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Post by saidaltam on Apr 5, 2009 19:50:18 GMT -6
Ashby was going to be eleven this turn, and that meant that he was getting very good at noticing certain things that adults did--things that adults couldn't seem to notice for themselves. For almost two months, he'd been watching the grownups (and some children not much older than he was, himself) acting like ruddy fools, and he had finally gotten sick of it, so, in the middle of the night, when nobody was awake but the watch wher and a couple of drudges, he snuck down into the dining cavern and, across one wall, laid everything it out for the silly fools in brilliant and blatant symbolism that even a small child could make sense of. About halfway through, of course, he realized just how overambitious his project had been, as one part and another crossed until it looked ... well, a bit confusing, but that was their fault, wasn't it? By the time that Rukbat rose and dawn kissed the weyr, sending sleepy-eyed riders and blinking, dazed drudges spilling into the dining caverns, Ashby was gone, but his work was not, and with as much effort as he had put into it, it wasn't coming down any time soon, either, which, of course, meant that when the entire Weyrling class came in to scrub the kitchens (their punishment for all the disruptions in their first lesson), it was still bound to be there, bold as day. Plastered across the wall, Ashby had painted during the night a web to rival any found on old Terra. |
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Post by virenn on Apr 5, 2009 20:38:12 GMT -6
It was a normal day for R’ker.
No, it was a little different. He woke up earlier than Onith had, for once, and actually got the chance to dress without rushing. Once he got his self-declared “feeding tunic” on (for it was one of the tunics that he normally wore whenever he fed his dragon, as to not have numerous articles of clothing smelling of blood), he waited for Onith to wake. The dragon practically jumped to life as soon as R’ker sat back down on his cot, his eyes a brilliant blue-green before the hints of red made their way in.
Mine, I’m hungry. Onith told him immediately. I am ready to eat. I want to eat a lot of meat, Mine. Are you ready to feed me?
“Of course I'm ready to feed you! Hurry, and you’ll be fed in no time.” R’ker said as he led Onith to be fed. Hastily chopping up a herdbeast into sloppy pieces of meat and shoving it into the hatchling’s waiting mouth, R’ker fed the dragonet until he was completely full. Waddling back to his couch, the bronze waited for His to follow; Onith’s eyes were whirling quickly in a blue-green, letting His know that he was happy for his meal and ready for his bath and oiling, which R’ker always took great care in doing. Once R’ker was done, he washed up quickly and changed again (he didn’t want, or need, to smell of blood and guts while he was doing his extra chores) before he made his way out of the Weyrling Barracks, smiling as Onith told him that he wanted him back very soon so that they could talk.
Sure, he couldn’t exactly hurry his chores, but the thought of spending more time with the dragonet while he wasn’t sleeping sounded good to him. Despite the extra chores, this day was no different from any other so far.
Until he reached the kitchens.
At first, R’ker frowned at the joke; some stupid kid thought it was cute to write all over the wall, and it was the weyrlings job to clean it up! He was about to sigh in frustration and grab a rag, for Ph’in would make them attempt to get it off even if everyone complained, when something caught his eye. His name was up on that wall, surrounded by hearts, pointing to the names of others.
It was then that R’ker froze, finally taking the chance to actually look at the writing. A love web, he decided, was what was plastered on the wall. “By the first egg of Faranth..!”
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Post by stolenhart on Apr 6, 2009 13:19:50 GMT -6
Ilayria had just waddled into the kitchen herself. It was easily the warmest place in the Weyr, besides the Hatching Sands, and it had food. She had just stepped off the last stair into the room when "By the first egg of Faranth..!" rang out across the cavern. She paused, frowning a moment as she searched out the voice. There, a weyrling by the look of him here on punishment. "Is there", she began only to see what had made him swear, "Shards and Shaffit", she swore herself. Her name, HER NAME, was front and center with arrows and little hearts attached to it. And worse yet, so worse yet, the arrows lead off to B'oone (not so bad) and T'rel (very bad).
"Ph'in!", she yelled, only to have her brother show up at her elbow. "What in the Shards of the egg is that?", she pointed at the wall, nose pinched with anger. Ph'in's blue eyes widened as he saw his own name pointed towards Eris'. "Shards and Shaffit", he turned to the kitchen. "Who did this?", he asked in a deathly quiet voice. With his scars he was a frightful look indeed as he searched the faces when no one came forward.
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Post by saidaltam on Apr 7, 2009 22:45:20 GMT -6
Kalley had been late rising that morning, which is why, when he finally appeared in the dining cavern, there was already a crowd around the wall. Curious, he walked over. The advantage of being very tall is that he could stay near the back and still see what was going on.
Graffiti? Who had plastered graffiti on the dining cavern wall? Briefly, he wondered who'd have to clean it up. Then he started noticing the names. The Weyrwoman? The Weyrleader? Some... names he didn't know. Eris? What was the meaning of all those arrows pointing at her? One of them led back to Kirnin. Actually, Kir had a few arrows pointing at her name, including one coming from his. Then, the imagery sank in.
Then, the implications sank in.
Kalley had never been more grateful for his height. As quickly as he had entered the dining cavern, he was swifter still to leave it. He was not, repeat, NOT, ready to deal with this, right now.
His departure sent him winging past his half brother on his way out. T'van, reporting in for his punishment, spun, taking a few backwards steps to stare after his half brother in a dazed bit of confusion, before shrugging and moving to join the crowd, presuming, given Ph'in's presence, that this was where he was reporting to.
Seeing the graffiti, he was about ready to groan, when he noticed just exactly what it was. Unlike Kalley, it didn't take T'van but a heartbeat to catch on, and a small smile flittered over his face before he began examining it for arrows pointing to his own name. To his immense pleasure, there was not just one, but two! Admittedly, one was a boy... the weyrling he'd met in the baths during his candidacy, if he remembered rightly (though he'd never been good with names), but the other... Well, well, well!
Crescentia. Oh, fortune.
T'rel was not a particularly good morning person, despite the frequency of his early rising. It generally wasn't until after his first cup of klah that he woke, which is what brought him to the dining caverns.
It was not what woke him up, however.
This... was not good. This was not good at all.
On the same token, some small part of him was rejoicing. If whomever had done this was correct, then Ilayria felt the same way that he did.
Then again, B'oone was bound to see this, and he certainly didn't want his own wingleader and weyrleader thinking that he was trying to have an affair with the man's weyrmate. Much as he fancied the idea of being with her, he also fancied the idea of not being demoted to watchrider.
Out of the corner of his eye, he tried to catch a glimpse of Ilayria's face, to see what she was making of all of this. She couldn't afford to be too distressed, in her condition. If she looked it, he might have to, appearances be damned, interfere and try to urge her back to her Weyr, if only to try to take some stress off of the baby. The last thing they needed was an early delivery.
Kirnin was not looking forward to a punishment that she still didn't entirely feel was deserved, but she didn't feel strongly enough to bother arguing over it. Still, of all the chores they could have been assigned, why did it have to be kitchens? She hated kitchens. Laundry, runners, herdbeasts, glows, anything was better than kitchens.
The crowd, however, bemused her a bit, and she let Little Baby fly ahead as she walked over to see what all the commotion was about. The flit, seeing a familiar arm, fluttered up beside R'ker, chirruping and circling before settling on Kirnin's shoulder as she joined them. "What's going on?" she asked quietly, then followed everyone's gaze and paused, blinking.
"Oh."
Oh, my... There were an aweful lot of hearts around her name, weren't there? ... Eris, but she had enough arrows pointing at her that it hardly mattered, Crescentia, but that was clearly a passing thing, and... uh-oh.
Turning a rather striking shade of scarlet, she cast a small, sidelong glance at R'ker. Oops. Apparently not as subtle as she thought she'd been.
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Post by Femisis on Apr 8, 2009 11:48:17 GMT -6
Though she wasn't pleased with the idea of having to report to the kitchens for punishment, Crescentia tried to keep her mood decent even if she wanted nothing more than to punch someone in the face. It would have been nice to have someone to talk to on the way, but she had taken to long to get ready(Basteth had demanded a good scratching) and missed everyone. This little setback put her in a bit of a sour mood as she fairly stalked toward the kitchens, determined to scrub the place with a vengeance.
"What in Faranth's name...?" She tilted her head as the crowd around the wall came within sight. Was this where they were supposed to go...? No, couldn't be. There were too many people, most of them riders and Weyrfolk, though there were a few weyrlings to be seen. "Come on, I want to see, too." She grumbled as she shoved some people out of the way, mostly other Weyrlings, though she immediately wished she hadn't. "Shards..." There it was, her name bright as day surrounded by dozens of hearts with at least four leading back to it. T'van, R'ker... Well, they were nice enough, but would they get the wrong idea...? And Faranth, Kally?! He liked HER?! AND KIRNIN?! She felt her face turn a bright shade of red, her embarrassment obvious. When she found out who did this, there was going to be hell to pay.
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Despite his reputation as the Weyr's recluse, R'nor was actually out for once, headed down to the kitchens to get something to eat. He'd just finished dealing with a rough patch on Meryl's hide and with the Green back in their Weyr sunning herself, he found it to be a good idea to get something to eat. He didn't expect to see many people in the lower caverns at this hour, anyway, maybe some Weyrlings and a few drudges, but not the mass of people that he found starting... at the wall? There must be a notice of some kind, he thought as he stood on tip toes to take a look. What he saw there made him wish he'd stayed in bed: His name with an arrow surrounded by FIVE hearts leading to T'rel.
Frozen, he blinked rapidly, hoping that this was all just a dream. T'rel could never know about his deep love for the Bronzerider. He'd been with many men in the course of his life after Impressing Meryl, but T'rel was the one he remembered, enjoyed... Hell, he'd do it again, which was saying a lot considering his reclusive nature. But the other man would never have him, so he kept it a secret, or so he though. Who would DO this?
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Post by stolenhart on Apr 8, 2009 16:03:35 GMT -6
Ilayria was elbowing her brother in the ribs and he finally had to grab her arm to stop her. "Please stop bruising me", he told her as she jerked her elbow out of his grip. "I could say the same to you", she'd gone all white and pinched looking in the face as she glared at the wall silently commanding the paint to disappear in front of her. Arrow lighted on her shoulder with a gentle chirp and rubbed his face against her cheek. "You will here from me ooooo", her eyes went wide. "The baby?", Ph'in asked turning to his sister a concerned look in his eye.
"I need to sit down, its' being very active at the moment", she replied, crossing the short distance to a chair. Barely eight months pregnant was not a good time to be getting excitedf apparently. "I'm fine", she waved her brother's arm off, fixing him with a steely gaze. "Get rid of that before too many people notice", she ordered him, "We'll all be laughed out of her by the Holders if they see this dung", she then waved a hand towards the wall. "And where in the between is B'oone?", she added, eyes going back to her name. And just who did R'nor think he was?
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Post by virenn on Apr 8, 2009 16:10:33 GMT -6
As R’ker noticed Little Baby fluttering near his arm, he almost froze. Oh, Faranth, what would he say? He considered this for another three seconds, watching Little Baby as he circled and finally settled down on Kirnin’s shoulder. Heck, he couldn't be blunt and just say, ‘hey, I see that you like me, too, and it’s a darn shame that, since we're still weyrlings, anything could send our dragons between.’
Half of him was glad that he was still a Weyrling—he wouldn’t have to worry about the implications of the web until his dragonet was over a turn, or until they were finally allowed to engage in relationships. The other half was, well, somewhat disappointed; if the web was correct, and if whoever wrote it had done their research, then Kirnin liked him just as much as he liked her. Life as a Weyrling would get in the way of anything for a while; there was no way that he’d be willing to risk Onith for anyone. The dragon just meant too much to him already.
Speaking of Onith, thank Faranth that he was sleeping! He couldn’t imagine what the bronze would be asking him if he was awake and listening in. R’ker could practically hear the bronze’s voice saying ‘Mine! What are you looking at? Can I come and see? Please? I want to see what everyone’s looking at!’ already.
He kept still, his eyes locked in on the web on the wall as Kirnin walked up besides him. Right now, as she examined the love web, he would, too—it would save him the trouble of considering something to say for a while longer. He followed his arrow to Kirnin, his eyes tracing the one that went from her to Crescentia, Crescentia to Kalley and Kalley to… Kirnin?
“Isn’t Kalley her brother?” he whispered to himself. Suddenly, his eyes widened. Shards! He didn’t say that aloud, did he? He held back his groan, now he was really worried about what he would to her.
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Post by saidaltam on Apr 8, 2009 16:30:50 GMT -6
Kirnin, having gone back to staring in embarrassment at the web on the wall, tilted her head at R'ker's whispered words. Furrowing her brow, she skimmed the web for what he might be... oh, nevermind. Kalley? Now that was odd. Pursing her lips, she considered the matter, and then, without looking up, mused aloud, "We look almost nothing alike, and he does dote horribly, sometimes. Whomever did this... probably didn't realize."
It was certainly true enough, wasn't it? He was terribly tall, and she was very short. His hair was black and straight, hers, curly and brown. His eyes were a rich, honeyed brown, and hers were nearly golden, they were so pale. His features were strong, hers were delicate. Of course, their skin tones were very close, but that hardly had to mean anything, now, did it?
Still, he was forever talking of his sister...
Oh, it hardly mattered. It had to be a misunderstanding. There were far more pressing things on that web than someone not realizing that Kalley was her brother, after all, like how she'd manage to work with R'ker in their lessons without turning sixteen shades of scarlet every time he looked at her. The rest, she could handle. That, however... She rather hoped T'van hadn't seen this, or she'd never hear the end of it.
Seeing Ph'in help Ilayria to her seat, T'rel coul have choked. That was NOT good, especially not as far along as she was! Concern overrode his embarrassment, and he slipped over to her. "Weyrwoman? Are you alright? Is it the baby? Did you need a healer?"
He'd seen an early-born baby, once. It had been very, very small, and very sickly. He hadn't really believed it would live. With as often as its mother was at the healers for it, he was surprised to find that it had. The idea of that happening to Ilayria's child was not encouraging in the slightest, and wouldn't have been even if he hadn't been attracted to her. That he was, as the wall now so explicitely declared, only reinforced the feeling.
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Post by stolenhart on Apr 8, 2009 16:53:15 GMT -6
She gave T'rel a fond, but slightly annoyed, smile. "I'm fine. Yes and no", she calmly assured him. The pain she had a moment ago could have been the baby kicking, more than likely was the baby kicking, and would present no further problems now that she was sitting down, being taken care of, and the situation was under control. Ph'in walked over to his Weyrlings and thumped R'ker in the back of the head, "Round them up and start them scrubbing", he ordered the Weyrling bronzerider. With R'ker being a bronzerider he'd be put in quite a few command positions among his weyrling wing.
He turned to Kirnin too, "Quit staring at the wall because you are trying to avoid R'ker, get to scrubbing as well", he ordered her roughly as he turned back to his sister and T'rel. "Can I get you something? Maybe carry you back to your weyr?", he asked, of the firm opinion she should be in bed. "No. Take care of the Weyrlings, T'rel can deal with me until B'oone gets here". She'd already said it in front of witnesses before she realized she had just confirmed what the wall was saying, at least in the mind of the Weyr's notorious gossips. Honestly, showing favoritism for a bronzerider with this nonsense going on.
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Post by virenn on Apr 8, 2009 17:37:13 GMT -6
R’ker nodded as Kirnin stated that the person who had painted on the wall was probably wrong. It made sense to him, since she and Kalley looked nothing alike. If he wasn’t told that the two of them were related, he would never have guessed that they were siblings. Ignoring the fact that Kalley’s name was up on the wall with an arrow leading back to Kirnin, since she seemed convinced that it was just a mistake, and really, since it was none of his business, he considered what to say next.
He had finally figured it out when Ph’in had thumped him on the head. Turning towards the Weyrlingmaster, he nodded in affirmation as he was given orders, “yes, sir.”
Glancing over at Kirnin shyly for another second (really, this was going to be slightly awkward—he was never used to letting others know how he felt at all, let alone having his feelings plastered a wall by someone he didn’t even know), he made his way through the crowd and towards the cleaning supplies set out for them. “Aphelion Wing,” he called out, his tone authoritative, “I’m quite sure that we came here to scrub the kitchens down, not to stare at a bit of graffiti.” He picked up a bucket and a rag, holding it up for the others to see. “It’s our job to clean it up. Grab a rag and get to work.”
Though he couldn’t see all of the weyrlings from his position, he had a feeling that at least one or two of them were still looking at the web. “It isn’t going to clean itself,” he added as he, once again, made his way through the crowd to reach the wall in order to start scrubbing. Looking the web over once more, R’ker realized that they were going to be scrubbing at it for a long time before it would disappear.
How wonderful.
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Post by saidaltam on Apr 8, 2009 17:45:34 GMT -6
Kirnin winced at the sound of Ph'in smacking R'ker in the back of the head--that had to smart--and was quick on R'ker's heels to snatch up cleaning supplies with a sigh. Returning to the wall, she gave it the once over before deciding it would probably be best to get that bit about Ilayria off the wall, first, as it was the part most likely to cause the Weyr as a whole embarrassment if anyone were to see it.
Unfortunately, it was very high up. Well. Chair, then. Snagging the nearest, she pulled herself swiftly up onto it and set about scrubbing at the words.
They didn't come off.
They didn't even look like they were fading.
Furrowing her brow after several minutes, she stepped back an inch or so on the chair. Maybe some stronger cleaners were in order. She wondered passingly where they'd be, if the Weyr had any. Pursing her lips, she shook her head and went back to scrubbing. If it didn't start coming off soon, she'd go ask the headwoman for something stronger.
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