Water walking. (Open)

[Rhush]

Srunae :: Gold Danovelith

The black cliffs loomed high above the weyrlingpair as they wandered down the dark, wet sands of the shore, reaching into a misty sky with probing, spiny fingers. The atmosphere above threatened a light rainstorm, dark, heavy, and foreboding - just the way Srunae liked it. She loved rain, loved the slight chill in the air just before the skies would open up and start to dump their load on the earth below, rejuvenating the thirsty plants and cooling the heat of summer in one fell swoop.

Danovelith wasn't entirely sure. She had already had her bath, and the rain would simply not do with her newly oiled honey-colored hide. Are you sure you want to walk until it rains? Srunae nodded, opting to speak aloud despite being able to answer telepathically. "Of course. I love the time before the storm - and then the rain on the roof of a building is incredibly soothing." Danovelith cocked her head at her bonded, something that was already close to being larger than her arms could hold.

It had only been three months since Danovelith had hatched, three blissful months, and the dragonet was already the size of a small work-runner, heralding the fact that she would soon be one of the largest dragons in the Weyr. Goodness, how time flies! I suppose we can walk for a little while then, but we must get off the beach before the storm starts, my dear. I don't want to be so exposed if it turns out to be a lightning storm. Very well Dano, my heart. The dragon huffed, and Srunae chuckled, rubbing her muzzle affectionately.

It was nice to get to walk around a bit instead of being stuck in the weyrling barracks all the time - and Dano wasn't quite too large to fit through the Harbor cave yet, and return to the bowl that way; though the gold disliked the fishy smell, and required that she be bathed again to remove it. Srunae sighed and listened to the sound of the waves crashing into the shore, smiling softly. Life was wonderful, wasn't it?

[Zen]

Talaria :: Green Tanith

Standing on the shore, just above the spray from the crashing waves, Talaria gazed out past the little island… out toward the open sea where so many had died in the Threadstorm. Her hands were clenched into tight fists at her sides, the memory of that horrid day replaying vividly in her mind. She had been thinking about that day far too often since the hatching… since those two glorious Golds broke shell and chose women who were not her, making them future leaders of the Weyr her parents had died for and leaving her… leaving her on her Green. In a fit of sudden anger she cast about for something to throw, finding a fist sized rock nearby and chucking it as far as she could into the water.

You will never ride Gold! I never thought you would be so stupid to dwell on something you cannot change for so long! Tanith hissed in her mind, tone venomous with her own anger… and pain.

Talaria cringed at that pain, the pain she caused her own dragon. It was a vicious circle between them that often spiraled out of control… especially these past few months, ever since the new Golds had hatched, every time she saw them, thought about them… this rage would push forward. It should have been here down there on the sands, Impressing Gold… it should be her with the bright future as a leader of Mavros. Instead these two usurpers were brought in from Faranth knows where, these girls with no attachment to Mavros before their Impression, these girls who stole her dragon and stole her future.

I AM YOUR FUTURE!

Talaria gasped from the force of Tanith’s words. The Green took off from their weyr ledge and flew up, high into the sky where she dwindled away until she was hidden amongst the clouds. Talaria’s heart physically hurt from the pain in her dragon’s voice, but it seemed Tanith had had enough of her rider’s thoughts for Talaria could barely feel the dragon’s presence at the back of her mind. Tanith had withdrawn from her.

She didn’t mean to hurt Tanith, she didn’t want to hurt her dragon, but she also… she also couldn’t help it… that she had never wanted Tanith, not under the circumstances they had come together in. If there had just been a Gold in her clutch… if Talaria had been older… perhaps on the edge of aging out of candidacy…. Tanith had stolen her future as much as these girls who had Impressed the twin Golds, and no matter how hard she tried, she would always resent her dragon for that. If it had not been for Tanith, she would have been down there on those sands when those Golds hatched, she would have had two chances right there in front of her….

She glanced around as she thought she heard a voice off in the distance, only half a whisper as the wind distorted the words. Her vision clouded slightly as her bright blue-green gaze settled upon one of the very reasons for her recent anger. She even had her lovely new Gold with her. Faranth was she lucky she hadn’t walked this way sooner or she might have been the target of the thrown rock rather the sea. All of her anger was now focused on this woman who had stolen a dragon that could have been hers, on this woman who was causing her to think these thoughts, and to hurt Tanith. Talaria had so far avoided making any contact with Mavros’s two new Goldriders, but as the pair drew closer, she stalked forward, drawing her fist back and throwing a punch aimed at the other woman's face, “Why did you come here!?”

[Rhush]

Srunae :: Gold Danovelith

Srunae was shocked, to say the least, as the greenrider came stalking forward to meet the weyrlingpair. In the same regard, Srunae was completely off guard as the other woman threw her punch and ended up taking it squarely in the left eye as she attempted to avoid getting punched in the nose or jaw. The weyrling fell to the sand in a slump, clutching her eye and biting her tongue so as to not scream. Fight or flight responses immediately started ringing bells in her mind and filling her limbs with adrenaline, which sent her dragon into protective mother mode.

Srunae! Danovelith shouted, broadcasting her pained reaction in shock. The gold was over her rider in moments, eyes whirling violent shades of red and orange as she glared at the offending greenrider. Her tail lashed in anger and she barely managed to avoid snarling at the woman, as unladylike as it would have been. She had attacked her mindmate! This woman, who seemed intent on simply shouting as if Srunae had committed some crime, had attacked her Srunae! Surely no one would fault her for being less than lady-like in this situation...

How dare you... Danovelith hissed at Talaria, her statement flat and venomous, removed from the initial burst of emotion. I'm okay, Dano... The unspoken wave of control and comfort that Srunae levied upon her dragon left the gold momentarily surprised as she continued to eye the other rider with some disdain. She... she attacked you! I cannot allow that to go unpunished! Srunae placed her free hand on her dragon's neck and continued to apply pressure to her eye with the other, her heart racing. It's okay Dano, it's okay. She thought, struggling to get herself under control.

Her eye hurt, her body raced, and her dragon wanted nothing more than to throw this woman into the sea to float away and never come back. It was all Srunae could do not to have a panic attack, or fall into some sort of Sarah Burnhart style tizzy. What... what had just happened? What was this chick going on about?

The accusational tone of Talaria's question left Srunae staring back in shock, her uncovered right eye watering from the stinging in the left. "Why did I wha--" She stammered, her mind struggling to decipher what it was she was asking in tandem with why she had struck her. "I was just taking a walk on the beach with Danovelith... it reminds me of home..." She managed, otherwise totally lost as to what the woman was referring to. Danovelith, her honey-gold wings mantled, shared the same confusion as Srunae, but was more intent on making sure this intruder didn't hurt her mindmate again.

[Zen]

Talaria

As enraged as she was, as much as she hated this woman, this Goldrider, Talaria was not stupid enough to attempt to strike at her again when her Gold was standing over her, eyes whirling red with anger and wings stretched in a threatening display. She took one step back from the angry dragon, but glared up at the Gold defiantly, angry at her too, for existing, for choosing someone else. Angry… though she would never think of physically harming a dragon even if there wasn’t the risk of being mauled in return. Her rider was fair game, however… when she was alone anyway.

She took another step back as she realized she’d just struck a Goldrider. Her mind was beginning to clear, not much, but enough. She was still pissed as all get out, but she no longer quite felt the need for violence (of course, an angry dragon staring you down was often a good remedy for violent feelings). The fact that the other woman didn’t seem to comprehend her question was further maddening. “I didn’t mean the sharding beach you deadglow!” she snarled. Her answer, it reminded her of home..., “If you miss it so much why did you leave? Why did you come here!?” She waved her hand frantically at the cliffs hulking over them… at Mavros.

“Why… why would you want to come here? Everyone hates us. No one wants to come here... the only ones we get here are the other Weyrs' rejects. Does that include you? How does a reject Impress a Gold? Your home… you can’t leave now. We won’t let you. We need our Golds more than any other Weyr. If you miss it why did you leave? What does Mavros hold for you? Why… your future here… will you care? Do you care at all about us? About what we’ve been through? You couldn’t ever understand… how can you lead us if you don’t know where we’ve been!?” Emotion choked her; that ever present rage, and pain, and… hope.

Talaria wanted what was best for Mavros, more than anything, she wanted what was best for this place that her parents had died for, so their deaths would not be in vain. She wanted Mavros to thrive, to rub it in the noses of all the Weyrs who had withdrawn their support that they survived on their own, no, not just survived, but thrived, without their help. They didn’t need them. But they needed leaders who knew all they had been through, who were devoted to Mavros, to seeing the Weyrhold thrive, leaders who were strong and independent, with good judgment, leaders who would never give up, for all the bad luck Mavros had so far, there were so many talks of giving up, of giving in, of begging the other Weyrs for help… of disbanding. “You weren’t here… you weren’t here for anything! How can anyone expect you to understand us? How can anyone trust you with the power you’ve been given? How can you deserve it… how can you deserve it more than me!?”

[Rhush]

Srunae :: Gold Danovelith

What... what?

Srunae flinched as Talaria snapped at her for misunderstanding her question, but really, what else could she have thought the greenrider had been referring to? Randomly punching someone on the beach and demanding they explain "why they were there" didn't really immediately translate as, "why did you come to the weyrhold?" The goldweyrling simply watched, quietly then, as the other rider fell into an emotional spiel, calling the young woman all manner of poor things and questioning everything about her arrival at the Weyrhold.

Did she care? Yes. Was she a reject? Certainly not! How could she impress gold? By being herself. Srunae fought back a soft smile at her dragon's attempts to quell the painful thoughts running around her mind and mentally thanked her for being so supportive. But the questions did make her think: What did she see in Mavros? Why did she leave her home... and how could she understand? Srunae simply stared, waiting, watching, observing this crazed woman rant about her, about how she couldn't possibly be worthy to lead her beloved home, how Srunae couldn't possibly be what was best for Mavros. The gold weyrling continued to just sit there, backside cold in the sand, one hand over an injured eye and the other on her dragon's head, just... just taking it in, thinking.

This was nothing new to her.

Being called a reject, worthless, incapable... this was nothing new. It was criticism she had heard from a young age, and she hadn't thought she would never hear it again. It was part of growing up, of bettering yourself to fulfill whatever duty may be laid upon you. As the woman finished on an obviously personal note, Srunae saw it all; the hurt, the pain, the feeling of disgrace because she hadn't impressed a metallic beauty like Danovelith. She blamed everyone else for a failure in impressing high... and yet she still wore the knots of a greenrider.

Wasn't she happy to have impressed at all? To have been found worthy by a dragon, even if its hide wasn't shiny? Srunae sighed as the rider finished, looking to the ground beneath her and finally removing her hand from her bruising eye to lean on it in the sand. Danovelith whuffed at her hair in surprise at how dark the injury was already becoming and eyed Talaria with a harder stare than before. Oh my Srunae... She said comfortingly, sending a wave of support through her rider. I'm alright darling... I'll make a joke out of it later. Now then...

"I left Ista because I needed to." She said quietly, hazel gaze finding its way back to the other woman's blue one. "My family told me about Mavros," Srunae winced a little here, her eye stinging again. "I will admit I was hesitant at first," She said, shifting her position and standing with assistance from her dragon. "But I came to Mavros because the people here needed help. I can't just leave people to suffer when I could do something, anything, no matter how small, to help them." That was what she was good at, after all, helping people. "I didn't believe myself any more worthy than a groundworm walking on to those sands, and I certainly didn't believe myself worthy of a gold, let alone "deserve one" as you say." Danovelith rumbled a bit, as if proud she had surprised her Srunae.

"But I had hope. Hope that I might impress, hope that I could stay and help around the herds, hope that I could be of some use, worthless as I may be." Srunae shrugged here and looked down at Dano's head beneath her arm. "Thanks to Danovelith's decision, I can help the Weyrhold in so many more ways than I had imagined..." She shook her head and looked up at Talaria again. "I'm lucky she thought I deserved the chance, even if I didn't. Why, even if she hadn't, I would have been happy with another dragon that deemed me fitting, if any." Srunae's face settled into a calm, thoughtful expression as she continued. "After failing to impress for close to six turns, I can't help but congratulate anyone who impresses - it's a gift, you know, to impress." She offered Talaria a muted smile. "I can't say I'll ever understand everything here at Mavros," Like why this woman felt so slighted despite impressing what was likely a wonderful green...

"But I do understand the meaning of need- and I can only do my best to fulfill those needs like anyone else can with the tools I have available." And thanks to Danovelith, she had more tools than she could have ever imagined possible.

Thank you, Dano.

You're welcome. Now stop being mushy and stand up straight. What am I going to do about that eye of yours?! You can't be seen in public like that!

I love you too.

[Zen]

Talaria

She may have started out glaring death at this other woman from slitted, cat-like eyes, but her calm words in the face of anger and violence had them widening in surprise. Perhaps she may have interrupted, continued to rant and rail, if not for the other woman’s own self control. Instead she was shocked into silence as she listened to the calm explanation, the answers to her questions. Srunae very well could have cowered and told her all she wanted to hear, to appease her anger, to avoid further violence, or she could have returned her violence equally, defending herself with bold faced lies and exaggeration and arrogance… but she did neither. She was honest. And humble. This was… was this what made a Goldrider?

All the things they said about Goldriders and Greenriders… perhaps there was truth in some of it. A leader needed a cool head… they needed to be calm and collected and this woman… she was exhibiting just that when so many others would have lashed out or fled. Fight or flight… but this woman had chosen a different option. She had made her own option. That was what leaders did… when they did not like the choices presented, they found another way, or they made one. If the roles had been reversed, Talaria knew she would have lashed out. She would not have hesitated. There would be no third option for her. Surely no Gold would ever choose her… the way she was now. How could she lead if she couldn’t keep a clear head under stress and unfavorable circumstances?

Her gaze narrowed slightly as the woman seemed to be scolding her for not being thankful to have Impressed at all. She knew she was right, but she still… it was hard to let go of a dream you had so firmly locked in your mind that there was no room for deviation until you were READY to deviate. She hadn’t been ready. If only Tanith had hatched later… a few turns… it would have given her time to resign herself to that fact that she would never ride Gold. As it was she still had a few turns left when Tanith had chosen her, a few turns to stand before more Gold eggs, a few more chances at her dream. Tanith ripped them away and she hadn’t been ready… hadn’t been ready to accept anything less than her dream coming true.

She stared at Srunae after she had finished, searching the other woman’s face. Finally she closed her eyes, resigned…. This woman… she… she deserved a Gold… even more than… more than her. And perhaps… she would be good for Mavros. Talaria had expected a number of responses to punching a Goldrider in the face, but this had not been one of them. “I….” she trailed off, looking at the young Gold and down at the sand at her feet. She was unsure how to respond to this unexpected situation. Taking a deep breath, she raised her head to face the woman again, “I… will not apologize to you. It would be a lie. I am not sorry. It felt good to hit you… as childish as that is.” She paused for a moment, still arranging her thoughts, “However, I… I will admit I…,” was wrong, “Overreacted…. I will not make excuses for myself. If… if you wish to bring this to the Weyrleaders then… I will take responsibility for my actions.”

Her tone was curt and clipped, coldly polite, for she knew not how else to handle this woman at this point in time. All Talaria knew was that… she clearly deserved the rank bestowed upon her by her Gold, and Talaria respected those who deserved what they had… who had earned it somehow. “I have misjudged you.” She met the other woman’s eyes, “For that… I am sorry. To both of you.” She dipped her head slightly toward Danovelith. It was much easier to apologize to a dragon, especially a Gold dragon, than it was to apologize to other humans. At least it was for Talaria. But she had brought the Gold’s judgment into question when she questioned her rider’s worthiness… and so she had misjudged them both in the process.

“I hope all you’ve told me… I hope it remains true. Mavros… needs riders like you.” Her hands clenched into fists at her sides briefly, before she forced herself to relax and took a few steps forward, offering her hand to the other woman, ready for it to be rejected, “I am Talaria… rider of Green Tanith. I… am training to be a dragonhealer. I look forward to… working with you, in the future. It is… it is good to have more Golds…. Faranth forbid… if Zalmaranth had ever gotten hurt before… we would have been hard pressed to subdue her so we could heal her.” She paused again, wracking her brain. She had wanted as little as possible to do with these two new Goldriders, but this one…, “It is… nice to meet you, Danovelith. And… Srunae?” It was difficult NOT to hear talk of the new Goldriders, Talaria had so far simply never attempted to remember any of it. However, she was fairly certain the one that had Impressed Danovelith was named Srunae. The other was… Mel… something.

Well, this wasn’t at all awkward. However, she did wish to make up for misjudging this woman’s character, and her dragon’s judgment. She had misjudged before and it had caused nothing but pain to herself, to her brother… to Kenessia who had become a good friend since then. She wished to learn from her mistakes… to become a better person who could stop causing others pain. Perhaps then, one day, she could learn to forgive Tanith, and to move forward… and to stop hurting her dragon as well.

[Rhush]

Srunae :: Gold Danovelith

Srunae cut back a chuckle after the young woman explained herself, quietly listening as she always had before and always would again. What are you laughing at, love? Danovelith's absolute disbelief made it still harder to keep a level expression while Talaria finished her apologies, but the weyrling dignified her gold with several images of fistfights, shouting matches, and downright shameful behavior between herself and a young man-- one that closely resembled her. My brother is just like this woman- her comment 'I will not apologize; I am not sorry'; he has said that to me on more than one occasion. The dragon seemed confused a moment, then it dawned on her-- Srunae had handled this young woman like she would have her six-turns-younger brother.

Well. Patience really can be learned, can't it?

By the time Talaria had finished her apologies of sorts, Danovelith had considerably cooled down, and Srunae was feeling less on edge- for though Talaria might not have been aware, the weyrlingpair began thinking of her as a misbehaving child partway through the conversation. (It also helped that the dragonet was rather pleased with the direct apology and bow.) It made more sense then, that she was acting this way; she hadn't grown up yet, hadn't yet come to grips with reality or the consequences of acting out of turn. Probably if Talaria was aware of that, the woman would never talk to Srunae again, but that wasn't the point. At least she had come into contact with Srunae before Melana - even the beastcrafter wasn't sure what she thought of the other goldweyrling. She made her nervous somehow... like there was something... something amiss in her actions. But that was for another day, another time, another situation.

"It's alright." After all that string of apologetic conversation, all Srunae had to say was thus. Two words that spoke a million volumes - forgiveness, understanding, 'it's all water under the bridge.' When an apology is offered, it is often accepted by this one- it's when it's not that she tended to fall into passive grudges. Good work on Talaria's part.

When Talaria offered her hand, Srunae gladly accepted it, gripping the other woman's hand with a firm gusto. You didn't beastcraft and grow up with a hot-headed younger brother without becoming able to levy a strong handshake. She simply smiled as Talaria seemed to hesitate over their names; the beastcrafter still wasn't used to being so well known, but at the very least it was a nice reprieve from the usual methods of making friends. With the major introduction out of the way, it wasn't uncommon for people to jump right into the conversation. But nonetheless... "Well met Talaria. Tanith chose well." Her lips quirked slightly in amusement, hazel eyes twinkling despite the dark bruise over one of them. But, at least she wasn't seeing Talaria as her overreacting baby brother, but as a comrade. "I wish you luck in dragonhealing; I hear it's a tough business." And she had heard such. She was also aware that goldriders were taught some degree of dragonhealing because of their calming abilities over lower ranked colors. Perhaps they would end up working together?

Danovelith, though initially quite displeased, had for the most part come to grips with the situation. This greenrider was still stuck in the past, despite having a future set out before her. It was odd to the dragonet, but to Srunae it seemed rather normal. Up until this point, Danovelith had opted out of speaking to the dark-haired woman, but now it seemed pertinent for her to at least offer the same token as her beloved. Apology accepted... You are lucky it was Srunae and I you came upon. Though a touch brooding and foreboding in tone, the pale gold was not lying- Sularenth would not have been able to restrain herself very well; for though neither Srunae nor Danovelith were well-acquainted with the other gold's bonded, they did know Sularenth- and the bigger twin was certainly prone to flying off the handle. A peal of thunder resounded offshore, and Srunae turned her gaze off to the water to meet it. Hazel gaze returned to the greenrider, thoughtful in its considerations.

"Well, it looks like the storm is about upon us, and I promised Danovelith we would go back inside before it would start to rain," The once beastcrafter explained, before grinning. "Would you be willing to wander back in with us, Talaria? I am dying for some klah..." And as a retreating sting from her eye reminded the girl of the injury, she added on, "And maybe some numbweed..." with an amused chuckle. Still a touch awkward, but Srunae wasn't interested in reporting Talaria to any higher authorities at this point. Perhaps the woman would be willing to help her come up with a cover story? 'Gold weyrling trips and faceplants on a shell, garnering black eye...' Yeah right, and greenriders punched goldriders.

Oh wait...