[PRP] A Big, A Smol (Lusialu/Midrymear)

[demon_pachabel]

He liked the physical chores.

Not physical in the way that one could sit peeling tubers for an entire afternoon but rather Midrymear had found a fondness for the tasks that required a bit more push behind them. Something he could put his back into. Of course, one would have been hard-pressed to take one look at the former mercenary with his broad shoulders and chest and not think he had some fondness of hard work.

So when one of the injured dragonriders had needed some assistance in cleaning their dragon he'd been honored to be asked for the assist. Of course, the the powers-that-be hadn't been a fool in thinking one man could clean even a mid-sized brown by himself so he'd been assigned along with some help and they'd been sent along and off to the lake.

His large, fairly quiet countenance was absolutely looming compared to the young lady that had also been roped into it. But rather than break the ice, Midrymear allowed a silence to settle where idle conversation could have lived. At least, he didn't think he had much to say about nothing for the time being.

Uta

 

[Uta]

Lusialu had been tasked with assisting a brownrider in cleaning his dragon. Usually, Lusialu would be thrilled with the task--and part of her absolutely was pleased as punch to get to be so close to a dragon! But another part of her dreaded one thing, and one thing alone with this task: the cold. Even covered in winter garb, cleaning a dragon in the half-frozen Weyrlake would result in discomfort at best, and a deep chill at worst. Usually, riders would take their mounts to warmer climates for their routine bath--but in some instances, it wasn't an option. Certainly, she was layered appropriately, but there was no getting around the fact she'd need to slog at least up to her knees in the cool water to help scrub parts of the brown.

Ah, but though she dreaded the chill that would sink in (even if the layers would protect from the worst of it) she was determined to see it through. Not just because F'dral would have her hide if she dared to shirk a task, but because she wanted to help the rider and his brown. This sort of work not only got her close to dragons, but truly made a difference in someone else's life. It was the least she could do as a Candidate, and the least she could do as a person. Helping others in need was what made life worth the living, and so, Lusialu was more than happy to throw herself into the task.

Honeycomb and Seaglass had also taken to helping, perched on the back of the brown, preening his neckridges contentedly, and keeping guard on Theirs as needed. Little, green Surprise remained duly attached to Lusialu's shoulder, still just a bit too little and timid to want to venture off too far from the girl. Especially with the Big, Scary, Stranger not too far away. If the little flit periodically gave yellow-eyes towards Midrymear, it couldn't be helped--she was a very little after all.

Lusialu didn't mind the quiet; her brother, sister, and even her own mother were far more outspoken than she. But the time it would take cleaning this brown would likely be at least another couple hours, if not more--especially once they got the brown to spread his wings. While they were both working on the same side of the dragon was as good a time to say hello as any. She certainly recognized him as a fellow Candidate--he was too big to not notice among the many in the Barracks or lessons--but she didn't know much else besides. "I'd ask how you're holding up, but I feel like you're probably faring far better than me." She mused, offering him a small, but sincere, smile. "It's a bit of a workout!" Her arms were already burning and they'd only just begun.

Oh well. It was good.

demon_pachabel

 

[demon_pachabel]

Brown Wellirth was at least an agreeable dragon, Midrymear had found. Not thrilled over his Rider's state, naturally, but he didn't fuss and grouse and make the scrubbing more difficult than it needed to be. It was an awful lot of dragon to scrub no matter how agreeable the brown was. While Midrymear knew why there weren't more people at it he couldn't help wish they at least had a third to it.

He'd been rather nitpickily peeling off some patchy hide, the obvious remains of skin healed over burns from weeks previous, when Lusialu spoke up. Midrymear took a moment to consider his answer to her, rather than just giving her a something-or-other thought to dull the threads of conversation. If they were going to be at this for a while, he didn't see the harm in a little chatting. "It isn't bad work, simply a lot of it," he answered. "I'd dare hope the sun will come out long enough to at least make it a little warmer out here."

Honestly, Midrymear didn't mind the cold much - he was big and retained his heat for it. But he also didn't much fancy the idea that they were going to spend hours out in the cold scrubbing away. It wasn't like they could simply pause in the middle of washing to go get some klah and return the warmth to their fingers and toes for half a candlemark or so. Sigh.

Uta

 

[Uta]

Scrub, scrub, scrub, rinse the brush, before returning to the scrubbing of brown hide. She did pause now and then to think nice things at the brown, like how handsome he was, and how nice and patient he was being--as well as some apologies if she was thinking too loudly at him. Thankfully, the brown dragon seemed mostly off in his own world, and didn't much reply or react to anything she said.

That was okay though. Even if he wasn't paying attention, she wanted to at least be polite.

Sometimes it was still tricky to know what to think around them, especially up so close.

She would have thoroughly enjoyed the activity if it wasn't practically sub-zero temperatures. Lusialu knew she'd be half-frozen by the time they finished. "It would be nice, wouldn't it? I know there's a big hearth calling my name soon as we finish," she confessed with a grin. "And some klah, too, heavy on the spice. But I really don't mind, honestly," she added quickly, hoping neither her companion nor Wellirth felt like she wasn't interested in doing the hard work.

It was just cold!

"I haven't been this close to a brown dragon in some time, honestly. My brother's blue is much smaller--I think I forgot how big they really are now that I'm standing next to one." When one spent much of their day only looking at dragons from a distance, being up close and personal was a good reminder of just how much dragon there was out there. "But we'll get you scrubbed up nicely, promise," she assured Wellirth, pausing a moment to give him a little pat on his side. No matter how long it took.

[quote="demon_pachabel"