Carving Up Dragons ((Open))

[Minajerie]

Ahh, kitchens. They always made Andilay feel at ease. All the people working hard, the good smells, the sounds of food sizzling and the banging of pots... It was soothing. She always chose a spot close to the kitchens at an inn. It was the best place, and now, she could sit in the kitchen! She was so stoked she was already halfway done with a carving.

Thats what she had come there for. Andilay needed the right kind of place to produce good carvings, so where else but a place that also produces good things? Like wine. She had been offered a glass, and never having indulged in it before, decided to give it a try. It was different, but good. She wouldn't want to drink too much of it though, not because of the whole inebriation thing, but because it wasn't the type of taste she would drink a lot of. Like klah. She could drink a pitcher of that stuff in under a minute. This was a known fact in many inns... because there had been large betting pools against her. It brought her great joy to take their money.

She smiled at the memory, and ended up giving her carving a smile too. A draconic smile that is. Apparently she was carving a dragon. Andilay turned the piece of wood this way and that, slowly bringing out the dragon from the wood, as if it were being born. She wondered what color it would be once she finished it...

[ShadowReine]

"What are you working on?" a male voice stated from not that far away. If Andilay looked, she would note that she was being watched by a slightly heavy bluerider, not much older than her, if not the same age...but he did wear a full rider's knot.

The only thing he was carrying was a mug of klah, and he regarded her with distinct curiosity.

She was clearly carving either a dragon or a firelizard, but he did not ask which, yet. "I'm R'mer, of blue Tinth," he introduced, glancing at her knot.

A candidate. Most likely, she would Impress green or barred, then. He doubted there would be another queen shelled for a while.

[Minajerie]

A smile tugged at her lips as she replied. "I'm working on a piece of wood." She smiled and held up the carving. "Perhaps you meant what am I making? A dragon... or so it seems. Don't know what color it'll be yet. I'll find out when I'm finished with it." With a few deft flicks of her knife she brought out a pair of content but smiling eyes in the creature.

"I'm Andilay. Sword for hire, candidate and whittler extraordinare." She paused in her work and looked straight at him from under her lashes, giving him a small smile. "It's nice to meet you, R'mer of blue Tinth."

[ShadowReine]

R'mer nodded. "I think it looks like a male dragon, to me, but you're right. Hard to tell until it's finished. Can I join you,l or would I be distracting you from your work?"

He'd heard other carvers say that, that the shape was in the wood and all they did was find it. "I hope you find yours on the Sands soon," he added, an oblique way of wishing her luck.

He had been lucky, he had Impressed the first time he stood, to a color that was perfectly fine for him...some would have called Tinth a 'mere' blue, but R'mer was not one of them. Blues were absolutely essential, after all.

[Minajerie]

Andilay looked at the face or the dragon in surprise. "You're right, it does look like a male dragon. Hmmm... you know, most of the time I barely even look at what I carve, I just... well, carve. So, no, I don't mind the company." While she spoke her hands kept moving, whittling out and defining a tail and a strong wing. She glanced at it and nodded. "I think he may be a Tan. I just get that feel for him."

Andilay paused at his expression of hopeful wishes and tapped the flat of her blade against her cheek. "Perhaps. One can hope my him or her will find me at this hatching. I believe there are more women than men candidates though. Could mean trouble for the upcoming hatching. Hope you find some more young bucks to fill in the ranks so there aren't many betweening dragonetts. I hear that is just a terribly heart wrenching seen. One I'd prefer not to witness." She made a curt cutting gesture with her knife then turned it back to it's task.

She downed the last of her wine and looked a little sheepishly at R'mer. "If you want to be awesome, could you can get me a mug of klah? You don't have to, if you don't want to."

[ShadowReine]

R'mer nodded. "I only just graduated myself. I don't yet know if Tinth has Search sense...many blues do, but many also do not. It's part knack, part personality...some dragons just don't pay enough attention to people other than their rider."

Well, there were ways to find out, and maybe he could ask to accompany one of the Searchriders. Find out, one way or another.

"And sure, don't want to interrupt the creative flow." The rider moved to do so...he could always get the Candidate to pay him back later.

"Fortunately, there will probably be a lot of greens and barreds...greens slightly prefer women and barreds prefer women a lot. There's only one male barred rider." He had a feeling this girl might Impress barred, if there was one out there for her.

[Minajerie]

Andilay nodded. "Well, if he does have search sense, then that will give you something different to do. It could be refreshing."

She carved out a belly and smiled. The tan was done. He had smiling eyes and maw, with haunches raised not unlike the playful posture of a puppy. His wings folded and crossing his body.

Andilay took out a piece of sandpaper and smoothed some of his edges. After she was done with that she pulled out two paintbrushes and a few small bottles of paint from her belt-pouch.

"I'm sure that barred is quite happy with her chosen though. Hopefully everything will go just fine." She smiled and started to paint the carving a light tan color, using careful and precise strokes.

[ShadowReine]

R'mer laughed. "No dragon is unhappy with his or her chosen. Except maybe the charcoals. They seem to be incapable of happy."

Would there be any more of those? "That tan looks like he didn't hatch all that long ago, doesn't he. Playful."

She should carve a blue dragon

I didn't know you were awake, handsome

I was listening. I want her to carve a blue dragon.

R'mer laughed. "Tinth is trying to commission a carving of a blue now." He would have to just wait and see on that, but he was willing to give the girl something in return.

[Minajerie]

"That's easy enough." Andilay stopped painting and tucked her paintbrush behind her ear. With the same hand she felt down her belt pouches to her third one and pulled out something wrapped up in a cloth. She lightly put down the tan she had been painting to unwrap the parcel. Inside the cloth was a blue dragon carving. He was in a content sleeping position, with one eye open as if to say 'Yes? Did you need something?'

"I was planning on giving it too you anyways, Tinth's demand just makes it easier. I made it this morning. I suppose my subconscious knew I would need it." Andilay shrugged and smiled. She then held out the carving to R'mer.

[ShadowReine]

R'mer laughed. "Sure you don't want anything for it?" Of course, having a rider owing her a small favor might well be in the Candidate's interest...if, say, there was a Gather before she Impressed.

"And dang, that's almost Tinth to the tee." The tail was maybe a bit short, but he'd seen that expression from his blue before. Usually when woken up early for drills. "He's an odd dragon."

Odd as in volatile and emotional, but R'mer had long since learned to live with that, to deal with it. Tinth was, after all, the only dragon for him. "I hope yours is odd too...in a fun way. The odd dragons are the best to hang out with."

[Minajerie]

"I'm sure I would attract nothing else. After all, I am a bit weird myself. Especially all my mannerisms and such. But then again, if you are not weird, that's weird." Andilay smiled and snatched her paintbrush from her ear. She was becoming quite fond of the tan in her hands and wondered if she should sell it. Perhaps she should just start a small collection of the beasts and wait till the appropriate owner surfaced and only sell the few she needed to cover materials.

Andilay shrugged. "At the moment I haven't much need for anything, so he is yours."

[ShadowReine]

"Then I suppose I'll just have to owe you a favor, to be repaid later." R'mer smiled at her, then at the carving. His weyr could use a few more nicknacks and the like to brighten it up.

So far, he hadn't managed to go beyond the standard issue furnishings. Which were perfectly good, but the chances were fairly high that weyr would be his home for the rest of his life. It needed work.

"So...nervous about the Hatching?" he asked.

[Minajerie]

Andilay paused in her painting. "Hmm... I suppose, a little. I'm more excited and curious. I've never been around dragons much. I've talked with a few riders, sure, but they don't need swordswomen. I stuck with those who could give me income. I rarely ever saw a dragon- and if I did it was far in the distance. Papa told me stories, so... no. I'm not worried that much, nor am I nervous. But I am hopeful."

Andilay smiled as she gave the tan a few finishing touches. "Hope fuels the living, as they say."

[ShadowReine]

R'mer nodded. "Actually being out there can be nervewracking," the bluerider mused. "It's hard not to be nervous when your entire future suddenly hangs in the balance...and in the talons of newly hatched dragons. When you don't really know where you will be afterwards."

He smiled a bit. "Hoping for anything in particular? I could sort of see you with a barred."

And barreds were nice, although he sometimes thought there needed to be more leadership opportunities for the girls. More skies, maybe? But even they were...more equivalent to browns than the bronzes and tans. Well, that was the way things were. There was enough change, though, that...who knew what this Hatching might bring. Another white, maybe?

[Minajerie]

"Well, I know where I will be if I be left standing. And that will be back doing the same thing I've known how to do since I was little. Fight for my marks." Andilay lightly blowed on the dragon carving in an unconscious reaction to help dry it. She set it aside on a paint stained- but cleanly washed- rag.

"I suppose I may draw a barred dragon. They are quite interesting creatures. I wonder though, if there may be more mutations in this clutch. In these times it is a curiosity and an uncertainty that the eggs on the sands will hatch into colors we know." She shrugged. "I wonder if there will ever be a silver dragon. We have gold and bronze. Or perhaps a copper. That would be an interesting sight. Hmmm..."

[ShadowReine]

R'mer hrmed. "The last clutch was most interesting, but it was the first tan and violet dragon clutch so, perhaps, that wasn't a surprise. But anything could happen...we could have more of those interesting black and red dragons, although I think those prefer guys."

He was glad he had an ordinary, regular blue, but he also knew well enough that he would be glad whatever had chosen him. "I think barred dragons are pretty. Tinth thinks they are *very* pretty, of course." Being a blue, Tinth only had a chance with the greens and barreds. He knew it and allowed his prejudices to match.

"A silver dragon would be spectacular, but I don't think there will be one. I dunno. There might even be another white. Have you seen the white?"

[Minajerie]

"The barreds are pretty. The mixture of purple and green is very elegant and their petiteness is very fine. I have not seen the white, but I'm sure I will... eventually." She shrugged and took a sip of klah, finding that to be insufficient, she took a gulp after with a satisfied 'ahhh' when she finished and placed it back on the table.

"Those red and black dragons sound fierce, but not for me, even if they weren't male only. I'm not a soft woman either. I've lived my life alone. I hope I get a sensible yet lighthearted dragon. Someone with a good heart and good sense of humor." Andilay gave a sharp nod to punctuate her statement.

[ShadowReine]

R'mer nodded. "It's my experience people get the dragon they need, not the one they want." He tapped his own knot.

"Tinth is a bit...unpredictable. Volatile. Moody. I never know quite what I'm going to wake up to. But at least he keeps me on my toes. I think I'd get...complacent...without him."

He'd also started to turn into quite the tailchaser...but thank Faranth had not tried to chase a queen, even a violet, yet. R'mer was not sure he could stop him, and definitely didn't want a gold or violet to be insulted and whap the blue with her tail or something!

Blues were just not supposed to chase queens.

[Minajerie]

"How very... interesting. I never knew a dragonrider became so uh... dependent on his dragon. I knew they were close," A shadow crept into her eyes as she said this, "Very close." But then it was gone, replaced by the normal mischievous shine. "But it is nice to know you appreciate each other and except one anothers... differences." She lightly stroked the side of the tan carving, checking to see if the dragon trinket was dry. Finding that it was she pulled out a clean rag to wrap it up in and deposited it into one of her belt pouches before taking another long drag of klah.

"So, what do you tend to do to pass the time between your 'flight practice' and taking care of your dragon and whatnot?"

[ShadowReine]

R'mer considered that for a moment. "It's more than close. It's like they're a second part of our souls, that we don't know is missing until we find it."

He considered that. "Me? Hang out with friends, watch people. If it's a hot day, we might go to the beach and cool off...not that Tinth really needs to cool off, but *I* do sometimes. 'Course...you should realize, riders don't get that much free time. Even if it's a day off, we still have to look after our dragons."

Maybe he could convince this Candidate to help him wash Tinth some day. She had to learn how to do it sooner or later.

A blue shape flitted out of between and settled to the rider's shoulder. "Talking of blues...hey there, Thunder."

Thunder chirped cheerfully, then peered at the dragon carving intently.

"Don't you even think about it."