men can shop too [No'va/Zen]

[tovaana]

Maz’ru :: Blue Quilath

“Mind if I leave my bag with you, Quil, so you can take it back to the weyr?” Maz’ru could almost see the twitch of annoyance at the nickname, but had had a conversation about improper names recently enough that the blue knew it would do no good to say anything. I do not mind at all Maz’ru. I hope you have an enjoyable time. Perhaps your… Mimic would like to stay as well? Maz’ru grinned, stroking his blue’s face and pointed at his nose. “One of these days you’ll realize how stilly your jealousy is.” I am not jealous. I just think it will be easier for you- “She’ll be fine, she’s small – she’ll probably end up conversing with the other firelizards about.” The blue kept silent, and Maz’ru knew that he probably wouldn’t say more and was proved wrong. Do enjoy yourself.

He intended to enjoy himself – the races had been enjoyable and he looked forward to the music and dancing, but that usually picked up when the sun went down. So he wandered down the stalls in the harbor, his little green on his shoulder, her long thin tail wrapped around his neck like a necklace. His soft green eyes kept an eye out for Siorreya – thinking she’d be enjoyable while wandering the different booths, but at the same time she was also hard to follow… sometimes he’d want to linger and look at something, but he’d found her attention span was hard to hold longer than a couple of minutes. After glancing around at the people, he started toward a stall where there were instruments. The closer he got, the more conscious he was of the life that he’d left, the voice that had left him… Perhaps he’d get the chance to sing tonight, as much as his voice had changed, it hadn’t taken the joy of it, just the satisfaction of it.

Instruments had not been his specialty, but he knew how to use a few of them enough to get by if he had to. He had no desire to pick up or touch the instruments, he wasn’t sure if he was afraid of them, or if they held too much of his past… or if he was simply realizing just how much more he thought about dragons and Thread than of music. At the beginning of his journey he had done some lyric writing and singing, especially for Sio- but as time had gone on, his focus had shifted.

He meandered out of the stall humming a song that he’d put together when they had first gone between to back in time and had lost dragons… the sound had been so haunting. Lost in thought, he scanned past a few more stalls before a firelizard egg stall caught his attention and he paused outside of it with a small smile. Boy, would Quilath be annoyed if he ended up coming back with another flit egg.

Zen

[Zen]

No'va :: Brown Alduntulath

No’va had spent a bit of time with his parents after the Lord Holder announcement had been made. He had brought them to Mavros to hear it, but hadn’t stuck around to see who would win himself. He’d hear about it from his parents anyway, and honestly he didn’t care one bit who became Lord of Mavros. He supposed if he ever really wanted to be Weyrleader he might have to deal with Lords, the Lord of Mavros in particular, but for now he was content to just be a rider. His father had indeed informed him of the winner. Asirikai, who No’va didn’t really know any better than he knew any of the other potential Lords, but he did know the man was Irrina’s brother. Did that make them family in a way? He figured it must, otherwise why had Isha apparently been with him that morning as his father had mentioned when he’d asked if they had seen her yet. No’va had hoped he might spend some time with her today, but that could wait until the graduation feast tonight. She would probably like it if he danced with her. Girls always seemed to want to dance. Most girls, anyway. Not Joia, he supposed, recalling her lack of knowledge on the subject. Maybe he could introduce Isha to Joia and Vitra too.

Now his parents had gone off to do Lord and Lady things probably and No’va wandered idly, hoping he might bump into one of his friends somewhere. Gathers were only half as fun when you were alone. He wished Delvish had come with Delvirin. It would have made sense for them to be at the announcement too. Hadn’t Irrina wanted to support her brother? If it had been him, he was sure Isha would have been there. He wrinkled his nose at the thought of becoming a Lord. The more he thought about politics the more he wasn’t sure if he wanted to be Weyrleader anymore. Maybe that had been childish to think, before he’d even come to Mavros. From their leadership lessons, it didn’t seem like there was as much politics as there would be if one was a Lord, but there certainly was still plenty of it and No’va wanted no part of it. His father made it all seem easy, but he knew it was often complex, and mostly boring, and he couldn’t imagine ever being able to focus on any sort of political task. Whatever those might be.

He shook his head, clearing away all distasteful thoughts of politics as he wandered toward the craft and trader stalls, not entirely planning on buying anything, but well, he had a few marks on him if something caught his eye. On his shoulder Copper sat alert, head darting about as he watched all the people passing by, assessing threat levels. No’va kept touching at their bond to make sure the silly bronze wasn’t going to go flying at someone’s face for looking at him wrong. He had considered sending the flit back to their weyr to avoid any mishaps, but it had been a while since they’d done any adventuring and he felt bad about it, so he let the bronze stay. Dusty had been with as well, initially, but the lazy brown didn’t enjoy the noisy crowds that disrupted his near constant napping, so with an annoyed chirp he had disappeared between, and through their bond No’va knew he was fast asleep on his pillows.

He paused at a stall with various bits of jewelry as a turquoise pendant cause his eye, the shade of blue reminding him of Tucseth, which of course made him think of Vitra. Would she like it? He shifted, uncertain. Would it be weird if he bought it for her? Copper leaned forward, catching onto No’va’s attention, and he felt the bronze’s grip tighten on his shoulder as the flit was prepared to launch. “No!” he impressed the order to stay upon the flit, “That’s stealing you silly beast.” Copper flared his wings in protest, but soon settled with a huff. What do you think, Aldy? Would it be weird if I got it for her? The brown rumbled, I do not understand the ways of human mating rituals. No’va felt fire spreading into his face at that, I don’t, I mean, we’re not, that’s not what… Aldy. Is a gift part of your chase? Aldy stop. He wished he hadn’t asked the brown. Pointedly, No’va turned away from the jewelry and hurried off. Shells, why did it have to be so complicated? I think you’re the one making it complicated. You’re not helping, he replied petulantly, not really paying attention to much except the slow cooling in his face as the blush receded. Maybe he should ask Isha later. She would know if something was appropriate or not. His sister was often caught up on such things. And she’d be able to give him a girl’s perspective. Surely she’d be far more helpful than Aldy.

The sight of eggs was a welcome distraction from those confusing thoughts, his face finally feeling normal again as he made his way over. He was still determined to find a gold for his fair, but he wondered how many more firelizards he might collect before that happened. Should he give up at some point? Six was quite a lot already. Maybe he should set a limit for himself? It was getting harder to keep track of them all. While considering the merits of a self imposed limit and whether he would even be able to stick to it, he glanced over and saw a familiar face, “Maz’ru! Hey! Are you going to get another flit? I probably shouldn’t… Vinni is still pretty young and needs more training first I guess. Hey, how many firelizards do you think is too many?”

tovaana

[tovaana]

Maz’ru :: Blue Quilath

As amusing as the thought was, his current firelizard wasn’t that old – but she was easy, at least, compared to other firelizards. He’d realized this especially after meeting Lounessa’s Buttons. The thought of ending up with a flit like Buttons was rather overwhelming… he pursed his lips thoughtfully just as he heard his name, his pale green eyes glancing over as No’va started in on conversation. His face lit up with a smile, glad to have the company, even if the brown rider was younger than he was. The age difference had been more awkward a couple turns ago, but as they both got older, it seemed the differences were diminishing, especially after they had both impressed back in time.

“Hey!” He greeted, glancing back at the flit stall as he considered No’va’s question. Was he going to get another flit? Probably not, yet… it was still rather tempting. He shrugged, but then chuckled at his last question. He’d forgotten that No’va had a little flit hoard already, which made his desire for another flit swell with his pride.

“Well, how many do you have, again?” He asked with a wry grin, trying to remember how many flits the brownrider had… it wasn’t like he constantly had the same six hovering over him, flits were flighty creatures usually – well, Mimic wasn’t, but he knew some were.

“I’d like another one…” He frowned and then it faded to a chuckle. “Quil would have my hide, or literally turn green with envy. He won’t admit it, but he seems jealous or something.” A hand rose to stroke the green on his shoulder momentarily, his hand trailing down her tail around his neck as he got lost in thought. He sighed. “What does Aldy think of your hoard?”

[Zen]

No'va :: Brown Alduntulath

Maz’ru shrugged in response to his inquiry, but No’va was rather more interested in his answer to his final question anyway. When asked how many flits he had, he looked a bit sheepish, “Uh… six, currently. Copper here, and Dusty, my brown, and then there’s Midnight and Timor, my blues, and Minty and Vinni, my greens. I’ve really been hoping I can round it all out with a gold, y’know? But the chances of that are so low… I can’t just keep getting eggs til I get one, I guess. That would be a bit much.” It had been his plan, turns ago, when he was still a child, but he was growing up now, he was a real, full rider, so he supposed he should let silly childish things like that go.

When Maz’ru admitted to wanting another after all, but explained that his blue wasn’t fond of the idea, No’va grinned. He didn’t really know much about Maz’ru’s dragon. He was a rather quiet sort. Aldy seemed to get along with him alright but had never had too much to say about his blue brother. He rocked back on his heels thoughtfully as Maz asked about Aldy’s thoughts on all his flits, “I dunno, he doesn’t seem to pay much attention to them really. I guess I came with most of mine, though, so he didn’t have first claim on me.” He grinned again, “And Midnight helped me take care of him a bit, back when he was small still. Not that Aldy remembers, but…. He thought Midnight was fairly clever at the time. And Minty protected me when I was younger. I’ve shared that memory with him, so I guess he appreciated that in a way and has a little respect for her.”

You know I’ve never asked you… how do you feel about me getting more flits? Aldy seemed mildly surprised to be consulted on the matter, They seem to make you happy, though I prefer the helpful ones. You should get more like Midnight. He chuckled, I can’t really choose how they turn out… but you don’t mind, really? If I got more, even if they weren’t like Midnight? I suppose not. Are you considering another? Not really, I mean… not yet. Anyway, I’m talking to Maz’ru. Aldy rumbled amusement and withdrew so he could focus on his human conversation partner instead. Spreading his hands, No’va returned his attention to the bluerider, “Well I just asked and Aldy doesn’t seem to care if I get more. I think I should still probably wait though… I’m still learning just what Vinni is like, exactly…. Maybe Quilath just needs more time to get used to sharing you?”

tovaana

[tovaana]

Maz’ru :: Blue Quilath

Six! That seems a bit excessive. Maz smiled at the voice, but didn't respond, instead listening to No'va list them off and talk about getting a gold – oh, that was a thing, wasn’t it? He’d forgotten that anyone could impress to a gold or bronze flit… He’d been more interested in the company of flits, rather than what they looked like. If No’va had six, then surely a couple more wouldn’t do harm…

He tried to not feel the twinge of jealousy that No’va’s brown wasn’t bothered by his flock of flits. Still, he grinned when No’va did, feeling his social bucket fill up with the company. “Huh, cool.” He said, as a moment of silence came over them – and he looked at the eggs thoughtfully. Mimic really wasn’t all that old yet, he could wait, even if he didn’t want to. No’va clarified his brown’s feelings and suggested that Quilath just needed some time.

“Yeah, maybe.” He said in quick response, not liking the answer… to have to wait. It was greedy though, to want more just because… it was just sometimes he felt like he didn’t understand his dragon – and vice versa… and his green had been comforting in those moments, so perhaps he also needed to find ways to show that there really was no reason to be jealous. He folded his arms and after a quiet sigh he smiled. “They’re pretty addictive, aren’t they? Collecting the flits and their different personalities. I really should wait, though, and give him time and whatnot.” He glanced over at No’va and his flit and then at the stall. He could wait, but he should probably put some distance between himself and the temptation.

“Anything else catch your eye at the gather so far? Are you going to the music and dancing later?”

[Zen]

No'va

No’va laughed at Maz’ru’s comment about flits being addictive, “Yeah, I guess they are. It’s just so fun to see what sort of personality they have and how they interact with all my others….” He shrugged, glancing at the eggs, and sighed, agreeing about waiting even if he didn’t particularly want to. He supposed maybe that was part of growing up, not just acting on every whim that struck you. “Yeah… I’m sure he’ll come around eventually? Maybe not to the idea of you having six.” He couldn’t help but grin again, a bit sheepish, “But I already had four when Aldy hatched so he’s never known anything else.”

The change of subject was welcome enough, and it was probably a good idea for the both of them to leave the flit eggs behind for now. Though as he thought about his answer to the question Maz’ru had posed, he felt himself starting to blush again, thinking about the pendant and the things Aldy had said. Then he wondered if Maz’ru would have any idea if it was weird or not for him to buy it for Vitra. He didn’t want someone else to come along and buy it while he was trying to figure it out… maybe he should just buy it anyway and… save it? If it would be weird for him to give it to her now, maybe it wouldn’t be weird later?

A frustrated sigh dragged through his lips as he turned away from the flit egg stall, back the way he’d come, “Sort of…. I mean, yes, but….” He made a displeased noise in the back of his throat that he was sure would have earned him a disapproving look from his mother. Then it all sort of came out in a bit of a rush, “So I saw this pendant and I thought maybe I should get it for… someone. Someone I… well, I like her, a lot, but I haven’t told her that? And I don’t know if it would be completely strange for me to get it for her? I mean, we’re friends, and friends can give each other gifts. Joia has made things for me and that’s not weird. Right? So it shouldn’t be weird, should it? But jewelry is sort of different, don’t you think? Ugh, I don’t know.” He threw his hands up, jostling Copper and causing him to chitter indignantly, taking to the air to avoid slipping from No’va’s shoulder.

He looked over at the bluerider, “Girls are complicated, right? It’s not just me? I feel like it’s just me. Aldy says it’s just me, but he also said-” He felt his face redden once more, definitely not about to repeat that, “He says weird things sometimes, is all. I don’t know if it’s such a great idea to take a dragon’s advice about girls….” And now that he’d said it, it sounded really stupid somehow. Shells but he should just shut up already before he said any more stupid things.

tovaana

[tovaana]

Maz’ru :: Blue Quilath

He nodded. It would be interesting to see what personalities he could collect, especially if it would make Mimic happy. Not that she couldn’t play with other flits, as there were plenty around, but she spent so much time with him… this thought almost had him convinced he needed an egg right then and there, but he chuckled at No’va’s thought not to rush to getting six like he had.

“One at a time, I suppose.”

He glanced at the young man, noticing the blush at the question and he rose an eyebrow rose in question. Maz’ru didn’t pry though, waiting until he decided to speak – and he did, but not before a frustrated sigh. He hadn’t supposed there was anything else the brown rider would want that would cause such emotion. Maz’ru naturally turned the way that No’va did, his steps mirroring his as they walked. His mouth flickered in a smile at the noise that came from No’va’s frustration, but it faded as he focused on what he was feeling and saying. It didn’t take too long to realize he was talking about a girl, he often felt that way about girls – they made no sense at all, and yet sometimes he understood them better. He hummed thoughtfully as No’va spoke, thinking of his predicament, and he couldn’t help but smile the smallest bit – only because he understood the dilemma. He didn’t want to mess up their friendship and make it weird by getting her a gift… especially since women could read into things too much, and he was afraid that possibly she wouldn’t feel the same… and No’va was young still, obviously neither probably looking for anything serious. He'd only ever been interested in Sio, but he'd realized that it'd been the natural draw of their being related - in fact, as awkward as it was that he'd attempted to kiss Sio, it made sense that both had been turned off by it, and his confusion with her had been made clear... since her, he'd only appreciated women from a distance mostly, watching Sio and the men that gave her attention. 

“Oh, no – I mean, yes, they’re complicated, and it’s not just you.”

And then his words about Aldy’s advice made Maz’ru laugh, it was a good laugh, and the release of emotion made him feel for his fellow rider, even if he was younger. “Oh, no, best not do that.” He finished, still chuckling. “I don’t know what sort of advice Aldy is giving you, but I can imagine… well, I don’t think Quil would give me advice on that at all, but dragons aren’t people… I mean, they’re more than people, but they are dragons and their thoughts are just… different.” He shook his head, trying to find a way to speak respectfully about dragons while hinting at their more… animal-like nature. It was the strangest thing, to feel like your dragon was like a person that sometimes it was easy to forget that they weren’t quite human. It did make him wonder that Quilath never found any greens interesting, but perhaps it was just his personality? 

“As for your girl problem….” He mused with a sigh, but smiling. “I don’t think you can go wrong getting a girl a gift… especially if it’s a friend. If you’re afraid she’s going to read into it…” He paused, chewing on his lip a moment… “I suppose if you like-like her, that wouldn’t be a terrible thing, right? But if she sees you as just a friend, then I think she’d still appreciate it… especially if it doesn’t come with strings attached.” He’d seen the way certain men approached Siorreya, he’d watched her and guys and seen what she liked and didn’t like. He imagined if a man gave her a gift and didn’t require anything of her, she’d be fine with it… and she was the flightiest woman he knew, certainly this girl that No’va liked wouldn’t be more than that?

Unfortunately the thought of Sio and men, made him remember of the certain man that was attempting to pin her down. Maz’ru still held negative emotions when it came to Podrell, and he definitely thought his sister deserved better. He had heard that he had dropped out of the Lord Holder running to take up being a candidate, but there was no satisfaction that he and Quilath had searched him, not at all.

He pursed his lips and grimaced at that thought, pushing it aside and sighing. “But honestly, there’s not really a right answer… I don’t think so anyways. Girls are weird.” His clear gaze glanced around at the stalls. “Wanna show me the pendent?”