Care for a Lesson? [A'zael/Zen]

[Rhush]

Tenth Pass, 4th Turn, Early 6th Month

Srunae

Okay Srunae. Deep breaths. Deep breaths. It’s just a little visit, right? Just checking in on a new gemglider owner. Nothing to be worried about…

The small brunette beastcrafter paused in her climb, glancing around the stone stairway for a brief moment. Okay, so maybe her mental pep talk wasn’t doing as much for her as she would like. Lucky for her though, no one seemed to be around to see her quiet struggle with herself. Srunae took another deep breath, willing herself the rest of the way up the stairs to the Weyrleader's weyr, clutching the rather large tome in her arms closer to her body like some leather-bound shield. Interacting with people always made her feel vaguely insecure, but this? This was a whole new level of discomfort. Why? Well, she was about to go drop in unannounced on the Weyrleader and ask him if he had any idea how to care for his gemglider. As if that little vote of doubt in an authority figure’s ability to care for something as simple a pet was not enough to make her feel weird about it all…

The man made her incredibly nervous on his own.

Maybe it was that he was always so confident and she… wasn’t. Maybe it was that he was incredibly attractive and had a… bit of a reputation. Maybe it was that he was the Weyrleader, sharditall… or maybe it was some combination of the three. Srunae hadn’t quite figured out what it was about the man that made her so nervous, but thinking about it only made it worse. The brunette pressed her back against the wall near to A’zael’s door, reveling in the coolness of the stone for a long moment as she briefly contemplated escaping right back down the stairs and back to her own quarters.

Zeek crooned in her left ear, nuzzling His with an indigo head and black fur that tickled her jaw. His was so worried! Why was she so worried? Surely whatever was about to transpire was either going to be extremely scary or extremely dangerous if she was so anxious! Did it have something to do with the strange rider-man and his gold pretty lady? The strange-rider man had been bothering His a lot lately about his gold pretty lady, though… and he didn’t scare His. Was this a new, scary rider-man he needed to protect her from?

On Srunae's right shoulder, little green Floret was emanating love to her troubled bonded, deeming that Hers need not be so worried. Rider-men were rider-men, all of them, and none of them should worry her as such. She handled the rider-man with the gold bossy lady well enough. This rider-man should be just as easy to interact with!

Comforted by her gemgliders and their attempts to calm her, Srunae steeled herself and finally stepped before the Weyrleader's door, clutching the large tome in her arms tighter. Just take a deep breath, it'll be alright. She thought, inhaling deeply and exhaling much the same, hoping that any nervous blush she might have was mostly unnoticeable. Careful not to displace one of her gemmies or drop the large book, the beastcrafting candidate gingerly knocked on the heavy wooden door. Floret took to prettying up the woman's long, dark braid as it hung off her right shoulder, and Zeek flared his sails and prepared to scare off whatever monster would pop out in response.

Srunae rather felt even smaller than she was as she waited for an answer. Hopefully the Weyrleader had heard her knock… or wasn’t in. Then she could go back to her room and pretend this whole ordeal never happened! That seemed most appealing right now.

Zen

[Zen]

A'zael :: Bronze Fath

Baaaaaccckk.

“How far back?”

Baaaaacccckkk, the bronze insisted once more, wriggling slightly and turning his head to stare mournfully at his rider.

“Here?” A’zael moved farther along his dragon’s side, running one hand over his bright hide in search of the itchy spot Fath was complaining about. On his shoulder, Frisk sat, occasionally chittering as though not to be left out of the conversation.

BACKmine, Fath huffed in exasperation.

“Oh… oh,” he felt it now as Fath impatiently shoved the sensation at him, “Heh. Well that does make sense, doesn’t it?” He soaked the rag in his hand in oil and pulled himself up to Fath’s back, as the dragon had so helpfully been trying to tell him, working oil into the rough patch of hide between the bronze’s spine and wing. Frisk clung to his hair so as not to be displaced on the climb up, and then hopped onto the bronze’s back as well. Fath groaned in contentment and lowered his head to rest it on the stone floor as his itch was seen to, eyes closed happily.

Couldn’treach, mine.

“No, I suppose you couldn’t. Feeling better?”

Somuchbetter.

A’zael slid back down, considering his dragon for a moment, “Anywhere else I should-”

The bronze’s head lifted as a knock sounded through the weyr, his tail thwapping on the stone once in eager anticipation of a visitor. Frisk chittered a scolding for leaving him behind and glided down to land clumsily back on A’zael’s shoulder. “You sure are clingy,” A’zael scolded back, but the little brown had already quieted, content once more with his perch.

In the days since the strange creature had hatched and been forced on him by his brother, A’zael had at least resigned himself to the fact. The little brown, which he deemed Frisk for his desire to climb up inside his shirts constantly - all the better to be close to him - was entirely enamored with him and would not leave him alone for a moment unless force of will was used. He might grudgingly admit, however, that the fuzzy creature’s company was somewhat nice when he was working.

But for the purpose of oiling Fath, he was not currently wearing a shirt for his new pet to hide in. And he thought nothing of answering his door that way either. Upon opening the door, he found a pretty young woman holding a book waiting for him, and recognized her almost instantly from identifying the gemgliders at their hatching. For the life of him he couldn’t remember her name, though. Had they been properly introduced in the chaos of the mystery hatching? He leaned against the doorframe, an easy smile on his lips as he recalled what had passed between them that day, “Well, well… if it isn’t my beastcrafter come to visit. I don’t believe I caught your name before. I remember the names of pretty faces.” On his shoulder, Frisk trilled at the woman’s blue and green, eyes whirling curiously. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your company today?”

Rhush

[Rhush]

Srunae

Srunae stiffened slightly as she heard movement from behind the door. Okay Srunae, he’s coming, The beastcrafter thought, taking a second to prepare herself. Just take a deep breath, and when he opens the door, tell him your reference guide arrived a few days ago. Tell him you’re checking in with new gemglider owners in case they would like more information on their pets. She nodded lightly to herself, as is to reinforce the verbage in her mind before it came out of her mouth. Yes, that sounds good. Tell him— Then the door opened and Srunae’s thoughts were all but wiped from her mind.

He… he didn’t have on a shirt.

Srunae had been expecting to have a little trouble staying on track – the man was quite handsome, after all, with dark hair, blue eyes and a striking ruggedness to his young face. In that regard, she had even prepared for it. She had not, however, been expecting to catch an eyeful of quite a bit more than his face! Caught off guard and left with the eye candy of his musculature imprinted on her mind, the holdbred woman rather promptly turned an impressive shade of red. Then he was speaking, and sharditall, did he live up to his playful reputation! Srunae had nearly forgotten about that little joke from the gemglider hatching, and then he had to… to throw on how good he was with the names of pretty faces… She wasn’t that pretty… right? He was just… just flirty. Yes. She had to focus on her task and not his muscled chest, or easy smile, or little teasing comments… Wait, what had he said? Oh, right - they had not been properly introduced at the gemglider hatching. Better… better remedy that.

“Ah… oh. My-my name is Srunae,” She managed, shifting the book to one hand in order to extend the other in greeting. Somewhere in the back of her mind she wondered if shaking hands was as common in dragonriders as it was in holdfolk. “I-I’m sorry if I… i-interrupted something, um…” Shells and shards why did he have to be so attractive…? The tanned brunette visibly floundered for a moment before continuing.

“I, um… that is, my reference guide arrived yesterday, so I’ve been… been going around to see if any new gemglider owners might… might want more information about their new pets.” As if on cue, Floret carefully found her way atop Srunae’s head, trilling curiously at the brown on the much taller Weyrleader’s shoulder. Zeek, finding that the monster on the other side of the door was just another rider-man, settled himself quietly back down upon His Pet’s shoulder. Zeek still set his whirling eyes set on the larger, fluffier brown, however, wondering at his curious sibling. Floret, seemingly put off by Zeek’s lack of introduction, chattered at the blue drawing his attention up to her for a moment. As if remembering he should say something to the brown, he offered a little croon in greeting. This seemed to half satisfy and half exasperate the diva-ish green as she huffed, but her chattering at least ceased.

Looking for something to look at besides the Weyrleader’s washboard abs, Srunae set her brown and green gaze upon the young brown gemglider above her. In a moment, she assessed Frisk’s health from his glossy fur to his oiled skin, bright eyes and gleaming gem, and she found herself satisfied. Though it had seemed the man wasn’t much of a pet person, she supposed she shouldn’t be surprised he had already taken good care of the brown. They weren’t much different from firelizards, and if he had grown up a weyrbrat he would have heard the ins and outs of firelizard care more than he could ever possibly need.

“I-it looks like you haven’t had much trouble with care, though. D-do you have any questions or concerns about your brown, Weyrleader?” Her voice was steadier now than it had been, likely a side effect of looking over the brown gemglider instead of his half-naked, flirty owner. She steeled herself as best she could before she looked again at the dark-haired man, forcing her hazel gaze immediately to his blue-grey one. “After all, as your beastcrafter,” She chuckled lightly, the humor a soothing balm to her frayed nerves, “I am happy to answer any questions you might have.” And, she thought wryly, Hopefully not make a complete fool of myself in the process.

Zen

[Zen]

A'zael :: Bronze Fath

Her initial silence, coupled with the look on her face as she very quickly turned incredibly red, gave A’zael pause as he wondered just why…? He hadn’t said or done anything that might have been too much, surely? Unless she was really that reserved…. It didn’t particularly occur to him that his being shirtless might be the reason. It wasn’t like it was uncommon for men to walk around in such a state, or was it really so different in the Holds? Surely they got hot enough while working even the more modest holdfolk didn’t mind stripping down a bit? Or maybe they did. What did he know?

She finally managed to speak, introducing herself and holding out her hand. Instead of clasping it in greeting, he took it and raised it to his lips to brush a soft kiss against her fingers, “A pleasure to meet you properly, Srunae.” Releasing her hand, he glanced back into the weyr as she apologized for possibly interrupting something, in the general direction of where Fath waited, “Ah, you did, but I’m sure Fath will forgive you if you offer him a good eyeridge scratch.” He stepped back and gestured her inside, “I can just as well chat and oil at the same time, if you don’t mind my divided attention.”

Reference guide? He glanced at the book she carried, vaguely curious about what it might have to say about these new creatures his brother had found. “As long as there’s nothing in there about them being poisonous after all,” he replied with a certain amount of amused exasperation, absently reaching up to stroke Frisk’s fluffy mane. The little brown reveled in the attention and chittered when it stopped, but A’zael ignored the clingy brown’s protests, chuckling, “As my personal beastcrafter, you are quite entitled to call me by my name. No need for such formality between us.”

Fath raised his head to look at them, eyes whirling curiously as he noticed the two further gemgliders Srunae had with her. Moretinyfluffies! Aretheystaying, mine?

“Faranth, no,” A’zael shot back with a glance at the bronze, speaking aloud since he was quite aware his dragon would have included Srunae in his side of the conversation as well, “They belong to Srunae and she is certainly keeping them.”

Fath huffed, ButIlikethetinyfluffies.

“Well maybe Srunae will come back to visit us again and bring them for you,” he shot a grin her way as Fath’s tail thwapped the stone at the idea, Yesyes! “There, now you have to come back and visit me or you’ll disappoint Fath.” Fath would forget this entire conversation in three days time, and though beastcrafters didn’t deal with dragons, it was likely Srunae was still aware of the fact. After all, she had identified the gemgliders, surely she would know some basic facts about dragons.

He considered if he had any questions for her about the creatures, “I’m not sure if there’s anything particularly pressing I had in mind to ask…. Is that entire book about them?” He eyed it again, because if it was, that was rather a lot of information, “Is there anything you think I should know? I’ve never been much for scholarly pursuits, but I’ve never had such a lovely teacher either.”

Rhush

[Rhush]

Srunae

Srunae did her best not to lose her cool as the Weyrleader proceeded to kiss her hand instead of clasp it. Her heartbeat leaped up several notches and she pretended not to notice the heat that flooded her cheeks. Sharditall, she thought wryly, stifling a derisive half-chuckle. Is he just always like this? She supposed he had his reputation for a reason.
As the man's gaze slipped to the book she had, Srunae took a second to recollect herself and shove away the long buried ideas of being swept off her feet by handsome dragonmen that threatened her thoughts. He was the Weyrleader for Faranth's sake! She had no chance of anything other than these silly flirty things he kept throwing so casually her way - consorting with the Weyrleader was something only goldriders had the privilege of, wasn't it? 

Srunae shook her head to clear her thoughts, though the bronzerider likely just would have taken it as an answer to his question about gemgliders being poisonous. She stepped into the man's weyr at his gesturing, thoughts whirling as she took in the room and the large, bronze dragon at the opposite end of the whole affair. She had interrupted Fath's oiling, hmm? Srunae supposed that explained his rider's lack of a shirt. Next time she made to drop in on him, she would have to make sure she told him she was coming so he could be... in a better state of dress. Hopefully.

She paused in some surprise as A'zael corrected her use of his title. But... he was the weyrleader, wasn't he? That was a role that pretty much required the use of formalities. But then... the Weyrleader had made note of calling her his... personal beastcrafter in that comment. Was he just flirting with her again? Or did he actually not like being called by his title? That was... kind of a surprise to the beastcrafting candidate. Whatever man managed the role in Ista always seemed to relish being called by his title... Srunae blinked a couple of times before managing a sheepish smile at the much taller man. "Ah... okay, W-- err, A'zael," She said thoughtfully, somewhat unsure of the shift in conversation tone. Was it really okay for her to refer to him so casually? She was deliberately stopping in to give what was effectively a formal lesson, after all... And the candidate was certainly below him in rank, not to mention they barely knew one another... Flirting or not, it seemed entirely out of the ordinary. But then, Srunae thought with some mild amusement, Haven't you always disliked the whole formal thing? Perhaps it was better this way; she could be a little less stiff about the whole visit if she didn't need to keep up formalities.

Srunae about jumped though, as a different voice broke her out of her thoughts - it was speaking so fast, she nearly couldn't make out what it was saying. Looking around with some confusion, Srunae realized it had been Fath speaking as A'zael answered him aloud, as if he'd been expecting the bronze to include her in his conversation. They continued on, and Srunae found herself a bit unsure what to do - they were talking about her gemgliders, at first - the dragon seemed to want more of them. Though the beastcrafter would never give up her own pets, she could always see about getting A'zael another... but he didn't seem all that interested, judging by his response. She chuckled lightly at A'zael's grin and declaration of repeat visits being necessary for Fath's happiness. 

The bronze would undoubtedly forget about this conversation in less than a sevenday, so she supposed she would just go along with it. Srunae looked from A'zael to Fath and inclined her head a little, smiling warmly. "Ah, I'll have to make sure I stop by again, then. And I'm sorry for interrupting your oiling," She added as she stepped farther into the weyr, easily more comfortable interacting with the massive dragon than with his flirty rider. "I'm sure you're itchy." She did feel bad for preventing his relief from coming quickly, and briefly considered coming back later. A'zael ended that train of thought with questions about her book, however. "Oh, no. Not the entire book - just this section here," She pretended to be unbothered by his flirty comment as she opened the book. After reaching roughly a quarter of the way into the tome, she flipped through a few pages with a light gesture. "Mmm... I suppose the most important thing to note is that they are capable of telekinesis." Srunae continued, glancing over at A'zael before looking over at Zeek on her shoulder. "And it's assumed their 'gem' has something to do with it, so ensuring they don't crack or break them is a generally considered a good thing to do." She smiled lightly and poked at her blue's side, who grabbed at her finger with his little fingers with an undignified squeak. "They also don't require oiling, though they do enjoy it. And while they can live in hot environments, they prefer cooler ones." She looked back over at A'zael here, raising a finger into the air as if to make an important point, "So bathing them in cool water occasionally is a good idea too." She looked thoughtful as she considered what else she would consider important to know, looking through the paragraphs in her book for a second before looking back over at A'zael. "Any questions so far?"

Zen

[Zen]

A'zael:: Bronze Fath

A’zael decided Srunae must really not be used to attention, the way she was blushing constantly. But with her random knowledge of obscure creatures, he supposed it wasn’t entirely surprising. She probably spent more time with books than other people, to have been able to recognize what she had claimed was a species that was thought extinct. But at least no new information about them being poisonous seemed to have come to light from that book of hers. She was rather quiet as she followed him inside and seemed more than a little unsure about calling him by his name.

Inwardly, he sighed. The formality and the distance people put between them because of his position was just one of many reasons he didn’t want it. He hated how most people treated him now. Maybe it was meant as a sign of respect but it just made him feel alone, like no one could be comfortable around him anymore. Everyone always seemed so stiff, on edge, as if they were too concerned about offending him to just be friendly. As someone that thrives on social interaction, it was all seriously awful for him. He really hoped as time went on and they realized he didn’t care, more people would treat him normally again.

But at least Srunae agreed to call him by name. That was a start. He was more than his title, after all. And she played along with Fath as well. The bronze lowered his head toward her as she moved further into the weyr and addressed him. He was still focusing on the gemgliders she had with her more than he was on her, though. A’zael was mildly surprised he even responded and didn’t just babble on about the tinyfluffies.

A’zaelmine gotmyback. Worstpart, his tone was reassuring when he spoke, apparently forgiving her because the bad itch on his back had been seen to already. A’zael let out a soft laugh and moved back over to his dragon, rubbing one hand over his muzzle and glancing back at Srunae as she flipped through pages in her book. Well, he was glad the entire thing wasn’t about them. Though her first little tidbit of information had him staring blankly at her for a moment. While he was trying to figure out what the shell telekinesis was, he about missed the rest of what she said. So when she stopped for questions, he grinned sheepishly, “Ah… one. Just ah, what exactly is telekinesis?”

He’d never heard the word before in his life, of that he was sure. It sounded like one of those old words the ancients used that only specialists in the crafthalls knew anymore. Some sort of word for something that no one knew how to make anymore or something. He rolled it over in his head a bit more, but still had no idea. At least he could be certain it didn’t mean poisonous. He eyed her in mock suspicion, teasing, “Are you just making up words?” She seemed to be taking this opportunity to teach him more about gemgliders fairly seriously, so he didn’t honestly think she was.

Rhush

[Rhush]

Srunae

Srunae smiled and chuckled at Fath’s response, but she was no less grateful for his reassuring tone. “I’m glad; I wouldn’t want to put you out over something that can be discussed later.” It was weird for the candidate to be speaking so openly with a dragon that was not hers, but at the same time it didn’t feel much different from interacting with other animals. Bar that the bronze was truly sentient, he set her at ease in a way that only animals had managed to do for her – a sort of calming presence that seemed to just want her to feel more comfortable. Fath was a strong source of respite she hadn’t expected to find, and it helped her to relax a bit as she glanced over at the flirty Weyrleader again. People had never been her strong suit… something she was painfully sure A’zael had picked up on by now. To her surprise though, the man didn’t call her out on it, instead he seemed content to listen to her go over various things related to gemgliders – though he did look a bit confused at first. His question was thus not unexpected, but it did make her wonder if he didn’t read much. Dragons were said to have the same sorts of capabilities, after all, though whether they still did was something that hadn’t been tested in recent times.

She owlishly blinked a couple of times and tilted her head to one side as if considering the best way to describe telekinesis. There really isn't another word for it... Srunae thought, only to break into a laugh as the bronzerider eyed her and teased the topic of making up words. “Oh Faranth no, A’zael,” Srunae laughed, finding his name rolled easier off her tongue without the formality of earlier attached to it. “Making up words is above my pay grade,” She laughed again and turned back a page in her book to the paragraph about telekinesis, brushing some stray locks of brunette hair out of her eyes.

“’Telekinesis is a psychic ability that allows a gemglider to influence something physical without physically touching it,’” She read aloud, then glanced up with a teasing grin on her lips, “That is, it’s the ability to push, pull, raise or otherwise move things with their minds.” She watched him for a brief moment, hazel eyes betraying her curiosity as to how he might react to such information. It was strange, really, how much less tension was in the air now that they were free of the formalities and Srunae had found something to help her relax. Sure, her own gemgliders had been a source of comfort for most of this conversation, but even their attempts to calm her hadn’t managed to outweigh the stress she had felt in trying to remain at an expected level of decorum when her conversation partner hadn’t done the same. From the moment he opened the door without a shirt on to his flirty manner of greeting, Srunae had been entirely wound up with trying to keep up the traditional rank procedure she had been taught. It was far less disconcerting to work informally here than with the other gemglider owners, it seemed - as weird as it sounded to her, Srunae was the expert in this situation. She should feel more confident about the information she was handing out, shouldn’t she? A moment later she continued, clarifying the uses of his ability his pet would likely implement.

“Gemgliders use their telekinesis to carry items heavier than they are, and also to help them get airborne directly from the ground or a lower perch than preferable.” Srunae looked thoughtful for a moment, glancing at blue Zeek on her shoulder with an analytical eye. “I think these guys are a little young to be using it too much right now,” She said, looking back over at A’zael with a smile, ”But if you ever see Frisk gliding around for longer than you would expect, he’s probably testing it out.” She nodded to herself as if in confirmation and then glanced back down at her book, back to wondering if there was anything else he could stand to know about their care.

Zen

[Zen]

A'zael :: Bronze Fath

Srunae laughed, and A’zael couldn’t help but smile at the sound. If she was laughing, that meant she was easing away from the stiffness and formality she had begun their interaction with. It meant this conversation just might start to feel natural and normal instead, not to mention the fact that she could relax around him was some comfort. The difference in their rank was about as far apart as one could get from another, and it was often difficult to bridge that expanse even with fellow riders, much less with candidates. But if one shy candidate could do it, then all was not lost, it seemed.

She referenced her book again, reading a short passage in order to answer his question. He turned his head slightly to look at Frisk on his shoulder, the brown still peering curiously over at his siblings, but staunchly refusing to leave his perch in order to get a closer look, lest His disappear somewhere without him. Move things with his mind? Shells, how did that work? She had something about it being connected to their little gem… things, but that didn’t really explain much. He supposed it didn’t much matter how it worked, only that it did. Which meant what, he would soon have random items moving around his weyr if Frisk decided to… telekinesis them? Well, this could get interesting.

His gaze flicked back to Srunae as she continued, explaining what gemgliders tended to use the ability for. “Hm…,” he wondered if Frisk couldn’t be trained to use the ability in the future to actually be helpful. Surely he could… but he didn’t have the first idea how to go about training a pet to use an ability like that on command. He studied Srunae for another moment and grinned, “Well, having my own personal beastcrafter might just really come in handy.” He chuckled and explained, “I’ve never had a pet before. This, ah, telekinesis thing seems like it could be useful though… if Frisk could be trained to use it on command? I’m sure you’re plenty knowledgeable about training pets? You’ll have to come back to help me with that… on top of your visits for Fath, of course.”

Behind him, Fath huffed, tousling A’zael’s hair with a hot breath, Moreoil, mine.

“Alright, alright,” he assured the bronze, moving along the dragon’s side and glancing back at Srunae thoughtfully, “Care for a lesson of your own?” He grinned again, “Ever oil a dragon?” Depending on how long she’d been a candidate, she might have. Some candidate masters arranged for such lessons, so candidates would know what it took to maintain a dragon, either working with weyrlings or adult dragons so they could get experience at various stages of a dragon’s life. He laughed lightly as he picked up the rag he had been using and wrung out some of the fresh oil back into the bucket it had been sitting in, “You don’t have to help. I can just as well listen to you talk about gemgliders some more and appreciate your company.”

Rhush