You wing downwards to the southwest bowl.
You cling to Nallath's riding straps as you scramble down his forelimb, landing safely upon the ground. A soft huff in the back of your mind reminds you, once again, of Nallath's absolute love for you.
C'daer makes his way through puddles on the ground, slowly picking his way towards the lake shore; his hat is tightly down over his ears, but his jacket's been left open to the wind.
"You're not getting anywhere near the water," warms Ilesyn, shivering, as she dismounts from Nallath. "You can go back up to the ledge. I'm just /walking/." The brown huffs, disappointed, but her steady glare seems to invoke agreement. Hair tossed about by the wind, she turns, catching sight of C'daer. "Evening."
He turns, and waves her over with an amiable gesture. "Walking, eh? Might as well do it with me if you like - I'm just headed around the lake and back." Daer pauses his steps, rubbing his hand on his thigh absently as he waits for her to approach.
Nallath beats his wings, pushing off from the ground, Ilesyn striding straight through the puddles to join C'daer. "I like it well enough. I'm not the only one who likes to walk in the rain, then."
"If it's not pouring," C'daer answers, resuming his stride. "Light like this - yes. Any colder, though, and I'll stay inside. My ears get cold easily." He falls quiet as he walks.
"Mm," says Ilesyn, noncomittally. "It's refreshing. Though not, generally, in the middle of winter." She matches, as best she can, C'daer's stride, adding, "It probably wouldn't do to lose your ears due to frostbite."
C'daer walks off southwestwards to the shores of Fort's lake.
You amble southwestwards to the shores of Fort's lake.
"So what have you been up do lately, besides possibly freezing your ears off?" C'daer asks, slowing his pace slightly to meet Ilesyn's as the pair approach the lake from the bowl. "Aurora not boring you silly yet?"
C'daer pages: Oriana innocently shakes her head no. Then she looks down at the ground then the surrounding area saying the word slowly, "For-t." Eye brows raise, "Egg? Big egg. No see drag-on." Voice chitters with unlearned child's tones. Eye lashes flicker as she blinks.
Ilesyn gives a somewhat hesitant grunt in response, refraining from answering the latter question. Her hands are dug deeper into her pockets - pinky sticking out from a hole in the right one, wiggling aimlessly. "Not a lot," she admits, honestly. "This and that."
M'ial nods, "Yes. This is Fort Weyr." He waves an arm to include the entire place they're in, "You've never seen a dragon? Man." A brow raises. "Where've they been keeping you? Yes, a big egg."
C'daer angles his chin in a gesture, "Other people out in the cold over there. Can't see who," he says to Ilesyn. His hands are in his pockets as well, although he works one out for a moment to pull his jacket closed and fasten it.
Oriana twists a bare foot in the sand, "Wey-r." Again the word is slowly verbalized. Voice snaps, "No." A scowl appears on her face. The scowl feints quickly when she hears the distant voices of others on the beach. Quickly she looks around, a panicked look on her face. She remembers the water is much colder than previously. A nearby boulder is looking to be a likely spot to hide.
Ilesyn kicks her boot through a puddle, which splashes, as she follows C'daer's gaze. "So there are. Shall we go and see who?" Using her pocketed hands to pull her jacket closer - though it's done up to her chin - she takes a few steps forward.
M'ial shakes his head as she gets that panicked look. "It's just people. You just have more hair than they do." Then he shrugs, turning his eyes to the pair approaching.
"If you're feeling sociable. That's unusual enough that we may as well," Daer teases lightly, and turns to move towards the brownrider and visitor. As they come nearer, "Looks like she's wearing a fur jacket. I ought to see about getting Miake one of those," he muses.
"People are my business," retorts Ilesyn, though not with venom. "I accepted /your/ company, didn't I?" She tilts her head to the side, remarking, "Fur feels good, I suppose, but it'd be a pain to keep clean."
Oriana jumps and runs around to hide behind M'ial. If not a boulder to hide behind then the rider do just fine. Behind him she cowers trying to look as small as possible.
M'ial blinks at Oriana hides behind him, the brown dragon besides him rumbling in amusement. "Erm... What are you doing?" he asks, though he doesn't turn around.
C'daer gives a light snort, and breaks off what he was originally going to say: "People i- hm, looks skittish?" He lifts his hand to wave, adding to Ilesyn, "Depends on what you're doing while wearing it," and then raises his voice in a cheerful, "Hello."
"You were about to insult me," Ilesyn surmises, with a roll of her eyes. "How unusual. Another point towards my being a masochist." Whilst making this comment, she regards the pair ahead, agreeing, "Very. -- Oh, bother. If you're going to sit around and do nothing while wearing it, I suppose it'd be fine. But anything else? No thank you."
Oriana thinks that maybe if she's quiet they will not see her. Maybe the dragon, this unusual creature will, will draw their attention. After all, there are only two dragons in the world that she's seen. Surely there couldn't be more of them.
M'ial sighs as Oriana doesn't answer him, turning his eyes to C'daer and Ilesyn. "Doing nothing sounds good." he answers, "And hello, C'daer. How're you two doing?"
C'daer, not given to psychic abilities, says amiably, "M'ial, hello, and who's your friend? Been messing around with a married woman, or is she too pretty to let us look at?" He simply sticks his tongue out at Ilesyn, then leans sideways to try to see around the brownrider.
Ilesyn sticks her tongue out in response, jovially, greeting M'ial with a tilt of her head. "Bet he thinks we'll steal her from him," she declares, loudly. "Or her fur coat, maybe."
M'ial grins at C'daer, "Oriana. A married woman?" A brow raises, "Not yet, but I plan to." he replies, "I wouldn't put it as too pretty..." he lingers, snickering at Ilesyn, "I don't think she's like anything you two've ever seen. I haven't seen anything like this and I've pretty much saw everything."
Oriana bites her lip. Certainly she thinks, they would mean no harm to her, but the way they talk. Her face gets a meek look on it trying to skirt away. She doesn't run though. There might be more food for her. Caught somewhere between some bond and wanting to get away she awkwardly blurts out her name, "Oriana."
"Well, just insult her to her face, why don't you?" Daer asks in mild surprise, his eyebrow raising at M'ial's comment. "And you plan to? Good luck. Hope her husband isn't a smith.. Nice to meet you, Oriana," he replies as she answers. "I'm sure Mati doesn't mean it." He gives that individual a disapproving look.
"Wow," says Ilesyn, staring at Oriana. She pays little attention to M'ial, instead commenting to Oriana, "Guess you never get cold." She shivers, wrapping her coat around herself more tightly. "I'm Ilesyn."
M'ial raises a brow at C'daer, "She doesn't seem to understand a lot of words." he answers, "A child, actually. And thank you, I'll take your good luck, since you don't seem to need it." A shrug, stepping to the side to reveal Oriana and show what he means.
Daer starts off with, "It's a pretty name," and then his voice fades away as he, too, sees all of Oriana. Revulsion's quickly swept hidden, and he darts a nervous sideways glance towards Ilesyn - she'll probably kick him if he says anything amiss. He does take an involuntary step backwards, and stays quiet as he stares at the girl's face.
Oriana nearly feints as her rock moves away. A shield to deflect the barbs leaves her fuzziness exposed. Quickly she moves her hands to her face to hide it. Liquid brown eyes peeking through parted fingers. The scent of revolsion seems to linger in the air, wafting up her nostrils like the unwanted smoke from a fire. Nor does she bother to repeat Ilesyn's name or any other sort of thing.
Ilesyn's gaze turns towards C'daer, somewhat mockingly, as she steps forward to get a better look at the girl - apparently, she's more fascinated than anything.
Jalis ambles in from the southwest bowl.
M'ial rolls his eyes at C'daer's reaction, "Quit staring. It's not very nice to stare." he tells the bronzer, mock-chiding as he turns to Oriana, stepping back into place, probably to shield her from C'daer's staring.
Jalis is walking across the bowl on an apparent solitary walk as she doesn't seem headed anywhere in particular. However, it's apparent that when she sees others, she changes trajectory and aims toward them.
"Oh, aren't -you- chivalrous," Daer barbs, sarcastic, and takes another step back. "Well - you know I wouldn't want to disturb you two, if you're busy, do you want to keep on our walk, Ilesyn?" He reaches out, attempting to pluck at Ilesyn's sleeve.
Oriana ponders the wisdom of her shield. There is a makeshift bandage upon her forehead from some injury received earlier. Such evil people they have here. But one could suppose that since the food is good there's a ying and yang to it all. Instead of wanting to cling to the rider she just steps closer to him then cups her hands together and rests them under her chin.
Jalis cheerfully says as she approaches, "Hello folks," She smiles as she glances from face to face, "Nice night out, isn't it?" She comments. Then she sees the tension between C'daer and M'ial and raises her eyebrows, curiosity transfiguring her face. She doesn't comment on it though.
"/Fascinating/," avers Ilesyn, mostly to herself, though her expression is guilty, and she allows herself to be pulled backwards by C'daer's plucking at her sleeve. "It would truly be an interesting thing to study. But I wouldn't. It's still human. Uh-- if you want to, C'daer. If you're uncomfortable about different things."
M'ial raises a brow at C'daer, "Obviously more than -you- are." he shoots back, "No, we wouldn't want to disturb /you/ either." A snort, turning his back on the bronzer, facing Oriana once again. "Sorry about that, Ori. Hello, Jalis."
C'daer glances curtly at Jalis. "If you like rain and chill, I suppose so," he says, and shivers, and backs up another step. "Well, really, Ilesyn. You want me to pretend like I want to snuggle it like M'ial's apparently wanting to do?" He does make that last sentence a -little- quieter.
Jalis replies, voice bland. "Hello M'ial." then she wonders aloud, glancing at Ilesyn and C'daer who appear to be leaving, and then to Oriana and M'ial. "Um, am I interrupting anything here?" This is the first time she gets a really good look at Oriana and she just flat out stares. Polite manners forgotten she blurts, "Great Faranth, what in blazes has happened to you?" Then she hears C'daer's comment, "-IT-? C'daer??? It looks just like a particularly hairy human to me. Not entirely an 'it', right?"
Jalis starts mumbling, "A good shave might work some wonders."
Jalis adds, "Some shears to the rest.."
"No," says Ilesyn, somewhat aghast. "That's a frightful thought, C'daer, and I think it demeans you to have even verbalized it, about yourself or anyone else." The Weyrwoman is given a short, sharp nod of her head, as the brownrider tucks her hands back into her pockets -- apparently, she was going to touch Oriana, before she stepped back.
M'ial blinks again, turning to stare at C'daer. "No, I accept her, period. Think about it, she probably doesn't have any friends /at/ all." Eyes narrow briefly at the bronzer, glancing at Jalis, silent.
With a roll of his eyes, C'daer crosses his arms and replies, "How would you know if it's he or she, except that I assumed it was a she because M'ial was with it? Really." He adds towards M'ial, "Oh, how very self-sacrificing and idealistic." His tongue is a bit sharper than normal - he's rattled.
Jalis suddenly frowns and says, her voice sharp and rebuking, "Just because someone looks different than us, doesn't mean we should insult them, does it?" She eyes her Weyrlingmaster questioningly. "I'm sure with a little work, " she sounds ever so doubtful, "she could look halfway normal." Momentary loss of courtesy when she stared seems to have been pushed asside and forgotten. "It'd just take quite a bit of work, and don't be silly C'daer, obviously it, er she's female."
Oriana just stands there blinking. Lips begin quivering, or more to the point the stream of hair around her lips. She takes a step backwards and then another finally she turns and runs to the safety of some boulder that good to hide behind. From behind the she stares. If they could see the sad look on her face.
"You all scared it," Ilesyn remarks. "That's peculiar. She understood what you were saying, but she-- you said she couldn't understand much, M'ial?"
M'ial shakes his head again at C'daer, "Because her name is Oriana. That's obviously a girl." he answers, "/I/ know what it's like to be completely and utterly alone, like she is." Then he sighs as she runs. "Well, it seems she can understand basic sentences, but she can't speak that much, or she won't. And it doesn't necessarily mean she ran because of what we said."
Jalis just rolls her eyes and sighs. "Where did she come from and how did she get here, is what I'm wondering." She mutters under her breath. "I'm surprised no one reported this to me before now. She should be taken back home where people are familiar with her." Then she looks disgusted, "Oh stop it Ilesyn. Honestly. Use the brains you were given as a healer. A mindhealer. Obviously she understands, and don't you think the words being said here are hurting her feelings? She's human. " Unspoken is the words "I think", but it's obvious from Jalis face the girl couldn't be anything but. Pern doesn't have any kind of primate species other than humans. "I'm surprised at you, honestly, Ilesyn."
"You're lucky we came across her, then," C'daer mutters, half under his breath, "or she probably would have disappeared into his weyr and never been seen again." More loudly, "What I want to know is how in blazes she's ever survived Threadfall. You know what it does when it catches in someone's -normal- hair."
Ilesyn turns back to Jalis, surprised in return. "She seemed to understand very little of what was being said earlier -- and M'ial did /say/ she didn't understand things. She doesn't speak much, either - stumbles over words. /You/ said worse things than I did, if you'll remember. I though leadership was all about tact." C'daer's words are met with a sharp nod of her head -- though perhaps in regards to the latter statement, rather than the former.
Jalis nods her head thoughtfully, "Probably hid out in a cave somewhere I imagine." Then she turns to Ilesyn, "Well, doh. Haven't you ever pretended not to understand someone?" She wonders of the healer turned rider. "She's probably terribly shy and nervous, and not familiar with talking much. Can you imagine looking like that? I'm sure she doesn't get much of any kind of attention. It could be she's not used to talking." She surmises, "Well I don't know though. I'm merely guessing. But whether or not she understands Ilesyn, does that give us a right to say nasty things about someone?"
Oriana slumps down behind her rock and grabs her ankles. Her head bowed down upon her knees. The makeshift bandage is pulled off and flung to the ground in site of the others to see. Bare toes wriggle to burry themselves in the sand.
M'ial narrows his eyes at C'daer as he says his name, "You need a lesson in manners, Bronzerider." Then he just shakes his head, muttering under his breath, "Sometimes he's a really big moron..." He sets off towards the rocks where he last saw Oriana.
"You said it, not me," repeats Ilesyn. "But I honestly don't think she does understand much -- she's very slow, or, as you said, perhaps not used to people, and therefore talking. It menas she may understand parts of what we say, but certainly not all of it." She watches the flung bandage, then shakes her head. "Needs a healer. She should be taken back to the weyr, and dealt with."
C'daer points out the obvious, "She's coverd in -hair-. On her -face-. I mean, am I not allowed to think that's a little bit /weird/?" He rolls his eyes once more, watching M'ial go off. A glance is given to the bandage without though, as he quiets and listens to the exchange between weyrwoman and Ilesyn.
Oriana doesn't budge from her rock. Bits and pieces of the voices drift to her ears. A hand is run under sniffling nose. Quietly she crawls to another rock. Tattered clothing getting even more scuffed up. A few rocks scrape against exposed flesh cutting in to it.
Jalis nods to Ilesyn. "Perhaps so." She considers the prospect, "Ilesyn, as a mindhealer, I would like to request that you try to do your best to assess her intelligence, see if you can help out a little there as far as that goes?" She gives the brownrider a hopeful gaze, "Meanwhile I'll see about getting her cleaned up." She frowns again thoughtfully, "C'daer, of course its strange. I've never heard of such a thing before." She frowns, "Definitely strange. Poor girl. She deserves our compassion and pity, not condemation." She notes, then she glances at Ilesyn, "Oh, and as for my tact, its a well known fact that I often loose my tact by the wayside before I pick it up again. I'm -not- perfect, no matter what I try to convince others of and myself." She grins, sharing this tidbit with Ilesyn.
M'ial goes around the rock, finding Oriana, crouching down, disappearing from view. "Oriana." he gently says, "I'm your friend, okay? I'm not going to hurt you, like I said before." Xinth drops his head not too far from the bronzerider, giving him a half-glare. If dragons can, anyway.
Ilesyn's brows lift, though she makes no more of a comment to Jalis than to agree, "I'll do that, Weyrwoman. Though not until she's at least /slightly/ spruced up." Under her breath, muttered mostly to herself, she adds, "...interesting... other... assignments."
"I think," C'daer says, enunciating carefully, "that I am going to go have three of the largest drinks that the caverns have to offer. And M'ial? You can sharding well stop having your dragonkin do the dirty work of conveying your feelings for you." That said, he glares right back at Xinth, and turns to stalk off back towards the bowl, shaking his head.
C'daer pages: Durrrrr. From afar, Jalis nods. I think she should of mailed first, I'd of told her 'no' but she'd already done it and I didn't feel comfortable telling her 'no' when its technically possible, considering that you 'can't' bread out genetic mutations. But hey, whatever makes her happy. It is just a game, its not like its actually hurting any of us or forcing us to do an action we don't want since we can all ignore her, though that'd be OOCly a bit rude, Icly it'd make sense.
Oriana whimpers softly, looking up to M'ial. She turns about to sit on her rump. Those eyes of hers searching the rider's. In a hurt voice she stutters, "F-F-riend." She nods her head turning that slight frown in to a smile. Her little hand reaches for the rider.
M'ial doesn't even bother to answer C'daer, Xinth snorting in response, watching the rider walk away. M'ial only smiles halfway at Oriana, pausing briefly before taking her hand with his own. "Will you do something for me?"
Jalis nods at Ilesyn, "I'd have to agree with you on that. I think I can smell her from here.. and I don't want to even guess at what that substance is matted in her.. hair."
Ilesyn wrinkles her nose, waving a hand after C'daer - a smirk forming upon her lips, wryly. "Enjoy, C'daer. Meanwhile, we'll do the real work."
C'daer mutters, "And welcome to it," as he hunches up his shoulders and continues on.
C'daer walks off northeastwards to the southwest bowl.
Oriana swallows slightly then gets to her feet. What could this little wafe do for a man like M'ial. She gives questioning glance to the man. Eyes darting briefly to the other beach goers off in the distance.
Jalis turns to M'ial. "M'ial, since she seems so easy with you, why don't you take her to the public baths, get one of the assistant headwoman, give that girl a shave and shear the rest of the hair short on her body so its not quite so thick. That'd get rid of the matting. Actually, you might want to do the cutting first. Some of that looks hopelessly tangled."
M'ial rises up as well, "For me, okay?" he asks, nodding at Jalis, "Uh, sure... She'd already bathed, since I saw her coming in from the water..." A shrug, "But I'll do it." Then he slowly guides Oriana back out.
"She doesn't look clean," notes Ilesyn. "So it definitely needs to be done again."
Jalis nods. "What Ilesyn said, M'ial. She needs all that hair trimmed so short you can barely see it, and I want her face shaved, and her neck so she looks halfway normal." She dictates. "IF she's going to stay here and be taken care of, it'll help if she looks like others, at least somewhat." She is all very businesslike as she makes command decisions.
Oriana follows behind M'ial, perhaps keeping close to his shadow. She nods her head at the man, for him. In her state she just moves along. Her little hand squeezing the man's.
Jalis adds, "And M'ial." Her voice is firm, very firm. "No funny business." She says meaningfully. He better know what she means.
Ilesyn wrinkles her nose. "That really is just a very, very disgusting idea," she proclaims, shaking her head after Oriana and M'ial. "And it's saying something, coming from me."
M'ial just sighs and nods at Jalis, "As you wish." he replies, raising a brow at Jalis. "Not with her, lady. I refuse to prove C'daer right." A wrinkle of his nose at the name, moving to the exit, "I wouldn't go that far, Ilesyn, no further than you."
Jalis turns to Ilesyn then and says "Well lets see how this goes. When you get a chance to talk to her and give her whatever tests you need to, I'd like a report on my desk." She instructs the brownrider. "If you would." Then she chuckles. "Who knows, once all that hair is gone she might look attractive.. but well." She says this in a low voice so that M'ial and Oriana couldn't possibly hear.
Ilesyn inclines her head forward into a sharp nod, responding to Jalis carefully. "I'll do so. A welcome challenge, I think." Her eyes, again, follow the girl as she moves away, head shaking. "I'm not sure about attractive - I'll probably never be able to get her current image out of my head, but... It's possible."
Jalis nods and confesses, "Me either."
Oriana glances up to M'ial then others as they continue to chat. One foot begins to twist in the grains of sand. A meek glimmer of a smile parts her lips just slightly.
M'ial slips out.
Oriana walks off northeastwards to the southwest bowl.
Ilesyn, nose still wrinkled, takes a step forward. "If you'll excuse me, Weyrwoman, I'll go and dig out the tests I'd like to use."
Nallath> M'ial glances at Nallath as he guides Oriana out, "You know, your rider isn't all that, either. And that's something coming from me." he tells the brown before moving on ahead to the Center Bowl.
Jalis nods and says "Please." She smiles at the brownrider, "It looks like it'll be quite the challenge." She nods. "I know you'll do a good job."
Xinth turns his eyes onto Jalis, studying her.
"I hope so," says Ilesyn. "I'd like something challenging to occupy my time. An excellent exercise - a fascinating study, in fact. Good evening."
Posted by Louise at April 19, 2003 10:44 PM