Logs:Strange Stranger
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| RL Date: 16 December, 2014 |
| Who: Farideh, J'taryn, Njebrith |
| Involves: High Reaches Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: Farideh finally meets a familiar face. Njebrith thinks she's interesting, but not necessarily interesting. |
| Where: Western Bowl, High Reaches Weyr |
| When: Day 20, Month 7, Turn 36 (Interval 10) |
| Weather: 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. |
| Mentions: F'rain/Mentions, Teoma/Mentions |
| OOC Notes: J'taryn by K'zin. |
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| Included for giggles
The bowl's vast dirt floor extends in a rough oval from west to east, only sparse clumps of grass surviving between the crisscrossed pathways of daily traffic. To the northwest stand massive gates to the world beyond, allowing people, livestock, and tithes to pass beneath some of the seven jagged spires that stand sentinel over that area of the bowl. In late afternoons, their spindly, fingerlike shadows stretch over that end of the bowl all the way to the living cavern's hulking brass doors in the far north. Eastward, the bowl sprawls on toward the lake, sloping slightly downward to allow runoff from rain and snowmelt, but to the south it's caged by more cliffs of dark, rough-cut granite. Rocks poke up from the ground here, a few large boulders and many smaller outcroppings worn smooth in spots by time and use. A few ground weyr entrances dot the wall, the most frequented ledge set up like a patio while the largest ledge services the Weyrleaders' complex, directly beside the huge entrance to the hatching sands. A more human-sized entrance, left of that, leads to the galleries. 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.
Afternoons are for high tea and socials - or, in Farideh's case, chatting amiably with a couple dragonriders in the warm sunlight afforded High Reaches' bowl. She is talking comfortably and animatedly, or that is until those riders have to take their leave; she waves them off and wanders in the opposite direction, seemingly on an uncertain course that brings her closer to Njebrith and his rolling stone. Her eyes happen to lift, from skimming the ground in front of her feet, and espy the bronze; it's enough to stop her in her tracks. Head tilting to the side, her brow puckers as she watches his aimless actions. When Farideh's head lifts, Njebrith is already looking at her. He does so, oddly staring for a moment before dipping his head to nudge the stone again and then moves to sit atop it like he might be a hen roosting on a treasured egg, his head gliding down in a sinuous pattern toward the brunette until his big wedged head is impolitely at her level and already beginning to encroach on appropriate personal space. Njebrith seems to have some boundary issues. Being that she now lives in a Weyr and dragons are normal, a dragon being in her space isn't a new experience, but it's this dragon and his manner that has the brunette taking a step back, leaning away with a frown. "Er, hello?" Farideh finally puts a voice to her greeting, standing there awkwardly, since, obviously, the dragon cannot speak for himself; no rider in view, no response forthcoming. What's a dragon to do? In Njebrith's case, it's to huff a hot, meaty breath in her direction. This is probably not good manners, given that his very tall rider is sprinting out of a nearby opening, shouting, "For Faranth's sake, Jeb!" He must have come some distance at quite a clip because when he arrives close enough to lay a hand with an audible 'thwap' that can't possibly hurt so large a creature, he seems to have to leave it there while he catches his breath, blue eyes coming up to find Farideh. His look is guilty, "Sorry he's been troubling you, miss." Nevermind that this can't be the first time Farideh's seen J'taryn, since he seems to just be around sometimes, never so direct as to speak to her, but in Snowasis sometimes when she's there, passing through the baths where the laundry is situated, and so on. Just around. The meaty breath is met with mild protest, a hand coming up to cover her nose and mouth. Hazel eyes shoot accusingly at the bronze, then flick towards the rider once he appears, if out of breath. "Mm," is all she manages, at first, from behind her hand, until Farideh removes it from her lips. "It's fine, just-" She continues to frown at the dragon, which quickly transfers into a frown at his lifemate. "You look-" with an intense stare, "familiar." "Do I?" It's not a great line, though J'taryn does manage to blink at Farideh as if trying to place her face. "Yeah, actually, you do too." Now that he thinks about it. He glances up to the dragon. "Head, up," he directs, to which the bronze rumbles protest and inches his head up, "Farther," a little more, "Jeb." This is a gentle scold. The dragon sighs and lifts his head up as high as it can go and then peers back down. The blonde rider shakes his head. "Sorry, the dragons-- the Igen ones--" like his, "-are all a little itchy since the clutch was laid. The gold egg and all. They're always looking for hopefuls." He excuses the behavior. "I'm J'taryn, by the way. This is Njebrith." He does offer his hand in case she'd like to take it, even if it might be a little sweaty from his sprint. Farideh blinks right back at him, holding her hands a little stiffly; his apologies by way of clutch and dragons of little relief. "I'd heard that there was a clutch, but good for them," she says simply, without revealing any further emotion, and keeping her expression as wary of the rider as she is of the dragon - both of them. "Farideh." She supplies her name politely, staring at the offending hand before fitting hers within his much larger one and giving it a loose shake. Notably, she does wipe hers off after; sweat and all. "Hello, Njebrith," as she shifts her attention to the larger of the two, up-up-up, and her head cranes backwards to view the pale bronze. "Yeah, well, you know, F'rain might be young and all, but Cavdrianth's proven to sire a respectable clutch for us, and with a gold egg..." Who's going to complain? Not J'taryn anyway, though he can't have more than a handful of turns on the new Igen Weyrleader. "Anyway. Search, very exciting." And yet J'taryn doesn't seem to be about to extend Farideh an offer to hop on a dragon with him just now. The bronzerider must see the hand wipe but he doesn't look offended. His hands move to perch lightly on his hips now. "Well, well met, Farideh." He looks at the brunette and then the silence settles a little awkwardly. "Isn't F--" a not-so-clever stumble wherein she rubs her palms down the front of her pants, "Cavdrianth not Igen clutched?" Farideh does wrap her arms together, here, crossed over her chest in a protective gesture. "Yes, I'm sure it is. Just another reason to disturb uninterested women," the girl accuses, but rocks back on her heels, a reticence present though her tone is lightly condescending. "I guess." That's all she mutters, allowing the silence to settle like a blanket over them while she's still giving J'taryn that uneasy stare of hers. "Yes. He's from Benden," J'taryn offers. His manner isn't one that fits the typical bronzerider mold so well, beyond the broad shoulders and good looks; it's quiet, unassuming and the answer is therefore offered simply. It is what she asked, and no more. "I--" He seems all the more uncertain for the brunette's accusation, rocking back on his own heels before taking a half step back toward his dragon. "It's not... I don't get much say in who Njebrith looks at. I got here as quickly as I could. I'm sorry if it caused you delay or distress." He seems genuine enough in this. "We won't keep you," is his next, which at least should save them from weird stares back and forth and a whole lot of nothing to say. "C'mon, Jeb. Why don't we-- uh, go... over there." He suggests a random direction that's out of Farideh's path. "Benden," the word, like a question, is considered for the barest of minutes, and then she's giving the bronzerider a startled stare that encompasses his dragon too. It's a sentiment that switches easily into wariness again, her eyes tugging to the side as she regards the pair. "Are you even here for search? You don't," her eyes rake the man from head to toe, "look like a searchrider, and don't they usually ask people to stand?" Farideh's eyes flick up to J'taryn's face, where they remain, and she can stare at him with that selfsame apprehension. She is overlooking their hasty exit. J'taryn stops; Njebrith doesn't, but only because he hasn't noticed yet that his rider has. The man turns back toward the woman. "I-- Well, Search really happens a lot less formally for some. I mean, it's not like this is a Hold where we have to stand on ceremony to find candidates, and even thirteen eggs being respectable doesn't, well, we won't probably have more than forty or so, maybe so many as sixty with the gold egg and all. It's not like the old days with clutches of thirty and forty eggs all needing lifemates at once." His brow furrows as he looks at her, trying to understand. "Do you want to Stand at Igen?" He asks only after a few moments of trying to puzzle it out himself. For the first time since they introduced themselves, Farideh listens. She is still listening when he asks her if she wants to stand at Igen; it takes her longer than it should to pull herself from her silence to defense, instantaneously flushing in the apples of her cheeks. "No," with a step backwards, away, "I don't want to. I couldn't want anything less." She jerks her focus away, to the dragon who's still ambling away despite his rider's position. "But there's probably someone here who does." "I'm sure, but I'm not a Weyrleader to simply grant a Search to someone because they want it." J'taryn seems both confused and a little taken aback by the idea. "All I can do is offer to those that Jeb finds interesting." He glances back toward the bronze who does stop now, and who helpfully bounds back past the rider to stop just short (by dragon standards) of Farideh to look at her again. It seems like interest, doesn't it? A whispery sigh leaves Farideh's lips, but her eyes continue to follow the bronze, this time back the way he came as he comes to a rest to look at her. "What's he doing?" she asks, forehead creased, and finally returns her puzzled gaze to J'taryn. It might seem that J'taryn isn't paying attention to Farideh in this moment. It's because he isn't. "Huh?" is asked before her words actually make their way into his occupied mind. "Oh, he's just-- looking at you. Sorry. I can tell him to stop, if you want?" He's already moving to lay his hands back on the bronze which seems to do more for communicating what J'taryn wants of him than words alone. Frustration makes its mark on the girl's face. "It's strange. You're strange. He's strange," Farideh says with another set of steps backwards; however this meeting was supposed to go, it isn't. She's found their not-search to be dissatisfying, apparently. For whatever reason, that seems to make J'taryn smile a small, wry smile. "Funny you should say so. As it happens, when you Stand, they don't promise you a normal dragon. Actually, he was supposed to be a blue or a green." But who wouldn't trade up? The look the Igen man gives his dragon has unhidden affection, "Still. Even when he makes me crazy, I wouldn't trade him for anything on Pern." Not even a certain someone's blonde sister! "For whatever it's worth, he thinks you're interesting," which isn't to say interesting, necessarily. The bronzerider is moving to take hold of the straps and climb up without offering the brunette further explanation. Sympathy does not come easily to the brunette, or at all, since Farideh is too busy giving him a disdainful stare rather than listening to his spiel about Impression and lifemates. She looks the slightest bit relieved when he moves to mount the bronze and, thusly, leave. "Well met, or whatever," she repeats cheerfully, offering him a flip of her hand that's supposed to suffice as a wave; then, she sets off again towards the lower caverns, dismissing the bronze and his strange rider. |
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