|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Fri Nov 24, 2017 8:03 am
 |
|
|
 |
The excitement in the air was palpable. Everyone at High Reaches, whether they admitted to it or not, wanted to know how the Hatching at Western would go. Rumor had it that the eggs on Western sands were rock hard, and nearly ready to hatch. Their volunteer Candidates had been staying close at hand, ready to Impress at a moment's notice. R'shahar, who had spent his life dashing from one mission to the next, found life at High Reaches Weyr to be almost... dull. The major bright spot was his dragon Viandarth, and right behind him were the missions that Weyrwoman Zheria had promised him.
He'd already taken a few, and he'd Candidates to show for it. But a few snatch and grabs was nothing compared to old times. Ah, the life of a Bronzerider at High Reaches had its perks, but few among them could compare to the freedom he'd once had. Yet... Nothing compares to me, Viandarth put in, and R'shahar almost stopped in his tracks, the instinctive need to pet his dragon filling him all at once.
Quite right, love. Nothing and no one. But of course that didn't make his restlessness simply vanish. Perhaps it was because C'lusi was still very much a weyrling. Perhaps it was because he wanted action, rather than to currently be shelved, watching the Weyr, and ensuring nothing untoward occurred. Ah, whatever the reason, he found himself in want of a drink. And so he continued his path toward the lower caverns.
Wait just one moment, wasn't that- "Broooo!" R'shahar said, a big grin splitting his face as he adjusted his trajectory. "K'ladan! Want a drink?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 24, 2017 1:20 pm
|
|
|
|
The emptiness of High Reaches seemed at once a blessing and a curse for K'ladan. While there were fewer eyes watching him and fewer tongues spitting command, there, too, were fewer of the people he liked best with whom to bide his time. It meant the stitch between his shoulders had eased just a hair only to be replaced with that idle loneliness an outgoing personality often suffered when there was too much empty time to fill.
Am I really such boring company?
The voice chimed with a false sense of hurt, rippling with playfulness as it nestled in the back of the Bronzerider's thoughts. An immediate smile tugged at his lips and the dreadhead snapped out of his brooding, just as his favorite Bronze had intended. His answer started with a swell of affection but was cut short by an unexpected call somewhere behind him.
Before K'ladan ever turned, he knew who he would see - there weren't many other riders in High Reaches that would call him out with such unabashed familiarity. The small smile on his lips that Razasith had spawned was already growing to a wide, smarmy grin by the time he locked eyes with one of the only men he knew that actually towered above him. Damn, but it was good to see a familiar face.
"Brooo!" he called back, pausing to let the larger man catch up to him, "I didn't realize you had stayed behind too." Once he was within reach, K'ladan clapped a wide hand on the other Bronzerider's back (mostly because it was too much effort to try and reach his shoulder) in a playful greeting. "My man, you know damn well I do."
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 24, 2017 8:33 pm
|
|
|
|
R'shahar, who could have quite cheerfully, and quite easily, lifted K'ladan up and carried him to go get a drink, was more than pleased to have company. "Plenty of people going to Western for the Hatching. I'd rather stay here, y'know?" Here, where he could keep an eye on things, and make sure that the Weyr didn't fall to shambles or go under attack in the absence of the Weyrleaders. Not that he had much of a say in that, but he could at least be one very large, very solid wall.
"Little bird told me there'll be bubbly pie and Benden wine in the kitchen tonight. And maybe some Tillek white wine, if you prefer." And maybe, just maybe, they'd have his favorite Igenese brew! Still grinning, he more or less led K'ladan down into the lower caverns. "So, why'd you stay behind?" he asked, not really taking note of how the crowd parted before him as they always did.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 24, 2017 9:07 pm
|
|
|
|
R'shahar might not have noticed the way the lingering crowd spread to let him through, but K'ladan certainly did. He wasn't particularly unaccustomed to smaller people moving out of his way but when a mammoth of a man wanted to pass, bystanders certainly made the room instead of risking a clip of the shoulder. It kept an amused smile on his lips between the sight of it and the list of delicious treats his fellow bronzerider had gone out of his way to uncover.
"Hm?" One of his wide, dark palms was pressed against the leather work of his dublet and half of his thoughts lingered on how hungry he hadn't quite realized he was. The other half registered the question late, making the smile falter, though he caught in time.
"Hatchings just make me uneasy sometimes," all the time, "besides, someone's gotta stay behind other than you, eh?" A playful elbow nudged sideways at his large friend, careless with his strength for once because it didn't matter a lick with R'shahar. What might have sent another man hurling into a wall was like trying to move a mountain with him.
"I just want to drink some Benden wine, fill my belly, and enjoy my time before all the sulking candidates show back up to drown their sorrows in what's left of it."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2017 11:44 am
|
|
|
|
When at last they reached the kitchen, they were able to secure surprisingly good seat at the little area that had been set aside for goodies. R'shahar flipped a stool around to sit at the counter, piling some pastries onto his plate. A glass of Igenese red to wash it down with, and he was more than happy to settle in. "Mmm. Understandable. Hatchings make the wise uneasy, especially when they have family on the Sands." He glanced at K'ladan, the grin swiftly returning. "Sure I need the help keeping the peace? But you know, the more the merrier. I might be able to handle it on my own, but I can't drink all of this wine alone."
Or rather, he probably could, but also definitely shouldn't. Mm. "True enough, the pickings will be slim when our Candidates return to eat their feelings." Spearing a piece of meat from one of the large platters, he ate it directly from his belt knife. No sense in wasting silverware when he didn't need it. "So, you rooting for anyone out there?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2017 4:41 pm
|
|
|
|
K'ladan was contented in the silence that took them as they arrived and found their seat, letting the conversation lapse in favor of piling food onto his plate and securing a good mug of hot mulled wine to banish the worst of the winter chill that had settled into his bones. He had stuff a pastry whole into his mouth when R'shahar finally broke the peace.
"Mnnf," he attempted unintelligibly around an overlarge bite. An annoyed expression flashed over his face before he grabbed his wine and washed down a decent portion of the food on a gulp. One strong, broad hand wiped at his mouth.
"No, not really?" His hefty shoulders shrugged as he stuffed the pastry into his mouth, choosing this time to bite it in two at least. He chewed it thoughtfully for a second, swallowed, and then added, "Although there is a rather bothersome candidate I wouldn't mind not seeing back here. Have you heard about her? Claiming I'm her brother and all."
A rider had been the first to mention it to him and he, as an only child born and raised in the weyr, couldn't really wrap his mind around the idea that so many others seemed to believe the girl.
"I'm really not sure what her damn angle is."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Dec 09, 2017 12:01 pm
|
|
|
|
R'shahar almost choked at the news that K'ladan was somebody's fake brother. Some girl was using him for... what, exactly? He set his knife down. "Seriously? There's some girl claiming to be your sister?" That was... actually quite amusing. "Well, bro, is it at least believable?" It'd actually be funnier if it wasn't. The Bronzerider definitely hoped that the girl looked completely unlike K'ladan. Setting a conciliatory bubbly pie on K'ladan's plate, he settled back.
"Hmm, guess it's that shiny dragon of yours, probably. Wonder if she knows you were born here," he said idly, knocking back the glass that had mysteriously been refilled for him. "Well, I'll hope for your sake that she Impresses at Western."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
