Gathers Are Fun Right?

[deebear]

Riana and Camachath

Camachath circled lazily as he waited for a place to land while his rider watched people and dragons move about. When it was clear to do so, Cam made his way to the ground, careful not to stir up any excessive wind with his wings or dirt with his feet when he landed. Riana smiled down at her dragon's neck as he turned his head this way and that, making sure there was no human or dragon in the way. She knew she had to have one of the most considerate and kind dragons on all of Pern. <Why, thank you, Riana.>, he said, sending her waves of love and affection through their bond. She smiled again and gave his great neck a loving slap to which he rumbled in response. 'You are quite welcome, my love.'

As he settled and she looked around them she caught a couple of folks looking at her with something close to disapproval and she frowned at them until they turned away. <Will you be alright?>, the brown asked, feeling his rider's apprehension as he lay down for her to dismount. 'Yes. I will be.', she answered, dark eyes scanning those who walked by as she unstrapped herself from her riding gear then, with practiced ease, dismounted, sliding easily down Cam's shoulder. She landed lightly on his leg then jumped down, her boots kicking up dirt as she landed. Cam dipped his head down to her, considering her with one great, whirling eye. <If you need me..>, he offered gently, to which she scratched his eye ridge lightly and pressed a kiss to his warm hide. 'I will call for you.', she promised then backed away so that he could lift himself into the air, flying off to find the company of some dragon or another.

Riana watched him go for a moment then straightened her back, dusted herself off, and made sure her rider's knots were showing before she made her way toward the Gather. She slowly made her way through the crowd, looking at the Journeymen with their wares, turning down several offered items in favor of hot bubbly pies and warm mead. She found a place off to the side, watching riders and holders alike enjoying the Gather as she ate her pie. She nodded at those passing by that she recognized but was content to stay where she was at for the time being.

[tovaana]

Orintek;

The detailed eye would have noticed the expensive purple trim and tailoring in his outfit. Otherwise it could be considered more humble outfit with darker trousers and white shirt. Dark suspenders finished off the look, and he hoped to fit in with the other Mavrosi people with the touch of purple in his outfit. He walked along the stalls, admiring the goods for sale by their creators. He had requested and gotten a ride from a brown rider from Mavros to the gather. There was the young part of him that was excited about bubbly pies and a break, but the other part of him that knew the work was never over.

He kept in the mainstream, looking for a crowd to join to talk to – but got distracted. A pretty brunette stood by the wayside of the gather, eating a bubbly pie. But it wasn’t her looks that had distracted him – but her knots. They were the knots of a brownrider. He shifted his path to cross the mainstream to make his way over.

“Greetings brownrider.” She looked young. Perhaps she had just impressed recently. Female blue riders were one thing, brown though? Personally, he didn’t like it - it didn’t seem natural. But if she were from Mavros- as her knots suggested, he would need to know and understand for himself.

“My name is Orintek, from Southern Hold. May I ask what you name is?”

deebear

[deebear]

Ri, happily eating her pie, had moved to lean against a nearby rock, still standing as she watched the crowds go by. She could feel Cam in the back of her mind, he was happily laying with a pair of greens who were flirting with him. She grinned a little as she took a drink of her mead. Her dragon was beside himself with happiness and it made her happy in turn. Now if she could simply find a little piece of happiness herself, that would be something, wouldn't it?

She was just finishing her bubbly pie when movement in her direction caught her eye. It wasn't like she could help it as the first thing she noticed was his height. He towered over her, which really wasn't rare, she was often towered over. However, he had a certain air about him that almost made him seem taller the closer he came towards her. She lifted a brow ever so slightly and glanced around her to see if someone else could be the reason he was headed in her direction. Nope.

She had just finished the last bite of her pie when the young man finally stopped before her and offered a greeting. Hazel eyes took in blue eyes in a handsome face. He had broad shoulders and was dressed finely, at least in her opinion. She pushed herself upright, being certain to not spill her drink before setting it down. "Greetings to you, Orintek from Southern Hold.", she said, a friendly smile on her lips. "I am Riana, Rider of Brown Camachath.", she stated with a slightly defensive and proud tone, though her face remained friendly, her smile never faltering. She was, unfortunately, used to, but tired of, having to always defend herself and her dragon for his choice. She just assumed everyone who singled her out, outside of her fellow weyrlings, was against her being on a fighting dragon.

"Is there something that I can help you with?" She was curious, yes, but also she kind of hoped he just wanted directions and would leave her in peace without harassing her. Today was a Gather day, she did not want to lose her good mood over holder reservations to women on dragons that weren't gold or any other such nonsense that people outside of a weyr knew nothing about.

<Be easy my little rider.> Cam offered his love and wrapped her in the warmth of it. She latched onto his love and returned her own, losing a moment and possibly leaving the man before her feeling ignored, even if it wasn't on purpose. 'I am trying, love. I am trying.' Her dragon's gentle scolding made her feel guilty for assuming the worst when meeting new people, but she really couldn't help it sometimes. At least she hadn't been rude, not that she was ever truly rude regardless.

tovaana

[tovaana]

Orintek;

“Ahh, Riana.” It was a nice name. It was also not elided, like he had heard some women on blue dragons sometimes did. Perhaps to fit in? Riana had not. He also heard the warning tone in her voice, daring him to challenge the color of dragon that had chosen her. Just because it made him uncomfortable, didn’t mean he had any ill feelings about it. It was new and different; anything like that usually made him feel uncomfortable. An eyebrow lifted as she put up a barrier between the two of them of having any real conversation. All business. Well, he was all about business as well, but not the stuffy meetings type of business.

“I have to admit, I’ve never met a female brownrider.” Honesty was sometimes the best policy. He smiled, but there was nothing to suggest he was mocking her. “I apologize if I come off wrong in approaching you. Really, I should be the one asking if there’s anything I can do to help you… but uh, would you prefer if I found different company?” His voice was low and kind and he took a small step back, to show that he would be just fine in finding different company.

deebear

[deebear]

Riana and Camachath

Dark eyes watched him, as she spoke, for any signs of hostility. Although to be fair she likely would have earned it, rider or not. She was just too used to taking an instant defensive stance and manner as she just assumed everyone she met or was introduced to was going to insult her or Cam, and she definitely wasn't having that.

"Hmm.", was all she said, though she took a breath and quirked a slight smile, trying to regain her usual friendly composure. "Well, now you have.", she replied, chin lifted slightly, but with pride not defensiveness. His next words had her feeling the full weight of her previous behavior which instantly filled her with shame, which was not as bad as the gentle scolding Cam had given her, but it made her feel terrible just the same. Her face flushed slightly as she quickly offered her own apology. "No, it is I who owes you an apology. I..am regrettably too used to having to be defensive these days.", she offered, the look on her face one of true embarrassment at her behavior. She was more upset at having possibly misrepresented those women on browns who would probably have handled the situation much better. <You worry too much. You are you, not other riders.>, Cam told her as he swiftly reminded her of his love for her, which gave her a much-needed mood boost. 'Thank you, love.' <Glad to help!>

The moment between rider and dragon passed quickly enough, although the far-away gaze she most likely had for that moment could be telling to the right person. Once the moment had passed, however, she looked to, Orintek again. "Please, stay if you like. I truly don't mind company."


tovaana

[tovaana]

Orintek;

He simply nodded, watching her curiously as she stated that now he had met a female brownrider. He supposed it would be tiring to be so different – especially if it were true, that the candidates didn’t really have any say on which dragon impressed to them. His brows furrowed at her apology, feeling sympathetic for the woman who had to live her life so negatively. Well, she didn’t have to, but he supposed if most people didn’t approve of the female brownrider, it would make a skeptic of a person. He could maybe understand that.

There was a moment of silence, like perhaps she was thinking of a recent moment where she had had to defend her brown beast, or herself. It didn’t even cross his mind that she could be having another conversation at the same time.

He grinned his wide grin. “Thank you, kindly. It’s a pleasure to meet you lady Brown Rider.”

The smile faded a tad as he examined the shorter pretty lady. “I’m sorry that your company as been such that you have to be on the defensive. I assure you don’t have to with me.”

A normal man would have gone on flirting, and while he did find the rider a beauty, he was there to learn about Mavros and its people. “I am curious, I don’t know much about dragon riders, except for hear-say. Is it true that the dragon chooses?”

deebear

[deebear]

Riana and Camachath

Riana found herself smiling a bit more, the older man's broad smile seeming to be infectious at best. "The
pleasure is all mine.", she said kindly. His next words, however, had her smile faltering a bit. She frowned for only a moment then let a small smile slide back in place again and nodded. "I appreciate that, thank you." It was comforting to know that there were at least some people that didn't mind that a brown dragon had chosen her to ride him. Honestly, she didn't understand why it was such an issue, other than the fact that it wasn't how the dragons were originally supposed to be. But times and people change, why not the dragons?

<You should not let other people make you unhappy. I chose you, you are mine.> 'I know and I love you, you perfect, great beast.<Hmm, I am perfect, aren't I?>'Indeed you are love.'

Camachath rumbled from where he lay but sent both his amusement and his love through their bond, wrapping Riana in the emotions so that her smile broadened randomly to accompany the random glazing over of her eyes. Luckily it was for just a passing moment and she came back to the present just as Orintek spoke again. At hearing his questions, she beamed, giving him a brighter smile than before. "Aye, tis true indeed. The dragon always chooses, we've no say in the matter. They are much smarter than we are in that regard."

tovaana

[tovaana]

Orintek;

If he had been more familiar with dragons, he would have recognized the brief moment where the dragon and rider conversed privately. However, Orintek was naïve when it came to dragons and Weyrs, all he knew about dragons was through negotiations with his uncle or read in scrolls. Scrolls and negotiations don’t teach you about what it was like living with dragons or their riders. However, he did notice her smile and how it widened and the faltered just the slightest when he addressed her concerns. When the smile came back for hardly any reason, he assumed she was thinking about how her brown dragon had chosen her, which ironically wasn't far off the mark.

His eyebrows lifted at the bold statement. “Smarter than humans?” He grinned, but his furrows creased ever so slightly in confusion. Beasts were beasts – he knew dragons had more intelligence than most, but hardly more than humans! “Why, that’s an interesting thought, I must ask for more on your thoughts on the matter.” He tilted his head in the other direction, to make obvious that he was being thoughtful. The young man turned and leaned against part of the gather set-up, his attention still fully on the brown rider. “I’m also curious… if the dragon always chooses – do you think dragons choose our culture? At least Weyr culture is based around what dragons do, is it not?”

deebear