Logs:AU: Dissonance
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| RL Date: 25 April, 2016 |
| Who: Jocelyn |
| Involves: High Reaches Weyr |
| Type: Vignette |
| What: It's luckier to Impress on one's first try than, say, the fifth, right? |
| Where: High Reaches Weyr |
| When: Day 8, Month 12, Turn 28 - Turn 39 (Interval 10) |
| Mentions: Azaylia/Mentions, Farideh/Mentions, Irianke/Mentions, Iolene/Mentions, K'del/Mentions, Quinlys/Mentions |
| OOC Notes: A product of NyQuil, 'what-if' and a mashup of allusions. |
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| The lub-dub of Jocelyn's heart almost overpowered the voices and cheers from the galleries as she shuffled out onto the sands, blue-gray eyes wide. It was one thing entirely to pass by the hatching grounds and wonder what it was like, really like to fulfill the tradition of standing for the eggs, to see if dragonriding might be a life that would choose her. It was another thing to be one of several, young and fresh faces in the white-robed group of hopefuls with all of Pern watching while she took her place among her peers, unable to keep from staring at the trembling eggs, at Ysavaeth and Cadejoth (so large!). Alone and yet, not alone, fourteen-turn-old Jocelyn felt as if her feet had grown roots that entrenched themselves firmly beneath the sand under them. Impressions, fast and furious, took people from her field of view every few blinks. Somehow, she found the wherewithal to move when dragons barreled in her direction, however briefly, squeezing her eyes shut when Ysavaeth's tawny daughter came into contact with - and apparently Impressed! - Azaylia. There was some relief there, too; she hadn't even started to think about what that Impression could have meant for her. Maybe, she thought with a sinking little gulp as the number of eggs dwindled, she had agreed to this for all the wrong reasons. Was it worth the chance of a physical injury to find a friend? A best friend? Someone who wouldn't find her hard to get along with, or who wouldn't not want to include her once in a while? Hadn't someone walked off of the sands earlier? Maybe it wasn't too late for her to follow suit. She was halfway into a pivot on one heel when the wind was - quite literally - knocked out of her as something collided with her ankles and caused her to lose her balance. As she struggled to push herself back onto her feet, she found herself face-to-face with a bright-eyed, chipper green who was all but beaming at her. (Did dragons beam? How did she know if that was what the little creature intended?) The world went still. « Jocelyn! Can I call you Joce? Or maybe you'd just prefer Lyn? Something snappy. Now that we're friends, of course, » piped up a too-cheerful, brisk soprano. « Sanabeth. I'm really quite hungry. » Jocelyn wasn't sure how anyone, much less one who began as such a little being, could be both constant critic and staunch supporter all in the same breath. Sanabeth was certainly someone who loved her, who cared about her, who wanted her to reach her idea of Jocelyn's full potential, but they couldn't have been more opposite if they had planned their pairing. Sanabeth was girly, gregarious and easily set to titters. She tried encouraging her stubborn weyrling, then rider, to let her hair down more often (literally and figuratively), to wear pretty things, to engage her social hours thoroughly so that they could have something to talk about at the end of the day. While the redhead wanted to do nothing but study to pull up her less-than-stellar marks in her exams, her dragon was more interested in gamboling with her siblings and later, making eyes at the bronzes, browns and blues as she grew longer, taller, and sassier. This wasn't exactly the 'best friend' scenario Jocelyn had hoped for, but she was thankful that her lifemate was at least supportive of her academic attempts. She worked hard in weyrlinghood despite the rough start, eager to make a good impression, even without a silver thread, in the hopes of someday working her way up to - well, something more when this training period was over. She just didn't know what. Opportunities for advancement never quite came their way. Sure, the weyrbred pair was solid to have in a wing - they flew really well together, even if Jocelyn did get airsick from time to time. Sanabeth's petiteness allowed her to perform zippy maneuvers; she enjoyed showing off, and certainly had no inhibitions about doing so. Fortunately, her enthusiasm worked well when paired with her rider's focus, but all the physical agility in the world couldn't compensate for the fact that the two were never quite in concert enough together for a display of leadership. The push and pull of two different personalities always managed to get in the way. Even Jocelyn's silent determination couldn't quite ground her castles-in-the-clouds lifemate, not when it was easier to make the safe choices and not attempt to test their limits. « Charm and disarm, » Sanabeth would remind her cheerfully in the days before each flight, somehow managing to never get caught by the same male twice. It was easier to smile, almost prettily, under the influence of that curly, perfumed haze that wafted through her brain during their proddy days. (Sometimes, it was there on their saner days, too.) And if she lost herself enough in her dragon's delight, she didn't have to think too much, if at all, about her experiences and with whom she shared them. Exile, weyrbred, not-weyrbred; there was no difference, not to her. Maybe it was better that way. Certainly, the encounters were physically satisfying, but Jocelyn couldn't bring herself to contemplate how they made her feel. It was easier to drug herself on sensation, one night at a time, and keep them all at an arm's length. Despite their differences, they enjoyed watching hatchings together, even when they were almost back-to-back in timing. « I didn't mean to knock you over, » Sanabeth said contritely, perched primly on one of the ledges above among other dragons gathering to witness the arrival of High Reaches' newest pairings. Quit apologizing for that, Jocelyn sighed for the umpteenth time, fingers drumming impatiently atop her knee as she leaned forward from her seat high in the galleries to try to make out the faces of the candidates mincing their way onto the sands. Roszadyth and Lythronath's eggs were finally hatching; really, she had no idea how Quinlys would manage with twenty-five weyrlings now that these thirteen were to join Niahvth and Cadejoth's twelve. She still wasn't sure what to make of their weyrwomen, even with brief interactions in passing. She didn't know Farideh or Irianke well. They seemed nice enough, but their appearances always seemed so - Helpfully, accompanied by a twirl of tulle: « High maintenance is the word you're looking for, Joce. Well, actually, I guess that's two words. It hasn't hurt them any, has it? It might be part of the job, come to think of it. » Two words, Sanabeth: Shut. Up. It's starting. The young dragons chose nearly as quickly as they did at her own Impression, Jocelyn reflected, reaching up to stifle a yawn between shouts of names despite herself. And that was just as well, given that it was almost midnight. A flurry of commotion from one of the darker eggs sent a long-limbed, orange-gold out from its shards, resulting in loud exclamations hither and thither as marks swiftly changed hands. Jocelyn watched as the little queen began making her way through the assembled candidates, peering first into one face, then another. The decision seemed to take an interminable amount of time; at one point, she paused to look up toward the galleries before continuing on, eventually settling at the feet of a brunette just seconds before a dark, almost-black green broke shell. A funny, little ache arose briefly in Jocelyn's chest, a feeling that she worked to push away through the remainder of the hatching. « Jocelyn? You okay? » I'm fine. Just tired. She could skip the feast, the chance for company, and get some sleep, she decided as she disappeared into the crowd flowing toward the exit. That would fix tonight, if not tomorrow. She wouldn't let herself dwell on the tomorrows that would follow. Every day, after all, would probably be like the one before. |
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Comments
Alida (23:51, 27 April 2016 (PDT)) said...
I enjoyed seeing this AU Jocelyn/dragon! Just imagine: Joce could've been out there on the Sands and Impressed that almost black-green dragon...instead of being her mere clutchmate. ;) But... that's ANOTHER AU story. Hmmm...
Jocelyn (04:06, 28 April 2016 (PDT)) said...
Jocelyn and Virisceth - man. That would have been rough. XD
Alida (15:10, 28 April 2016 (PDT)) said...
Wonder if it would've driven her a little nutters. Poor Ellerey is a teensie bit off-kilter in ways, after Viri chose her. ;)
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