Difference between revisions of "Logs:Honoring Obligations"

Feeding Grounds, High Reaches Weyr Wedged between the lake and the rest of the vast bowl are the dusty feeding grounds. Here, the well-trampled ground is contained by a sturdy wooden fence, cutting right through one end of the lake to section it off into a muddy watering hole for the animals. Several gates allow people in and out, while at the back, large overhangs of rock provide the herd -- a mixed bag of herdbeasts, wing-clipped wherries, and fat porcines -- shelter from storms or the hot sun. What grass survives is usually bloodstained, but feeding troughs are stationed around the edges of the pen.

Warm sunshine and cloudless skies make for a beautiful day and pleasantly warm evening. A breeze tempers the heat with no humidity lingering in the air.

It's quite possibly the best day that High Reaches has seen so far in the new turn: warm sun, blue skies, a delicate breeze fluttering through the bowl - a promise that summer really does exist, and is just around the corner. Soaking up the sunny day is one green weyrling pair in particular; N'ky and Cailluneth are towards the lake end of the feeding grounds, the green lying on the ground with her keen eyes fixed on the herdbeasts, while N'ky sits contemplatively on a rock, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and his chin cupped in his hand.

A day without the pile of dead animals that the gardener calls a coat is a day worth exploring parts of the bowl unseen, and so it's with a smile that Bones wanders from his usual lakeshore path towards the meatfactory of the feeding grounds. That's when the smell hits him. Blood, trampled muddy earth, and of course plenty of beast feces. Even in the open air of the bowl it's a powerful wall of funk that more sensative nostrils need to adjust to, and it's in that moment of pause that there's notice of a familiar profile sitting on a rock. Well, that's certainly a more pleasent alternative. "Nicky!" The pre-weyrling name is shouted with a cupped hand as Bones makes his approach.

Cailluneth's head whips around to watch Bones, eyes whirling with curious green. She flexes her wings, then her paws, digging her claws feline-like into the earth before her before she settles and returns to watching those animals that will, undoubtedly, be her lunch soon enough. She's bigger than they are now, if only by length - and, lengthwise, she's now longer than N'ky is tall. The sound of his former name has the weyrling looking up, though of course he can't help but know who the voice belongs to. "Hello, sir," he replies with shy enthusiasm, a blush already colouring his cheeks as he smiles crookedly. "H-have you, um, met Cailluneth?" He knows the two haven't met since he's purposely not gone near the greenhouse in the past two months.

Bones approaches Cailluneth as one would approach any foreign wild animal, hands in pockets and slowly so as to appear as unthreatening as possible. He knows little of dragons. "You kiddin'? Course I know Calli. Me and her hang out all the time!" There's no sarcasm in his tone, but the absurdity of it alone should make it clear as comedy. "Congratulations, by the way. On the whole... y'know." One hand is tugged free, and he points to the small green. "What's she like?"

There's no danger from the tubby green, who is far more interested in the herdbeasts. N'ky slips down off his rock and grins hugely at Bones, stepping around Cailluneth to stand in front of the man with a look of absolute pride about hi. He reaches for his dragon's nearest headknob, tracing fingers along its length before scritching at the base. "How d-dare she sneak off behind my back," he teases in return. "Thanks, Bones. She's... oh, Faranth. She's my world. My heart. She's everything amazing and even then that's not enough - she's... p-perfection." And she's maybe good enough to ease his stutter a bit too, as the teen's certainly tripping over fewer words. "How have you been? I'm, um, sorry I h-haven't... I c-couldn't come by, not with her, and... um..." He trails into awkward silence, hoping a smile might make up for what he's struggling to say.

There's a moment where Bones' smile fades at N'ky's heartfelt explanation of the green, the sudden intensity of his love radiating off of the greenrider and surprising Bones. "Whoa. Sounds intense." He scratches the back of his neck and looks at Cailluneth with a raised eyebrow. Really, all that for this little lizard? He can't help but chuckle. Dragonriders man, dragonriders. "Me?" He has to stop and ponder it, wanting to give a genuine answer. "Good, actually!" The stumbling and silence are familiar to Bones, and so he moves to fill it as he always does. "Hey, don't you worry. I get it. Y'got a responsibility to your dragon right?" A heavy hand reaches out to pat N'ky a few times on the shoulder. "Ain't my first time bein' a bad influence! Ha!"

"It is k-kinda intense, but in the best way." N'ky grins fondly at his lifemate, a smile that he turns to the gardener when he's patted on the shoulder. "I'm g-glad you're keeping well, sir." He returns the shoulder-pat with a far more resitant touch to the man's forearm, grinning shly as he does it. The weyrling is about to say something when he's interrupted by Cailluneth growling and getting to her feet, wings - all 11 feet plus of the span of them - flaring out wide as she bugles loudly to a blue descending from the skies above to make his kill. N'ky cringes, eyes closed as he suddenly breathes heavier, more staggered; the sort of breaths taken when trying not to throw up. His fingers, still lingering on Bones' forearm, tighten there briefly - just long enough for him to realise what he's doing before he pulls his hand away with an apologetic little wave.

That look of partial confusion returns at the sudden cry from the green, and the reaction it puts into N'ky, eyes darting down to the grip at his forearm. When it's all over with, the smile comes back, though a touch smaller. "Like I said, sounds intense. Heh." His tone belies a touch of concern. "You okay? Seems like Callie got you a little messed up there."

N'ky swallows hard, possibly even hard enough for it to be heard, before he turns his head and spits. Cailluneth's wings are tucked back to her sides by now, but she paces restlessly back and forth in between the pens, where the blue is enjoying his meal, and where N'ky stands with Bones. The weyrling teen draws a deep breath, then gives the gardener a tiny shake of his head - a dismissive sort of shake. "F-fine." Only the sudden chalkiness of his complexion and the dampness to his eyes suggests otherwise. "She's just keen. She, um, l-likes to share... taste. H-have you ever had a mouthful of blood, sir?" The way he says it suggests he knows what the answer is; N'ky turns his head and spits again, this time rubbing the back of his fist over his mouth.

There's a small wince as Bones gets a better understanding of the mental link, and imagines somebody magically putting blood in his mouth. "Yeah, I have." There's no need for further explanation, and mostly Bones just looks sympathetic. "So... that's it then? Y'just gotta suffer through whatever she shares with you even if it's all nasty?" Now the glance for the green is a touch annoyed.

A gentle shrug of N'ky's shoulders answers that question well enough. "I... g-guess so? But she's still a baby, sir - she might grow out of it. And, um, I might grow used to it." Though the frown that tugs down the corners of his mouth says the latter's not quite so likely. "Everything else is j-just amazing though, sir. I can put up with this one thing, um, f-for her sake, and it's just b-because she's excited... she'll g-get to kill this month though, so I'm hoping it'll ease up a bit."

Bones gives an exaggerated exhale through parted lips, his cheeks puffing out in the process. He's not without empathy, and he has it in spades for N'ky. "I'd be worried if you start to get used to having blood in your mouth, kid. I mean I like my meat rare but there's limits eh?" He'd give a playful shove to N'ky if not for the sudden weakness the greenrider wears on his face, and he decides to keep his mitts to himself.

"It's alright, though," N'ky says with a reassuring nod to the older man, giving him a gentle elbowing. "It's just that it's r-really sudden when she does it, and it's like I c-can, um, f-feel it like..." He takes a deep breath as his frown deepens, then he shrugs it off. "Back h-home, I watched a c-couple of times when they would, um, s-slaughter the ovines or caprines, t-to eat, y'know?" A finger's drawn across his neck, mimicking death by bleeding out. "And, um, the blood f-from that..." He trails off, eyes going glassy. "It reminds me of that." Cailluneth raises up on her hind legs, calling out to the blue again; this time she gets a response, which seems to excite her more.

"Well, I guess-" He's cut off me Cailluneth's cry, his shoulders bunching up just a little at the sudden shriek. When it concludes, Bones recovers smoothly. "Well I guess this is just kinda normal for dragonriders right? Dealing with having another voice in your head? I mean you say it's awesome, every dragonrider says it's awesome, but... man." He moves to rub the back of his neck as he looks out to the blue, then down at Cailluneth. "I'm bettin' I couldn't handle it." A pause for self-reflection before turning back up to N'ky with a smile. "So how's that feel eh? Knowin' y'got the mental fortitude that an old man like me can't muster eh? Y'think you're better than me, dragonrider? Y'wanna throw down y'little bitch?" His grin widens, and now he'll put his palms to N'ky's chest in a gentle push.

N'ky glances at Cailluneth, concentrating for a moment, before he turns his attention back to Bones."O-oh, sir, she's... she's not quite a voice. Cailluneth doesn't speak so much. She... suggests, I guess is the best word for it? It's h-hard to describe, but, um, she sees everything as colours. Even scents - even you. You're..." His eyes close as he connects to the green, before he nods in confirmation. "S-sort of... loamy. Like the earth in the greenhouse. It's a g-good colour, sir." And then he's being pushed! That surprises N'ky even if it is gentle, but once he's got himself together he reaches up to push the gardener back - maybe a little stronger, but no less playful. Whether or not he's better isn't commented on; N'ky just bites down on his lip and grins silly-like for being bold enough to actually push Bones,

Bones shifts one of his legs back at the impact to his chest, just enough force to it to throw him slightly off balance out of sheer surprise. Did N'ky just push him? Blushing, stuttering, lip-biting N'ky? "You just pushed me!" He calls attention to it with a grin. "Is Callie putting a little backbone in you all of a sudden?" His stance returns to normal, and he slips his hands back into his pockets. "Hehe, I like it."

"N-no-one's called her Callie before," N'ky grins, this time prodding a finger against Bones' chest; there's more where that push came from! "I've always h-had a little, um, b-backbone, sir... I just keep it to myself." He shrugs good-naturedly, slipping his hands into his pockets and taking a step towards the gardener. "Um, s-sir? D-did you know th-that, um, a g-greenrider comes with, um, c-certain... obligations?"

"I think it suits her." Bones glances over at Cailluneth with a smile, but has his attention brought back with a finger at his chest, just in time for N'ky to close a bit of the distance. "Yeah? What kinda obligations are those?" He's curious, though speaking in a bit of a softer tone thanks to the new proximity.

"Um... o-obligations th-that I'd... I-I'd like you t-to maybe, um, h-help me fulfil." N'ky sounds more like his old self as he's gripped by nerves. His cheeks flush darkly and he drops his gaze to his toes, while Cailluneth sidles up to his side and snorts a breath at Bones. She then leans in to press her muzzle to him, breathing his scent deeply. "F-Faranth, sir, I'm g-going to have to go... sh-she's... Cailluneth's h-hungry, sit." But he doesn't turn away just yet; lingering, perhaps, for Bones's response.

Bones takes note of N'ky's slow transition back into the shy creature he was the last time they had spoke, but stays dense to the details. "You'd like... me?" A blink, then another. What exactly was Bones good for? He remains sadly uncertain. "Well kid, just ask me plain and sweet and I'll be happy to help." It's Cailluneth's sudden curiosity that leaves Bones even more confused than he was before. "When you gotta go you gotta go. But you know where to find me. Y'know, when you've got the time, eh?" And when his corrupting influence is less of a concern.

"I-I'll come find you," N'ky promises, reaching out to curl fingers gently around Bones' upper arm. They trail softly down rather than lifting straight off, while the green weyrling looks hopeful that it might go a little way to helping the man understand what he was asking for. "N-not now though, sir, sh-she's... she's too young. B-but later... i-if you could - if you'd like to... I-I would... um..." Flustered doesn't even begin to describe it, and N'ky bites down on his lip, looking away at the pens. "It's n-not really a good time f-for me to be, um, thinking about it."

The smile starts innocent enough, but as N'ky reaches, and the touch lingers, Bones rather suddenly gets a better idea of what N'ky is talking about. "Oh... oh!" Is that what a green rider is obligated to do? He needs to get friendly with more greenriders then. "Don't worry. I get it. Don't wanna make it harder for you." There's a pause, and Bones' smile tightens up as he thinks on the double meaning. "Callie comes first." With that last affirmation, Bones glances over his shoulder back to the lakeshore, giving a small smile to himself. "I think I'm gonna try and get a swim in while the weather's still good. You take care of yourself Nicky." One last smile for the future greenrider, as he says his goodbyes with one more playful shove at N'ky's shoulder, then heads on his way.

Comments

Azaylia (Dragonshy (talk)) left a comment on Wed, 03 Apr 2013 21:11:50 GMT.

< Awww! I DEMAND BONES HANGS OUT WITH MORE BABY DRAGONS! And it really cracks me up with how little he cares about dragons, and what it's like to be a rider. And N'ky is so cute when he's talking about his bond with Cailluneth. ...well, except for the blood. x3

K'zin (Wakizian (talk)) left a comment on Thu, 04 Apr 2013 06:02:37 GMT.

< Ahahahaha. That was awesome.