

At Goran's statement, Ichta looked up at him and tilted her head. "You mean earlier?" It had been a rather exciting time - perhaps too exciting for her. "I...appreciate that you'd worry about me," she said sheepishly, half sinking into her shoulders. "You could have gotten hurt too. You were right there with me." Her chest tightened at how easily the upset Queen could have just began removing candidates forcefully from the sands - starting with them.

"What did you think of them? The babies?" her thoughts lingered on that Red egg, how easily it could have kept her if Uridith hadn't been stirred to action. It was a little frightening.

Tsunake

 

[Tsunake]

His lips twitched slightly at her words, like he wanted to answer her smile with his own... but he held back, for now. Though he had never personally met a dragon, he had ridden on the one who had taken him away from Nabol... and truly, it had been the most magnificent thing that he'd ever seen. The Whers had been nothing, in comparison. Oh, useful in their own way, he was certain... but Goran had resented them, for their part in keeping him trapped in the mines. Dismissing such thoughts, he watched her stitch some more, focused on the green thread she was using. "Is it going to be a dragon?" He wanted to know.

Growing awkward at her thanks, the big man grunted and shook his head. "Yeah. I dunno. I heal pretty good." She was so small and... well, she didn't need to be anymore scarred than she already was. Ichta was too nice to deserve anything like that.

His expression brightened minutely at her question. "They were...." He trailed off for a moment, searching for the words. The silence might have been a little long, but he wasn't concerned that she might think he was stupid. His thoughts strayed towards the large striped egg, how it had seemed to understand him... "More like people, than I thought." He finally said, looking thoughtful. "I liked them."

That wasn't the case with people, usually.

demon_pachabel

 

[demon_pachabel]

"It doesn't matter if you heal well or not," she protested, albeit quietly without a lot of fire behind it. In fact, it was more like a bag of coal that hadn't been ignited. Potential, but she didn't have the spark needed for it. "You don't deserve to be hurt anymore than anybody else does."

Twisting the thread around her finger, she shrugged down at her tapestry. "It will be. I'm not sure what color yet, so I'm starting at the eyes. It will be happy no matter what it is. Maybe...maybe I'll decide after the Hatching what color it will be." It seemed like it would be bad luck to choose a color before. Not that it would be a jinx, but just bad luck. Maybe a dragon wouldn't even be hers. It was silly to wait and see.

"I'm glad it was as good for you as it was for me," she smiled - albeit she'd been mostly smiles the entire conversation. It was a good feeling. "Did any in particular stick out to you? There were a few I'm excited to see once they hatch. They were nice. It was nice."

Tsunake

 

[Tsunake]

There was a low grumble in his throat, at that. Goran was convinced he could handle pain better than most. And, well, if it was a matter of someone he liked getting hurt? He'd much rather step in and take the blow. It just seemed like simple logic. No sense in arguing the point. If Ichta was about to get mauled by an angry dragonet, he'd just yank her out of the way and take the claws himself.

Goran was not a stupid man, but that did not mean he was not prone to occasionally thinking stupid things.

He studied the tapestry further, then slowly nodded at her words. A happy dragon.... "Maybe." He agreed, nodding. This was her work. If she wanted to wait to choose a color, then that seemed fitting.

The man's face softened slightly at the question, and he nodded quietly. "The big striped one.... and there were two green ones, too. It felt like they... knew me." He gave her a look, as though uncertain if that made any sort of sense. "When I touched them, they just... knew."

demon_pachabel

 

[demon_pachabel]

She leaned in, listening with great interest as Goran explained his small egg adventure. It was easy to place which ones he was speaking of and she nodded along thoughtfully. She'd only touched one of the green eggs, but it had been so ginger and calming. Did Goran need that in his life? He deserved it if he didn't have it already.

"That's wonderful," her voice was practically a content sigh as Ichta listened. "It was like letting someone else know all the forgotten corners of your mind and letting them snoop around, yeah?" That was how it had felt to her, at least. "That light one we were at together certainly was quiet, I'd be interested to see if it was simply waiting and evaluating or if perhaps we'll see a quiet dragon out of it." Though there were others still that had touched her mind more than others.

Would they take such secrets with them into Impression and share them with their Riders?

Tsunake

 

[Tsunake]

Her understanding tone was enough to pull a small, but true smile to his lips, and Goran nodded quietly. "Yeah." And even though they knew those forgotten corners, even if there were ugly sides... they'd accepted them. His attention pricked when Ichta brought up that quiet egg, and he snorted to himself. "It was very quiet but..." His lips twitched again in another smile. t had been a nice quiet. A pleasant silence, a reprieve from the almost overwhelming information he'd received from the other eggs. "Maybe it was just taking everything in."

Goran studied Ichta for a moment, wondering. This seemed like a personal question, but... "Did any eggs feel like they... bonded with you?" He was curious, but did not intend to pry if she didn't want to share.

After all, this did feel... well. Very personal.

demon_pachabel

 

[demon_pachabel]

He really had a nice smile. She took a moment to enjoy that before nodding. "I'd be quiet too if I was surrounded with such loud rambunctious dragons for siblings," it was meant to be a joke, but her tone also sounded too sincere to have pulled it off right.

The question caused her to look down at her tapestry with a small frown, tapping her fingertips against her thumb as she thought about it. Had any egg felt particularly right to her? "I don't know. There were a few that were....." she 'hmmm'ed thoughtfully as she thought for the right word, "well, every one I approached was very friendly for the most part, so I can't say what was normal for them or what would have made me particularly special to anybody." She was just plain old Ichta, after all. "....The pink ones stand out particularly, but they may have just been friendly."

Ichta looked up at Goran, the frown still there, "I guess it's hard to tell until they're ready."

Tsunake

 

[Tsunake]

Goran only nodded very seriously at her words, unable to even imagine. He'd probably have ripped his hair out if he had little brothers and sisters that he had to keep in line... Ugh.

He grunted to himself, agreeing with her even as she trailed off? It was hard to put into words what had happened. "If you didn't have something, you wouldn't have been chosen as a Candidate." He said simply, content with that knowledge. It was the same for him, too.... wasn't it? "They were excited." He remembered, but he hadn't lingered very long with them. He'd been trying to at least touch every egg before their short time was up...

Her words were true enough, and he nodded somberly when she glanced at him. "We'll just have to see. From the way they were able to move, they ought to be hatching soon..."

Goran lapsed into silence again, staring blankly into nothing. Hatching. His very first hatching...

demon_pachabel

 

[demon_pachabel]

"Of course, they had a lot of people to meet. I imagine it isn't like...instantaneous. Or maybe it is." Maybe the feeling just wasn't how she'd imagined it. "They'll know, at least." A vaguely thoughtful look came over her face as she continued to look at Goran, trying to match him in her mind to a dragon. If she went just off of feeling alone, it was fairly easy to imagine him with a strong brown or a maybe even one of the handsome bronzes. He had a strong appearance about him, but at she found she liked the quiet presence of the man who had fallen into her company more than once.

"A few were very excited. They're far enough along to be rolling about at least," at least three had started rolling and tumbling - though she couldn't help but worry about that rose colored egg that had smacked into it's yellow sibling. Hopefully they were both alright.

"To be fair, I think...I think more than just the dragons are excited about hatching. I...." she gently laced her needle into the fabric in her lap, pulling her slightly shaking hands back. "I'm excited. I can barely contain it. Excited and scared and I just.." Ichta sighed, leaning into her drooping shoulders. "I wasn't even this excited to be Searched."

Tsunake

I'll just leave this here

 

[Tsunake]

That made him consider, his brows furrowing slightly. How did Impression work? Though he knew very little of dragons, he didn't think any Impressions had ever happened while the creature was still in the shell. "Maybe the Touching just... gives them an idea of what they need." He said slowly. So many different minds... they'd have time to think it over, until they finally emerged into the world. Dragons were incredible.

If he noticed anything about Ichta's expression, he assumed her mind was back on the sands, like his was. The memory of them rolling made him smile a little--at least, until he remembered that last one, where the eggs had collided. He hadn't gotten a good look at either of them, once it was over... but they hadn't cracked, had they? Surely not. The mother gold would have been in a terrible rage if something had happened to her babies....

Goran blinked when he realized her hands were trembling, glancing up at Ichta's face with owlish confusion. Realization dawned in his dark eyes at her admittance, and after a moment, he dropped his gaze. "...I didn't realize what this all meant, until the Touching." He said quietly. He hadn't been excited to be Searched so much as he'd been determined--seizing any opportunity he possibly could to leave the dark, dusty mines and start a new sort of life for himself.

"....I'm excited, too." His voice was a rumble of sound, almost unintelligible.

demon_pachabel

This song is amazing, omg...

 

[demon_pachabel]

"I think...I think that's accurate. I can't imagine how scared they'd be if they were born without knowing that theirs was out here waiting for them. I think that's why the maulings happened more before they started the Touchings." Certainly fear and an unknown as to if there was going to be a safe 'theirs' on the outside could cause a dragonet to do lots of things a bonded wouldn't.

Even still, Candidates could get hurt and that was a warning they were all well aware of too. She'd try to not think too hard about that until it was imminent, however.

Ichta allowed their mutual excitement to linger like a blanket - a comforting blanket that promised potential for both of them. "I can't imagine how I'm going to get anything done, knowing that out there on the sands at any time it could be the time." Even her Tapestry had gotten perhaps only a row of stitches since the Candidatemaster had ordered them back to the barracks.

Though it was still likely days or even weeks away. Would the buzz stay for weeks or would it fade off only to reignite when the humming began?

Tsunake

Right?