Sunny Day (Calling Brinne)

[Journye]

H'ter squinted his eyes and looked up at the sky, the sun at its mid-day point. He let out a soft sigh and looked back down at his task, oiling Bediverth You had to pick the sunniest spot in the bowl didn't you? he asked teasingly of his brown.

Bediverth opened one eye lazily and snorted But mine the sun feels so good and makes the oil feel really good,[/color] he informed his rider in a matter of fact of tone. H'ter chuckled and shook his head, as always his brown was acting mature I was only teasing Bediverth, he told him gently.

Bediverth rumbled softly and closed his eye, shifting so that H'ter could get a spot he had missed.

H'ter grinned and wiped sweat from his brow. He had taken his shirt off a short while ago, his athletic build becoming more toned then it had been when he had first arrived at the weyr, all the chores as a candidate and then working with Bediverth had helped that. His tan had also deepened from being in the Southern sun, and at the moment he skin was glistening from the oil splashes he had all over from oiling the quickly growing brown.

The red, nearly crimson, streaks in his reddish brown hair were also standing out in the sun as it beat down on him and Bediverth. He had it tied back in a loose tail at the nape of his neck, he really needed to get it cut he thought.

You have stopped oiling mine,[/color] Bediverth said gently to his rider and H'ter grinned. "Sorry Bediverth," he said aloud with a chuckle.

He glanced around the bowl briefly before turning his attention back to his beloved brown. He began to hum to himself as he worked, Bediverth lazily twitching the tip of his tail.

H'ter admired Bediverth's coloring as he worked, always fascinated by the rich sandy color he was all over, except for on his wings and eye ridges. From wing joint to wing tip on the top sides of his wings was a deep earth brown color. The color was also found as twin streaks beside his eyes. These began on the hide bordering the back edges of his eyes and tapered off as they moved a few inches back toward his eye ridges.

H'ter was also glad to see that his legs were growing longer, but his wings were still a bit on the larger side, but Bediverth was perfect to him I love you Bediverth he said tenderly to the brown.

Bediverth lifted his head and nuzzled against H'ter's stomach I love you H'ter mine[/color] he said to his rider, sending him warm and loving feelings.

H'ter smiled and wrapped his arms as far around his muzzle as the would reach, hugging his brown for a moment before going back to oiling.

[Kitari]

As time had passed since her arrival at the Weyr, Brinne's enthusiasm for the chores of a candidate had begun to fade. At first, she had been so thankful for the opportunity that she had been eager to please in any way possible. Now, the girl felt confident enough in her position that she doubted even misbehaviour would have her sent away (after all, she was Araelen's future goldrider!), so she had taken to shirking duties from time to time.

This was one of those times, as Brinne meandered aimlessly across the Weyrbowl, her gaze fixated upon the handsome turquoise blue sleeping in her arms. The girl had justified her decision by telling herself that little Duke was a higher priority than wiping down tables, and if he needed her attention, he would receive it. At this moment, the candidate was certain that the sleeping blue required her loving caresses. He deserved security and adoration, even while he slept!

Absently, her green eyes drifted upward, aware of something ahead. They immediately widened at the sight of a large (though not fully grown, if she was any judge) brown dragon sprawled comfortably on the floor of the Weyrbowl. What luck! Brinne's pace immediately quickened as she eyed the dragon, searching for the rider that must be near. This was a great opportunity, for the dragon was obviously resting, which would mean that the rider would not be departing any time soon.

As she neared, the dragon shifted in a manner that revealed the man standing on the opposite side of the brown from Brinne. It was just as she had hoped; the rider was present, and undeniably male! If it had been one of the rare female brownriders in the Weyr, Brinne would have been very disappointed indeed.

The dragon was brown, rather than the bronze she idolized, but a brownrider's attentions could still win her favours in the Weyr. All Brinne had to do was set her snare, then loop him in at just the right time. Her earlier attempts had failed miserably so far, but the candidate assured herself that this was to no fault of her own. She had little access to actual dragonriders, after all, and what were the chances that the first one she pounced on had ended up being interested in men?

Brinne's calculating gaze scoured both dragon and rider as she finally reached the brown's side and proceeded around to the man. The dragon was strong and handsome, his hide glistening with freshly oiled health. The man...oh, it was more than she could have hoped for! She had resigned herself to settling for even barely tolerable looks in order to gain the prestige of being an important dragonrider's 'mistress', but this dragonrider was more than tolerable. Rukbat's light served to highlight the red streaks present in his richly coloured hair, and his bare chest glistened with spattered oil. He was muscular and fit; Brinne's heart skipped a beat. This was the chance she had been dreaming of!

"Good afternoon, Brownrider," Brinne greeted in her most sultry of tones. "What a handsome dragon you have. He must be one of the largest I've seen since arriving here!" It was a lie, of course, for he wasn't fully grown, but flattery always helped. Her lips curved in a playful smile as she moved slowly towards him, allowing her form to sway slightly. She didn't want to overdo it, but hopefully he would be so enchanted by her stunning green eyes and flaming red hair that he would soon be oblivious to exaggeration. "My name is Brinne, and I recently became a candidate here. It has been quite a trial!" she sighed wistfully at that, as if feeling rather hard done by.

"However, I was lucky enough to Impress lovely Duke here. He's growing so fast; I think his darling hide could use some oil. Would you mind if I borrow some of yours?" Brinne wondered briefly if she ought to shake the flitter awake in order to better show him off but decided against it; his outrage would probably outshine whatever pose she might convince him to strike. She also hoped that the brownrider wouldn't study him too closely, for she already oiled the little creature multiple times a day to maintain that perfect turquoise sheen.

[Journye]

H'ter was so absorbed by his task that he didn't hear Brinne approach, it was Bediverth who alerted him of this fact even though the brown's eyes were closed Some one is coming mine,[/color]

H'ter looked up just as Brinne started speaking, thankful for his brown's warning so that she didn't startle him.

He felt a blush heat his cheeks as soon as he saw the girl, thankful that his tan hid most of it. He smiled and stood straight, he always liked when some appreciated his Bediverth. Bediverth opened his eyes and rumbled softly in greeting.

"Hello. I'm H'ter, senior weyrling of Bediverth," he said cheerfully, his own icy green eyes standing out in his tanned face. He took in the sight of her red hair and her green eyes and he couldn't help but notice the sway of her hips as she walked closer to him.

He knew her comment about Bediverth's size was exaggerated, but at the moment it didn't matter as he looked at her. He was careful to keep his mind from wondering down a path it shouldn't, especially with Bediverth right there. He looked down at her mention of the lovely blue firelizard she had in her arms, but it was brief and he turned his eyes back up to her face "He is lovely," he said with a grin.

H'ter was at a lose as to what to say, still a bit shy, but willing to make friends. He nodded at her question "I think Bediverth will let me share his oil with you, since a little fire lizard doesn't require near as much as a dragon," he said, nodding to the large bucket of oil beside him.

He knew he was staring at her, but he couldn't help it, she was a lovely young woman and he was lost for words.

[Shikai]

Farallen strode through the weyrbowl, narrowly avoiding bumping into several people. His eyes were not on his surroundings, after all, but fixed lovingly upon the very young, acid green firelizard perched atop his shoulder. A passerby might wonder at how the lad could look so fondly at a creature that so clearly returned none of his affection, at least visibly. The green sat sullenly on his shoulder, her head held high with pride as she surveyed those around them. She looked to be ignoring the attention of her bonded, although she secretly did notice and took a smug delight in it.

Farallen could see no flaw in his little firelizard, for he was ecstatic simply to have one. What weyrbrat didn’t dream of having one of the little creatures, if not one of their larger cousins? It was a dream come true!

However, Farallen abruptly returned his attention to where he was going as his firelizard gave a screech, digging her claws into his shoulder. He winced, and narrowly avoided colliding with a man that nearly walked into him. “Oh…thanks, Valkyrie.” He said, smiling feebly at her. Farallen’s shoulder smarted at the method she had used to get his attention, but he bore no ill feeling toward her. No, she had only been trying to help him! Such a wonderful firelizard! Very thoughtful.

Now that his attention was on his surroundings, he immediately noticed a weyrling’s brown dragon, sunning himself in the weyrbowl. How hadn’t he seen him before? Clearly he had been even more inattentive than he’d thought, he realized sheepishly. However, it was not the dragon on its own that caught his interest, but whom the dragon’s rider was talking to. Brinne’s red hair vibrantly caught the sunlight, and Farallen recognized at once that it must be her. How fortunate! He had wanted to show her his firelizard, as Valkyrie was quite important to him, and Brinne was his only friend at the weyr. Cheerfully, he rushed toward her, the green flit hissing at the sudden change in pace.

“Brinne! Hello there! I’ve been looking for you; I wanted to show you something. Look!” He gestured to the vibrantly colored green on his shoulder. “I impressed a firelizard! Her name’s Valkyrie.” He informed her, beaming. Innocent though he was, his current behavior was unusually giddy for him, but then, he had just recently bonded to his very own firelizard! Of course he was excited. It was only then that he was conscious of the other young man, probably the brown’s rider. “Oh!” He exclaimed, and quickly extended his hand to the weyrling. “I’m sorry! My name is Farallen, I’m a dragonhealer apprentice here.”

The firelizard who had inadvertently caused the commotion had remained aloof, uninterested in the people her bonded was talking to. Just as long as he didn’t give another firelizard more attention than he gave her, of course, and the only other flit present was asleep. She looked aggressively toward her blue clutchbrother, but relaxed as she realized he was no threat. Bored, she looked elsewhere, and saw another firelizard on the shoulder of a passing woman. The firelizard, a brown, chirped to her, and she gave the flit a large, juicy scrap of meat. Meat! Valkyrie wanted meat! Why did that firelizard have food when she had none? Angrily, she creeled at Farallen, her wings rustling in agitation. When she was not immediately given food, Valkyrie pawed at the shirt covering the shoulder she was standing on, inadvertently ripping the cloth with her claws.

“Valkyrie! No, don’t do that! Er, let’s see, food…” Farallen exclaimed, hastily digging into his pockets in desperate search of food. To his dismay, his hands came out empty. Squawking in fury, she scrabbled furiously at the cloth of his shirt in what looked half like a tantrum and half like an attack. She didn’t hurt him, but the shirt was not so fortunate. “Valkyrie! Stop that!” Farallen commanded, his eyes pleading, but she didn’t listen, refused to listen until her demands for food were met! In minutes, Farallen’s shirt hung in shreds, and then fell apart entirely, completely destroyed, reduced to a heap of torn cloth at his feet. Realizing that there was little else she could do short of attacking her bonded, Valkyrie stopped, looking down at the damage she had caused. She growled irritably, and slumped back down on her perch, sitting now upon bare skin.

Farallen’s face flushed as he found himself suddenly without a shirt. “I-I’m sorry! That can happen…when she’s hungry…although I usually keep something on hand, but…” He stuttered, floundering for words, and spread his arms, palms skyward, in an apologetic gesture. He was well built himself, although not bulky or overly large by any means, due to turns of working with dragons and other such physical labor demanded of one living in a weyr. All the same, you wouldn’t catch Farallen out without a shirt under normal conditions, that was certain!

“I…I’m…sorry.” He concluded, looking with mixed humiliation and sheepishness. “Well, at least I’m not the…the only one shirtless!” He added with a nervous chuckle, grinning at H’ter.

[Journye]

H'ter glanced away from his staring at Brinne as he heard Farallen approach and nodded politely. He started to extend his own hand to shake the young man's hand, but stopped at the last moment to hold up both hands, both coated with oil "Sorry," he said with a lopsided grin. "I'm H'ter, senior weyrling of Brown Bediverth here," he said with a nod toward his brown who was now interested in the going ons.

When Farallen's little firelizard started shredding the poor young man's shirt, H'ter took a slight step back just in case the green decided to launch an attack on him. He shifted to put himself between Brinne and the fire lizard as well. His two fire lizard appeared and landed on Bediverth, chirping curiously at the agitated green. Blue Cobalt put himself between his Green sibling Ivy and the unknown green.

After the flit finished her temper tantrum and settled down, leaving Farallen shirtless like himself. H'ter blinked a couple of times and felt himself blush deeper then he had when Brinne had approached. He bit his bottom lip lightly as he took in Farallen's appearance. Noticing the other young man's freckles and the amber color of his eyes. He took in the sight of his well toned body, tanned like his own from work under the sun.

Bediverth raised his head to look at Farallen to see why he had captured his rider's attention. H'ter shook his head and felt his blush deepen as he returned Farallen's smile almost shyly. He glanced at Brinne and then back to Farallen.

Brinne was beautiful, but there was something attractive about Farallen as well and he shifted slightly from one foot to the other "It can be cooler to be shirtless in the sun," he said, his voice a bit husky for a moment and he cleared his throat. He was at a loss as to what to do at that moment.

Bediverth nuzzled his rider's back, not fully understanding his rider's distressed, but wanting to support him.

[Kitari]

Brinne's thick lashes were lowered in such a manner that allowed her to watch the young man's reaction without being obvious about it. Her critical gaze caught what appeared to be a slight reddening of his cheeks, and she was delighted to realize that his eyes were following the movement of her hips. Yes, this had definite potential. At least he was actually looking at her, unlike the first two lads she had already pounced. As he gestured for her to proceed with the oil, Brinne smiled appreciatively and dipped her finger in, beginning to run it over the turquoise hide.

Just as the candidate opened her mouth to continue with her flirtations, her name was called. Brinne flinched slightly, wondering if that kitchen worker had caught up with her, and rotated mechanically on the spot. To her relief and disappointment, it was Farallen. He was the first lad she had attempted to 'seduce', and she had failed miserably, for he hadn't seemed aware of her hints at all. The Dragonhealer was friendly enough, and she did enjoy conversing with him, but if he was about to ruin her chances with this brownrider...

Still, her green eyes locked upon the haughty flitter riding on his shoulder, and Brinne grinned despite herself. "What a lovely name! This is Duke," she rejoined, raising her arms and the sleeping blue for him to see. Apparently, though, the green fire lizard was not going to allow him to admire another. Farallen had barely reached them when the flitter began tearing at his shirt. Before her bewildered eyes, the green fire lizard completely demolilshed the lad's tunic until it fell to the ground in shreds. Brinne's mouth fell open, as her gaze darted back and forth between Farallen and H'ter. She was now in the presence of two, bare-chested men, both well-muscled from their labours. And neither of them were looking at her.

Farallen was looking pained, his eyes shifting between the fire lizard and H'ter, as he made a sheepish statement about not being the only shirtless one. Brinne's brow raised slightly as she looked to H'ter for his reaction and was shocked to see the interest in the brownrider's eyes. She had shifted to keep a watch on both of them, despite the dragonrider's attempt to place himself between them (honestly, she could handle a newly Hatched flit!). The brownrider was looking the lad up and down more thoroughly than he had done her, and the flush in his cheeks was now perfectly visible. At his low-voiced statement, with a touch of...was that huskiness?...in his tone, Brinne's mouth fell open altogether.

This was her THIRD attempt at finding a man to grace her with his attentions, and, evidently, her third failure. Like K'ji, he was more interested in men than women, it appeared. What a disaster. Brinne's face contorted, clearly displaying her distaste and disappointment. Men ought to be falling to their knees before her, not looking the other way! Had they forgotten she was standing here. She coughed slightly, wishing to draw their attention back as well as express her discomfiture. "Well, isn't that nice," she sniffed. "What freedoms you men must have. However if you're just going to stand here staring at each other all day, then I think I'd best be going."

[Journye]

H'ter was blushing nearly crimson now as Brinne cleared her throat to get attention. He could feel tears burning his eyes as he struggled to keep his tormented thoughts from seeping over to Bediverth. His brown continued to nuzzle his rider's back.

H'ter shook his head as Brinne spoke "No please don't go!" he said, clearing his throat. He was confused now. True he thought Farallen was attractive, but so was Brinne. He looked between the two, then decided it better to turn his attention to Brinne since she seemed upset.

He silently cursed himself for opening admiring the Dragonhealer. He knew that the weyr was more open about such things, but he could see that Brinne was upset. "I'm sorry Brinne," he said softly "I think you are very beautiful," he said and smiled softly, feeling his cheeks brighten even more if that was possible. Then he thought about Farallen, but he wasn't sure it would be wise to say what he thought of the other young man.

Hi bit his bottom lip and looked between the two of them at a loss. Bediverth shifted to lay more fully on his stomach as he raised his head to look at all three. He could feel his rider's distress, but didn't understand it, but he felt he needed to help his rider out. He turned his attention to Brinne, who was clearly upset Please forgive my rider. He is still quite shy and easily get confused and distressed when he feels he has upset someone. He also doesn't know how to react when in the presence of, as he puts it, good looking people,[/color] the brown said softly to Brinne, wanting her not to be mad with his rider.

H'ter looked at Bediverth in surprise, but was thankful that his brown was helping him out. He sighed softly and lowered her head, looking at the dirt at his feet "Well, atleast it isn't storming," he muttered to himself, that would be all he needed, to seize up in fear infront of these two now.

[Kitari]

That haughty remark had appeared to do the trick. She not only had H'ter's attention once again, but also was he blushing fiercely at her insinuation. Brinne nearly smiled with pleasure at being able to elicit such a response, but she schooled her features to remain with an appearance of haughty disdain. She much preferred having a man's attention, and if it required a bit of pouting, then she was certainly up to the task.

His exclamation demanding that she not leave was even greater reward, and Brinne quirked a brow as if benignly considering the request. Her fingers continued to stroke the sleeping blue in a ponderous fashion, and she glanced up at the sky, as if checking Rukbat's position to determine whether she was required elsewhere. However, when the young Weyrling decided to follow up his request with a flat out, unexpected compliment, Brinne twitched, despite herself. Her green eyes immediately flashed back to the rider, surprise evident in their curious gaze. That was not exactly the plea that a lad usually used...he must be very flustered to be blurting such a statement so blithely.

The girl's lip twitched as she considered this, rather thrown off balance for once, and she looked anywhere but at the deepening flush in his cheeks. Brinne was used to men becoming tongue-tied and stammering in her presence, but this was...different.

Before she could sort out any proper response, though, a cool voice entered her thoughts, and she jumped, startling Duke awake. The blue screeched in distress, clambering up onto her shoulder freely using his claws, which caused Brinne to shriek in turn, and grabbing onto her hair in order to support himself in an upright position while he searched for his attacker. His whirling eyes fixed on the threatening green flit who appeared rabid, then the whirling slowed. A green was no threat. This wasn't nearly as exciting as he'd thought. Perhaps he just ought to go back to sleep...

Panting slightly from the fright and pain, Brinne stared dumbfoundedly at the brown dragon lounging nearly within reach. His words hadn't even registered yet, as the candidate was merely in shock from having him speak to her. This was the second time a rider's dragon had spoken directly to her, and the girl had been told that such was a rare occurrence. A sudden flicker of excitement sparked in the girl. Was this not proof that she was destined to Impress a queen? What other candidate could boast that even one dragon had deigned to bespeak them? This was surely a sign!

A pleased smile replaced the look of pain on Brinne's face, until she finally took the time to think about what the brown had communicated. He was apologizing for the awkwardness of his rider...which was also much like the time K'ji's Blancheurth had spoken to her. And the brown explained that H'ter was uncomfortable in the presence of good looking people. Now that was amusing! "Thank you," she murmured to the dragon, unsure what a proper sign of gratitude would be. "I think I understand now..." She wondered briefly if all dragons casually bared such feelings of their riders to any passerby. Somehow, though, the candidate managed to stifle a giggle, and she gazed calmly at H'ter once more.

Her brow raised slightly higher at the strange comment about storms, but Brinne dismissed it as meaningless information. Her mind was too busy analyzing this new information. It appeared that H'ter did find her attractive, but he seemed more interested in Farallen. Now, Brinne was not interested in having to compete with all of the females as well as all of the males in the Weyr, so her interest in H'ter was beginning to fade. However, another idea came to mind. Farallen seemed oblivious to attentions from both males and females; K'ji, on the other hand, didn't know how to approach men.

The idea began to solidify in her mind, and Brinne put on her most dazzling smile, reaching forward to pat H'ter's arm reassuringly. "No matter, no matter. I have no desire to compete with men," she remarked, eyes sparkling with sudden excitement. The man was good looking, kind, thoughtful...he was perfect! "Now, I wouldn't spend too much time on that one, if I were you." She gestured meaningfully at Farallen, confident that her innocent friend would not even understand her implications. "He's not really interested, just yet." So innocent... "However," Brinne stepped forward, drawing him in, "I know someone who might find you very interesting..."

[Journye]

H'ter was surprised by her shriek as well as that of her fire lizards. He looked at Bediverth who raised his head, his eyes whirling a little faster. He blinked as the two calmed down and Brinne smiled at him. He looked a little confused at her words to Bediverth. The brown dipped his head in response to her words and rumbled softly, pleased with the brief attention from her.

H'ter blinked a couple of times as Brinne reached out and patted his arm.

"No matter, no matter. I have no desire to compete with men,"

At her words he felt his blush return and he started to sputter an apology, but her next words silenced him again.

"Now, I wouldn't spend too much time on that one, if I were you."

H'ter glanced at Farallen when Brinne gestured to him, but quickly returned his attention to the girl, he felt that his blush was so bright a red that any dragons in the sky would be able to see it.

"However, I know someone who might find you very interesting..."

H'ter found himself leaning forward as Brinne stepped closer, embarrassed, but curious all the same. He hadn't been actively looking for anyone to share his attentions with. For one he was a weyrling and for another he was used to the reactions most people had when they found out that he was attracted to both genders.

Bediverth crooned reassuringly to his rider and nuzzled against his back, shifting to spread one wing to give the three people gathered some shade from the bright sun overhead.

[Shikai]

Farallen cocked his head to the side slightly as he considered H'ter's words. "Cooler? I suppose so...as long as you don't get burned!" He remarked, glancing warily toward Rukbat at the thought. Thankfully, he had skin that didn't burn as easily as some, but standing outside in the middle of a day on the Southern Continent with no covering on one's shoulders or torso seemed to simply be inviting sunburns! Valkyrie, sensing her bonded's worry, reluctantly spread her wings, shielding one of his shoulders from the sun in a reconcilatory gesture. She did care about Farallen, even if she rarely let it show, and she hadn't meant to cause him distress. She had simply wanted food, was all! It just wasn't fair that other firelizards should have it and not her. She eyed H'ter's firelizards warily, not liking the look the blue one was giving her especially.

Farallen, meanwhile, was delighted by Valkyrie's rare show of concern, and beamed down at his tempermental green. He forgot at once the strange tone he had heard in H'ter's voice, which he had been pondering a moment before, deciding that the weyrling had simply had something in his throat. This suspicion seemed confirmed when H'ter cleared his throat, so the dragonhealer turned to admiring his firelizard for a moment. He was happy to see that Brinne had one as well, and what a lovely blue he was! Yet he had spent enough time with Valkyrie to know better than to compliment Duke while his green was with him!

As H'ter's attempts at flirting with him had flown right over his head, Brinne's next comments left Farallen quite perplexed. Clearly she was upset, but why? What freedoms men had? Whatever was she talking about? Farallen's mind raced to find something to apologize for. Perhaps...did she think it was rude that they were both shirtless in her presence? Shirtless males weren't an altogether uncommon sight at the weyr, nor where he had grown up, as both were in the Southern Continent. However, he knew weyrs were supposed to be more lax in most things than Holds, so perhaps she wasn't accustomed to it? Nothing else seemed to make sense, so Farallen decided that this had to be the explanation.

"W-wait!" He sputtered. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean for that to happen, really. I'll find a shirt!" He offered, hoping she would change her mind. He hadn't wanted to offend her!

Fortunately, Brinne appeared swayed by H'ter's appeal, although Farallen was a bit confused as to why H'ter said she was beautiful. Not that he had said it, for, taking another look at his friend, Farallen suddenly noticed that she was...pretty. However, he didn't have time to dwell on this, for he was busy wondering why H'ter had chosen to bring it up.

Well, at least it had worked! However, her reply only served to confuse him more! Not spend too much time on which one? Him? She had looked at him, hadn't she? It seemed like it. Unless she was referring to Valkyrie, but that didn't seem to make sense either! He couldn't help but feel that he was missing the entire conversation. What was going on? It was all too much for Farallen, and he lowered, giving it a shake as though trying to clear the overwhelming confusion. Valkyrie hissed, in part due to the unwelcome sudden motion, and also as a reflection of Farallen's distress.

"I...I'm sorry..."

Farallen said, breaking into Brinne and H'ter's conversation. He was at a loss for what to say, given that he sadly accepted that despite his best efforts, he didn't understand what they were talking about. Perhaps they were continuing a conversation they had started beforehand, because he was clearly missing something.

"I guess I...should I go?" He asked, half turning and raising a hand to gesture vaguely behind him.