Teach a Man to Fish [Closed]

[poptart]

    Sometimes to Lynderas keeping the silverware clean felt like a battle he was perpetually losing, there seemed to be a never ending supply of dirty utensils regardless of the amount of guests the Lord was hosting. Lynderas had been working away at the pile of dishes that sat before him for what seemed like hours, and it was one of many tasks he needed to complete before his shift in the kitchens would come to a merciful end.
    
    As the pile slowly dwindled Lynderas rinsed his rag in water between each plate and bowl, however it did appear an end was in sight. After a few more minutes the rag was finally tossed in the dirty bucket and left there for good, Lynderas shook his hands to rid them of any excess water and quickly made his way to the exit. A break was well earned, and food preparation wouldn't need to start until later.

    Lynderas only had a little time before he needed to return to the kitchen to assist with dinner, however he was determined to retrieve a fish as his father had requested. Moving with purpose Lynderas soon found himself in the market bouncing from stall to stall trying to find something that would please his father as he had no desire to experience the wrath that disappointment incurred.

Zen

[Zen]

Kenessia :: Green Nimiath

Kenessia much preferred to do her searching in the south, though it had nothing to do with the fact that she was southern bred. It was simply more fruitful, and less likely to cause some sort of political incident, like Rachel’s search of that poor girl with the ash-headed bronzerider for a father. She didn’t blame Rachel at all, of course, it wasn’t her fault the girl’s father was a giant tailfork, but drama was just more likely coming from northern candidates. Most children in the north would much prefer to go to their own Weyrs than to Mavros, and it wasn’t an unfair question to wonder why any of them might choose Mavros instead. The south was another matter. The southern Holds resented their Weyrs for their failures and looked more favorably on Mavros, and it was maybe just a little satisfying to stick it to the southern Weyrs by stealing their candidates. It was hard to say how much longer they would get away with it; with a new Lord Holder at Mavros, they could maybe start to be taken seriously by the rest of Pern.

Well, B’rax or Melana would surely let the Weyr’s searchriders know when anything changed. For now, Kenessia’s attention slipped away from her wondering as her green landed gracefully in Cove’s gather square, where some market stalls were set up to utilize the space, since it was no gather day. She slid from her dragon’s back in a smooth motion and turned to sift through the faces passing by, most wide eyed with wonder at the appearance of a dragon. Holdfolk had few chances to get so close to a dragon but for when they came on search, or at gathers. So no matter how many times she might stop by a Hold during a turn, there were plenty of people who would mill about in awe and excitement. She found that amusing too. To most Weyrborn, past childhood at least, passing by a dragon was little different than passing by a runnerbeast, warranting perhaps an admiring glance before going on with your day… unless the dragon was gold, or perhaps bronze.

Anything yet? Kenessia cast a lazy look around the crowd from her place leaning against her green’s side. You know it is always more difficult for me in crowded places. We should have visited a smaller Hold. There is just so much, pressing in…. She reached back to rub a hand over the dragon’s smooth hide reassuringly, I know, I wasn’t trying to rush you, just wondering. And I thought maybe the fact that Lord Asirikai is from Cove might inspire some hopeful candidates to come back with us. Nimiath did not particularly understand the importance of this connection, so she did not reply to her rider’s reasonings.

The sensitive green was having a hard time filtering through so many minds, doing her best to stem the flow without missing anything or overwhelming herself. A new mind drew closer, tugged at her, and she focused on it to help drown out all the noise. Tilting her head, the green focused one large eye through the crowd onto Lynderas. Kenessia felt the green’s attention shift and pushed off from her side to try to pinpoint who had drawn her dragon’s notice. A quick slip into the green’s eye and she saw the young man. She waited for the green to make the first move, as she usually did. Surely dragons are more interesting than fish, the green reached out to Lynderas and spoke, amusement plain in her tone. It was easy enough to pick up on those surface level thoughts, such as the all important fish the possible candidate was seeking. Fish? Though Nimiath had allowed her rider to hear the statement, Kenessia had no idea why fish had been brought up at all. Nimiath ignored the query, focused entirely on her newly acquired target.

[poptart]

    Although it wasn't the most common experience, dragons were occasionally present in the lives of most Pernese citizens, however this wouldn't make it any less surprising to have one materialize in close proximity. Lynderas allowed himself a moment to stare, his mouth agape, before he forced himself to redirect his attention at the purveyor of... acceptable fish. would it not be considered rude to stare at a dragon and their rider after all?

    Lynderas was compensated for his work in the kitchens, however for obvious reasons it wasn't all that well, and he was forced to haggle near daily. "Could you do a quarter for this?" The boy asked meekly, gesturing at a slightly smaller fish than majority of what was available. The question was met with silence and it appeared the merchant didn't hear Lynderas at first, upon further inspection however it was obvious his gaze was transfixed on the majestic green beast.

    Fulling intending to wrestle back the merchants attention Lynderas prepared to speak, however the words caught in the boys throat when a voice rang in his head. Surely dragons are more interesting than fish it inquired, and a clearly startled Lynderas jumped in response. Figuring someone must have spoke Lynderas quickly spun to look for the source of the words however he was met with little more than empty air. Clearly flustered the kitchen hand murmured a hasty apology to the fish monger before dropping his gaze and setting off through the crowd back to the kitchens, errands would have to wait until after dinner apparently.

Zen

[Zen]

Kenessia :: Green Nimiath

Kenessia watched the object of her dragon’s interest and saw the jump at her intrusion, the looking around for the source of the speaker. That was the usual reaction. This one was still too far away to realize just where the words had come from, however. He started to move off and Kenessia frowned, You scared him. The green rumbled, still amused, as she always was when she surprised candidates with a sudden voice in their heads. You’re going to lose him, and then you’ll be back to sifting through the crowd, she scolded.

Nimiath huffed and reached back out to the young man before he could go far, I apologize, little one. My rider often scolds me for my approach. Will you stay and speak with her? Amusement crept back into her tone, I’m sure I do not need to direct you to our location. She stretched her wings out a bit, as if she was not already visible enough. Stop that, you’re going to frighten the crowd. Why should they be frightened? I would not hurt them. Holders are silly like that. The green shuffled her wings against her sides indignantly. I should probably go after him to be safe. I doubt your continued presence in his head is very reassuring.

The greenrider strode quickly after the would be candidate as Nimiath grumbled behind her, You heard me apologize. I did, love, but most people find it more than a little disconcerting to suddenly have a voice inside their heads, and hearing from it more than once does not always help. Better to be safe than sorry. Kenessia did not want to let any possible candidates escape without talking to them properly first. Not everyone agreed to candidacy, but she had to try. The tragedy of Aerroth’s last hatching always intruded on her mind when she thought she might let a candidate slip through her fingers. Three betweens in a single clutch was nothing she ever wanted to witness again. “Excuse me!” she called as she drew closer to Lynderas, lifting a hand to better draw attention to herself, “Do you have a moment?”

[poptart]

    Whatever great escape Lynderas had intended to make clearly wasn't meant to be, the voice from before filling his head again was no less startling the second time, and it elicited yet another startled jump. Being referred to as 'little one' left no doubt in Lynderas' mind exactly who was speaking to him, and he quickly whirled to transfix a wide eyed gaze on the biggest being in the market. The green dragon had yet to move, however after a few moments of staring the rider broke rank and started toward the timid kitchen hand who began to slowly backpedal.

    It was clear after her call that the rider was interested in Lynderas and just as she was nearly upon him the boy managed to bump into another holder, who was very intently watching the scene unfolding before them, before Lynderas unceremoniously tumbled to the ground. Lynderas slowly readjusted from his new position to meet the gaze of the rider pursuing him, and clearly having misinterpreted intentions began to apologize meekly. "I-I'm sorry!" Although Lynderas had no idea what he had done he was sure to have drawn the attention of a dragon and her rider it must have been a huge mistake, and his world began to spin with the gravity of that realization.

Zen

[Zen]

Kenessia :: Green Nimiath

Kenessia jerked to a surprised halt as the boy fell to the ground. Shells, Nimi, did you say something to him I didn’t hear? I did not. Well he’s clearly terrified. It was not my doing, the green insisted stubbornly. She had only spoken to him, there was nothing at all terrifying about that in Nimiath’s mind. Kenessia moved forward again as the boy apologized, looking like he was going to cry or faint or both, and she couldn’t help but double check with her dragon, You’re sure it’s this one? You didn’t get confused from having so many people around? Quite. There is potential there.

Reaching out, Kenessia stooped slightly to offer the young man her hand, giving him a friendly smile, “No need to be sorry, you’ve done nothing wrong. Here, let me help you up.” She tilted her head slightly back toward where Nimiath waited, “I’m sorry about her. She thinks she’s terribly amusing. We didn’t mean to scare you.” She looked the young man over for a moment, and couldn’t help being reminded, just a little, of her weyrmate. They didn’t look very similar, no, but R’zon had been quite lacking in self confidence when she first met him. His was a more quiet, subdued sort of manner and it had taken some time to get him to open up to her.

“I’m Kenessia, of green Nimiath. Have you ever met a dragon before? I promise she’s harmless, unless you’re a herdbeast. We’re here on search for Mavros. Nimi has a talent for finding potential riders,” she paused, watching his face to see if he would catch on that he was one of those potentials the green had found, but she figured it was better to ease into that conversation so she didn’t send him running again, “Have you ever thought about becoming a dragonrider?”

[poptart]

    It took a moment for Lynderas to begin to calm down, however the rider staring at him in what appeared to be disbelief after his tumble helped immensely. The boy had a moment to search the rider's face before she spoke an apology, and after detecting no displeasure he carefully took her hand. "It's alright greenrider..." Lynderas replied softly as he was helped to his feet before averting his gaze as she introduced herself as Kennesia, rider of Nimiath.

    Lynderas quite nearly pointed out that his reaction was a likely indication he had never met a dragon before, however he quickly decided against it for fear of seeming disrespectful towards Kennesai. "Nimiath is my first greenrider." Lynderas replied much more appropriately before taking a long pause to consider Kennesai's second question. If he was being totally honest the thought of becoming a rider had never once crossed his mind, it seemed nothing short of ridiculous to even suggest. "I don't think I am quite what you are searching for greenrider." Lynderas replied in a self deprecating tone.

Zen

[Zen]

Kenessia :: Green Nimiath

He didn’t seem hurt at least, as Kenessia helped him to his feet. She was aware of the many eyes that had turned upon them, but she ignored them all. She was used to being ogled among the Holds, though usually it was her dragon that drew the stares more so than herself. It wasn’t exactly a surprise that Nimiath was the first dragon he’d met, but she had meant the term loosely. Many dragons, even searchdragons, didn’t speak to humans other than their riders very often. Still it was pretty safe to assume this was the young man’s closest encounter with a dragon.

"I don't think I am quite what you are searching for greenrider."

Nimiath shifted where she waited, You doubt my ability, little one? Kenessia knew the dragon was teasing, but the green was quite good at hiding the fact behind the sound of a gentle reprimand instead. Kenessia tossed her a look and spoke aloud for Lynderas’s benefit, assuring him, “Don’t pay her any mind, she is still having fun with you.” And then she had a reprimand of her own, Stop that, you’ve frightened him enough. The green rumbled, plenty amused. Kenessia turned back to Lynderas, ignoring the green, “You’d be surprised, you know. And I trust Nimi’s judgment. Our candidates have a pretty good track record of Impressing.”

She lapsed into a brief silence to consider him for a moment, “I’ve known several candidates that have come to Mavros unsure, feeling unworthy of a dragon, and yet I’ve also seen many of them walk off the sands with a new lifemate come hatching day, and there is nothing like the unconditional, all encompassing love of a dragon to wash those feelings away. I won’t lie, the life of a dragonrider is ultimately one of sacrifice… there is danger, to you and your lifemate, every time you fly against Thread, but once you’ve Impressed it seems a small price to pay for the constant love and acceptance of your dragon.” Her own affection for Nimiath was plain in her voice as she spoke of the bond between rider and dragon, “When your dragon finds you, it is like finding a missing piece of yourself and feeling whole for the first time.”

Without meaning to, her gaze shifted back to the green, before she forced it to Lynderas once more, “If you came with us to Mavros to stand as a candidate for our next clutch and did not Impress, and decided that your life here was happy enough for you, we would be happy to bring you back. I just hope you won’t deny yourself the chance without thinking it through. Just as with people, there are dragons of all sorts, and they require riders of all sorts as well.” She chewed her lip lightly before she continued, “You see, if the right person isn’t on the sands on hatching day… hatchlings have been known to suicide between rather than choose someone who is not right for them. So the more variety in choice we can give them, the less likely we are to lose hatchlings. No one can say for sure what an individual dragon might look for in their lifemate, so don’t discount yourself so easily.”

[poptart]

    Lynderas was unable to detect any jest in the words Niamith beamed into his skull, and he quickly found himself shifting his gaze back to expertly counting the toes hidden by his boots. No, I'm sorry! Lynderas apologized meekly before Kennesia made assurances that Niamith was indeed teasing him, and as the green rider continued to speak Lynderas silently took in every word.

    Kennesia made many good points, however Lynderas was not so easily convinced. There was no denying that the simple kitchen hand longed for something more, and the thought of being whole after the death of his mother did indeed resonate with Lynderas who missed her dearly. "Do you really think a dragon would choose me?" This could be the fresh start Lynderas desperately needed, and the boy dared to imagine being set free from his life at Cove Hold. There was even a hint of pride at the thought of fulfilling his duty to Pern, and how it would be negligent to allow hatchlings to die without at least making himself available for impression. These uplifting thoughts didn't last long however, and Lynderas' thoughts took a dark turn. What if his father didn't let him go so easily? What if he didn't impress and was forced to return home?

    Still silent and unsure what to think Lynderas found himself shutting his eyes tightly, bringing his right hand to cover the side of his face as he processed. The idea of being a dragon rider was intimidating to say the least, potentially terrifying even, however nothing terrified Lynderas more than his father. Please take me away from here, take me away from him Lynderas thought as he spoke "I can't, my father won't have it. I'm sorry..."

Zen

[Zen]

Kenessia :: Green Nimiath

Hearing the hasty apology offered to her, Nimiath rumbled again, but did not respond as her rider dismissed her admonishment. The question Lynderas posed seemed to hint at hope and possibility, and Kenessia felt a flash of relief that the young man wasn’t a completely lost cause. It didn’t happen all that often, because of how romanticized being a dragonrider was in the songs and stories, but there were those among the Holds that looked on dragonriding more logically and refused search because of the obvious dangers involved, not wanting to risk their lives to a possible, rather horrific death. There was nothing she could ever say to change the minds of those who lacked the resolve, sense of duty, or courage that it took to be a rider. That Lynderas was considering the possibility was a good sign.

“No one can promise you that Impression will happen,” Kenessia admitted, always careful to make sure the candidates she brought back to Mavros knew that a search was not a guarantee, “Like I said, no one knows exactly how or why the dragons choose who they choose, but a searchdragon has found something in you that means you have a chance, and on the sands everyone has equal opportunity for Impression. A Lord’s son would have no more chance than the drudge who once served him, if they stood side by side waiting on a hatchling’s choice.” It was an unfortunate truth for some, and she couldn’t help thinking about Talaria, so set on Impressing a gold, only for a green to find her on the sands, ruining all her great plans for her future. The turns had softened her hardest edges, but she still carried some bitterness in her and it flared from time to time. Her relationship with her dragon was not one of easy love as it was for most riders, but her situation was not the norm.

When Lynderas seemed to backpedal suddenly, she frowned, looking him over again, “Your father? How old are you? Surely old enough to make your own decisions about your life?” It was hard to be sure, sometimes. He looked old enough not to be bound to obey his parents any longer, but perhaps he was only near old enough. She also didn’t know his circumstances. Perhaps his father needed his aid and he felt duty bound to stay. Nimiath spoke for her alone, He wishes to go, but there is fear in him. He is afraid of someone. His father? Perhaps. I can only see what settles on the surface, and I cannot always make sense of it all.

The green then reached out to Lynderas once more, If you fear your father, then come. What will he do when you have a dragon by your side? Does he wish to be eaten? She raised her head, jaws parted, and snapped them shut for emphasis, causing some in the crowd to back away quickly for fear that she was about to lash out, but Nimiath ignored them all, focused entirely on Lynderas, No dragon would ever suffer for their rider to be harmed, that I promise you, little one. Come, and you need not fear anyone you leave behind. And if you do not Impress, does your father have wings? Will he fly to find you? She snorted derisively, You do not have to return here, if you fear what awaits. Kenessia let those words stand for a moment before adding her own reassurance, “Nimi is right. Mavros will be glad to have you even if you don’t Impress. If you don’t want to come back here, you don’t have to. Whatever your skills, I’m sure they could be put to good use.”