Difference between revisions of "Logs:Unlost"

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.

The air is chill and small flurries fall from the sky to add to the layers of snow from days past. It's bleak but beautiful.

Who can blame a Monocoan for shivering in 'Reaches winter? As X'vae stands outside the fence of the feeding grounds, watching Izazeth skim low across the grounds. "Well, it's got to be one of them, so go on and pick and eat. I don't suppose any of them have much to look forward to on life beyond the next meal," his tone is conversational and good humored and whatever response his lifemate has to offer is one that brings a smile to his lips. If it weren't so cold, it might just seem a perfect day!

And in dives Savroveth to panic and scatter the herd as he lands on one beast in particular with a bugle of epic awesomeness. Hunting is great. It's a few more minutes before Jadzia is there to yell at the brown, "Every fucking time, Sav! Stop doing that!" Clearly this is a dainty and delicate woman yelling across the pens at her seemingly oblivious lifemate.

Izazeth pulls up short to avoid (probably unlikely) collision with the brown, snorting his surprise. He lands rather than makes a kill, wings ruffling uneasily. What strange new being is this? Clearly, he's seen brown dragons before, but... He stares at Savroveth with open curiosity. "Zaz," X'vae sighs when the blue delays his hunt in favor of this new intellectual pursuit. The bluerider might be slightly less excited about such delays with the snow falling, his gloved hands finding their way into his pockets before his light-blue-today eyes find the brownrider. "Afternoon," he greets her with a broad smile. Maybe he'd do the same for any brownrider, or maybe he only does it because she's pretty and swears like a sailor.

Bro! This is Savroveth's kill and he's definitely not sharing. Which is obviously the only reason another dragon would ever show any interest in another dragon while they're chewing on their prey. It's possibly even more interesting because the young brown is just about as big as the full grown blue at this point. Since her lifemate isn't doing anything stupid right this second, however, Jadzia's free to glance over at X'vae's greeting. "Hey, handsome," she offers with her own easy smile.

That greeting sparks a laugh from the bluerider, a bright thing just as easy as his smile. "X'vae," he offers, or perhaps, corrects. "Call me handsome one too many times and it'll go to my head." The man offers over his gloved hand, a great gesture given the temperature. Izazeth, for his part, doesn't seem to be interested in Savroveth's kill so much as the brown himself. Does Sav mind being watched? Zaz wouldn't be deterred, but he might just say hello.

Jadzia moves closer to take that hand with her own, definitely not delicate, but not trying to prove anything, either. "I can't say I mind a big head all that much, X'vae," she tells him, gaze flicking down toward the head she's probably talking about. But her own smile is teasing and her eyes come back up to meet his as she says, "Jadzia. And that idiot out there is Savroveth." And that idiot does not mind being watched at all, evidently. He'll even share some of the top-shelf celebratory whiskey of his presence with Izazeth in honor of this awesome catch.

Izazeth might sniff, gauge for color and age and otherwise examine the presence, but there's no sense of immediately partaking in it. His curiosity is the essence of his touch, suffused with warmth and more than a touch of the genuine. Jadzia's words have Izazeth's rider blushing, as though he were a hold boy! "A woman who knows what she wants. I can respect that," Silver Lining Man Strikes Again! X'vae turns his eye out toward the brown, probably noticing the size of the dragon in comparison to his own, "Weyrling, yeah?" A glance to her knot confirms that. "Heard you lot got your weyrs not long ago, liking it alright?"

The way Jadzia catches her bottom lip in her teeth is probably unconscious, amused by his blushing. "I'm not sure I'd go that far," she admits. She may be a bold creature, but knowing what she wants could be pushing it a little. "Weyrling, yes. New weyr, yes. Best thing that's come out of this whole experience, I'd say." She says it too genuinely. Even Savroveth pauses to look over at his rider with an audible snort. « Please. » That's directed at his rider but open to the blue, as well. Jadzia ignores the brown, though, adding, "I have my own bath. It's pretty sweet."

« That can't be, can it? » Izazeth looks as startled as his rider and then confusion rules the man's expression as he looks at the woman. "You're... joking," X'vae is making a guess but sounds wholly uncertain. His blue-today eyes flick toward the dragon; obviously Savroveth is really the best thing to come out of 'this whole experience', right? Mustn't it be so? He looks uneasily to his blue who seems as genuinely puzzled.

« Of course not. » Savroveth is confident in this. So confident that it probably doesn't even matter what Jadzia thinks because he'll just think that anyway. But she says, "Of course I'm joking. Mostly. It is a really nice weyr." Compared to what she was always used to, especially. "But I wouldn't have it if not for him. I wouldn't be here at all." She has a stupidly fond smile on her face for a moment. It's not something many people see very often because it disappears almost as quickly as it shows up. "I'd love to give you a tour sometime."

That confidence puts Izazeth at ease, believing it readily. X'vae, too, seems glad to break into a smile. "Funny," not, but he'll pretend. "A tour of the Weyr? I'd be in your debt," which he has to pause after saying because it's a turn of phrase but-- quickly, he moves on. "I'm still not used to all these tunnels. Keep getting turned around when I try to go anywhere."

It's completely hilarious. But, while Jadzia hesitates for a moment, she doesn't correct him from what she'd probably only intended as a tour of her weyr. "I can probably share my own tricks for finding my way. Maybe they'll help you, too. But no promises." She glances back toward her dragon, who is still stuffing his face into the belly of a herdbeast. "Shall we leave these guys to it?"

"I'd be much obliged." There he goes again. X'vae can't seem to help himself from the polite phrases that could get him in trouble later. There's a nod for leaving and then he's turning to gesture, "Lead the way, Jadzia." If he were a holder, maybe he'd off his arm, but that comes less innately to the weyrbred. "Eat," is his firm instruction to the blue, who looks at him but doesn't seem to commit to anything.

Even though Jadzia is a holder, she was never one of the ones that every had an overabundance of manners and good graces. "I'm gonna take a wild guess and assume you're new to Reaches," she says as they turn and she starts to lead the bluerider off across the bowl toward the caverns. "It gets pretty easy. And it's nice inside when it's not so nice out here. I've always kind of liked when it's cold and snowy outside."

"Transfer from Monaco," X'vae confirms with a nod of his head. "Not long ago." Clearly a short enough time to still be getting lost, or maybe his sense of direction just sucks. "I'm a fan," he says of the weather, "Snow has always been great so far as I'm concerned, though I've not seen much of it in recent turns. "Are you from the Weyr originally?"

"The Weyr? No." Jadzia almost sounds disappointed. "I'm from Crom, I guess. I wasn't born there, but I lived there for a long time. Similar weather. I didn't like the cold and snow there much, though." This realization makes her go quiet for a few moments. "Are you from Monaco originally? I've never actually visited there. But I plan on traveling more once we're set on the whole between thing. He makes me kind of nervous." If anyone who actually knew her heard Jadzia make that nervous, sort of flirty little laugh, they'd probably wonder if she was feeling okay.

X'vae is an easy person to be around, for most people. Maybe he has a sense of when to let there be silence, the comfortable sort, and when to speak. He doesn't fill the first gap, but to the laugh he smiles warmly, "Betweening is..." He's trying to come up with something less intimidating to say than what he does, "Well, it is a big deal, that can't be gotten around, but what about him makes you nervous?" Don't change what can't be changed, look at the rest. "I am from Monaco," he confirms. "It's a lovely place, really." For a moment, that makes him sad and it shows in his briefly troubled look, but a clearing of his throat later and the congenial look is back in place, if a little less vibrant than before.

"He... exaggerates. A lot. I worry he'll have the same tendency with picturing places, I guess. I don't think I've ever been so scared about anything." Which would be saying something if she pointed out some of the things she's been scared of in the past. But she doesn't because that's not polite conversation. Jadzia glances at the bluerider as he talks about Monaco and seems to realize it might be a touchy subject, so all she returns is a smile and a lame, "It sounds really nice. But you'll like it here."

"Is there any way you can think of to motivate him to do it exactly?" The bluerider asks thoughtfully. It's not, evidently a problem he faces with his lifemate but he's trying! X'vae's smile gains back some of it's warmth. "I already do. What's not to like?"

"Probably tell him that we won't be able to go between if he can't get it right. I'm not taking that sort of risk unless he's perfect. And I don't care if that means being a weyrling forever. I don't think he'd like that." Jadzia probably wouldn't, either, but the brown is obviously way more important to her than she'd suggested he was earlier. The last from the bluerider makes her smile brighten. "Not a thing. I think it even makes you appreciate the nicer weather more when you can find it."

"Sounds like good motivation to me." X'vae is encouraging with that easy smile of his. "Anywhere in particular you're looking forward to betweening to, once you can?" Besides Monaco, since they've already verbally visited that point. "Maybe somewhere tropical to appreciate the weather?" His smile has turned a little teasing, regarding the other blonde side-long.

It takes her a moment, but Jadzia says, "Ista, I guess. Or just some secluded beach somewhere. But there's a guy who told me he'd take me to all the best bars once Sav could between, so I'm kind of looking forward to that." A moment later, she adds teasingly, "Maybe you could come with me. To the beach, I mean."

"The best bars, huh." X'vae considers this with some small measure of amusement. "It is quite a thing, to be able to travel for the first time. I think a lot of us start to take it for granted after a time. I love beaches. Do you surf?" He doesn't sound like he's kidding; he sounds excited.

"I've never been to a real beach. Not where you could surf, anyway. So, no. But I like to try things before deciding whether I actually like them or not, usually." Usually. As the weyrling finally leads X'vae into the caverns, she notes, "You shouldn't take it for granted. I hope I never do. The possibility of having that freedom is one of the reasons I wanted to Stand in the first place."

"I'll teach you, if you like it." X'vae offers, smile widening to a grin. "It's not for the faint of heart though. You swim well?" This, it seems, is important. He pauses to stomp his boots before he tracks too much snow into the caverns because he's just that kind of nice guy. "I imagine I do more than I should. Izazeth never does, though. It helps to remind me." He considers a moment, "Why else did you stand?" He asks then, since it's only 'one' of the reasons.

"Really?" Jadzia looks at X'vae, both surprised and curious. "I like to think I'm okay. I've never drowned, anyway." That's probably supposed to be a joke. But she seems to realize it's not a very good one and moves on quickly, "I needed a change. A big change. I didn't really count on finding... him. But now that I have him, it doesn't feel like any of my reasons are all that important anymore, I guess."

The bluerider's look is earnest and there's a nod; yes, he's really offering to teach her. "It's the least I can do for having found so willing a tour guide." X'vae's smile is still warm, still there. "Really?" The emphasis is interest, not judgment. It's his turn to ask the single word question, though in relation to Savroveth and her reasons not in relation to surfing. "And what did you plan to do if you hadn't found him? Or he hadn't found you, or you each other," he's willing to entertain all three as distinct possibilities.

"I'm not sure I believe that's a fair trade. But I guess it's a decent start." Jadzia doesn't say which side she thinks it's unfair for, however. Maybe she just assumes it's obvious. "I had plans for someone to take me to another Weyr. If I hadn't found him there, I'd go on to the next." She was pretty set on the Impression thing, evidently.

"Well, I suppose that really depends on how difficult you are to teach," X'vae counters, apparently having decided extended surf lessons must be what she means by unfair. His tone is teasing, but lightly so. "So the dragon was more important than the where of the Weyr?" He considers that. "I only ever Stood at Monaco. But I Stood a time before the time Izazeth shelled. Fortunate for you that Savroveth was there your first time out. Fortunate for me too, else we wouldn't be here." Wherever here is.

"I'm a pretty quick study," she'll allow with a grin, pointing down a particular hallway and giving a quick rundown of what's that way before continuing. "If I'd been less in a hurry, I'd probably have preferred Savroveth found me somewhere else, actually. There's some history here." That, perhaps, would have been better left avoided, presumably. Jadzia adds quickly, "I am fortunate, though. I used to get really anxious about whether I'd find him at all no matter how many Weyrs I went to. Do you know what you would have done if you hadn't found Izazeth?"

"History, huh? The bad kind?" X'vae asks, leaving it tactfully vague, but not missing the mention. "I'd've been a healer, like my mother. She Stood too. But no lifemate for her." The bluerider shrugs. "I was looking forward to being a healer, actually. Not that I mind being a rider, but even after, once we were settled in the wing, my mother kept teaching me. I wasn't, of course, as good a student once I had wing responsibilities to fulfill as well, but I'm glad I kept up with it. It comes in handy from time to time."

Jadzia has to give that just a bit of thought before saying, "The complicated kind." Obviously nothing some strange man wants to hear about. Especially not when she continues on like she's genuinely impressed, "Oh, wow. That would be useful. I'll have to keep that in mind." That must be a nice thought, new acquaintances filing you away for future use.

If not nice, at least amusing. "Do you often find yourself in need of healer's services? Mind that I'm probably the equivalent of a senior apprentice. Qualified only enough to mess something up very badly. And to give sponge baths." X'vae's smile is teasing.

"Not terribly often. More often than I'd like, I think. But nothing major, usually. And you should be careful who you tell about sponge baths. A girl might start wanting proof of these things." Jadzia is, of course, teasing right back. And once they come to another landmark of the caverns, she says something helpful about that, too.

X'vae laughs, "Well, sounds to me like this girl doesn't need a sponge bath, given that she's got her very own private bath." The transfer grins at the weyrling. "But I promise if you're ever in genuine need, I'll come, bucket and sponge in hand." He shifts, looking where she's indicated and once they're moving again he asks, "So what did you do, before?" Before Savroveth.

Jadzia grins while she complains, "I guess that depends on your definition of genuine need." But she doesn't push that because she's trying this new thing where she's nice without making it about what she usually makes it about. "I trained runners. And canines. Mostly runners."

"Runners and canines," X'vae processes, "Sounds like interesting work, was it?" It's the first of many mundane questions that don't lack any genuine interest as the pair of riders walk and talk getting to know each other and the Weyr. Perhaps after this, the transfer will get a little less lost and one day, the brownrider will get her surfing lessons.