Carving Up Dragons ((Open))

[Minajerie]

"Well, I had anticipated the fact that I may have no life once I got a dragon... Well, a life that revolves around said dragon. But little else. I'm prepared for such a change. It gets tiring... being alone." Andilay smiled lightly and waved at the newly arrived flitter.

"Hello there. Aren't you the interesting one?"

[ShadowReine]

Thunder chirped a bit at Andilay, thankfully distracted from any attempt to steal the carving. R'mer laughed a bit. "He's just a random blue, aren't you, Thunder."

Not that R'mer wasn't fond of his little blue. "And a tailchaser, at time...anything green or barred, right? Then again, Tinth has his moments."

Not that the young blue had *caught* a female yet. Well, only likely to be a matter of time...he just hoped that when he did, it would be one of the male ridden greens.

"And riders have lives. You just have to graduate weyrlinghood to earn one. Trust me. Although the ranking riders, not so much. Goldriders definitely don't get lives. But I doubt we'll have another queen any time soon...not with two golds and two violets."

[Minajerie]

Andilay smiled calmly. "Then I suppose I shall not worry about getting a high ranking dragon. Not that I have much of a life now... but one can hope for the future, eh?" The swordswoman shrugged and made a cooing noise towards the blue.

"You just want a girl to cuddle don't you sweetheart?" Andilay chuckled and swiped a small multi colored octagon from one of her pouches and tossed it into the air and then caught it with ease. "Or just someone to play with?"

[ShadowReine]

R'mer laughed. "Right now, I think he wants a treat. Right, Thunder?"

The blue chirped at his name, but then saw the octagon and pounced towards it, little wings spread. It was pretty and shiny and he wanted it! He wanted it right now.

"...or a toy. Watch out, he's as likely to grab it and go between to Faranth knows where as actually play with you."

At least dragons didn't pounce like that. Often. Tinth did occasionally, and it always looked utterly ridiculous. Of course, with Tinth everything depended on exactly what mood he was in...which varied a lot. A lot.

[Minajerie]

Andilay chuckled and brought out two more octagons and started juggling them. Her hands were nimble, and some of the performers couldn't let her go before teaching her a few tricks. After all, if she was with them (Even if she was just a temporary guard) she should at least learn something entertaining... Or so they said.

"I don't mind. It's only one when I have several, and I can always make more. These are quite simple and quickly made." Andilay shrugged. He should see the pack full of random carvings she had by her bed in the candidate barracks. It's what her hands did while she was bored or... thinking.

[ShadowReine]

Of course, juggling with an inquisitive firelizard in a playful mood right next to one might not work. Thunder flew right into the pattern, trying to grab her octagons.

R'mer laughed. "Thunder, please, let her show off?" Of course, the blue ignored him. There was no way he was going to let a game this fun pass!

"Blues," the rider finally pronounced. "Sometimes I wish I only had one of them. Maybe you should hope for a green...then again, they're insane too, just in a different way."

Thunder attempted to squawk indignation, but found he couldn't do that and hold an octagon in his mouth at the same time! Of course, that gave Andilay a chance to retrieve her 'ball' as it went falling towards the ground.

"Silly. Blues."

I am not silly. Stop lumping me in with that...moron of a firelizard

You are when some pretty green or barred shakes her tail at you

Harrumph

[Minajerie]

Andilay shrugged. "I think blues are honest creatures. Honest about their feelings and what they want. They are also extremely loyal, from what I have seen. To be quite honest, I wouldn't mind a blue, or a green or a barred. After all, no matter what color it is, it is the creature inside of the hide, the soul of the dragon, that I will be living with for the rest of my life. And I think, to that, I will have no objections."

Andilay snatched the ball before it fell to the ground and tossed it back to the blue flitter. If he liked it, he could have it. She rather loved giving things to those who liked them.

[ShadowReine]

R'mer grinned. "Oh, I'm more than happy as a bluerider. I was pretty much expecting blue or green anyway. I'm just not leader material."

The blue firelizard caught the ball in his talons and then landed, inspecting it very carefully. He even licked it with his little, darting tongue.

"And you have, I think, to trust the dragons. They may not make the choices we want or expect, but it always seems to work out in the end. Have you ever met a truly unhappy rider?"

He flickered her a grin, knowing the answer was no. Even the girl who had come here with her heart set on Impressing a queen and now had the smallest dragon in the Weyr seemed to be completely happy and content. "It's good to have an open mind about color, though. If you don't, you can actually put a dragonet off you. That's why so many of those girls who set their hearts on golds age out without Impressing at all."

[Minajerie]

Her chest rumbled with a chuckle. "Well, I have never met a dragonrider who was unhappy, no. I think it would be an impossible task to find one." She unconsciously tapped her bottom lip as she thought. "But no person or creature lives forever. There is such a thing, as an unhappy ending."

Andilay cocked her head to the side. "Then those females were foolish. Sure, aiming high is a good thing... but expecting it or demanding it? I think that is the sign of an arrogant fool. I know of the unhappy endings of a weyr. That is why, if I impress, then I will be happy. If I don't, then I will wait. I am patient, for truly, all we have is the past... and the present. You can plan for the future, but as they say- 'even the best laid plans can be led astray'."

[ShadowReine]

R'mer grinned. "Exactly. And there's definite advantages to being a blue or green rider. Or barred. You might get a barred."

The barreds were extremely pretty, prettier than greens, in his opinion. "Frankly, I doubt we'll have another queen egg for a little while. We have four queens, and Weyrs seldom go to five. We're actually maybe approaching the point where we have to consider splitting the Weyr to get the queens further apart."

Close, but probably not there yet. R'mer was personally relieved that the barreds had turned out not to be fertile...too many dragons was almost as bad as too few. They could eat people out of house and home.

[Minajerie]

Andilay chuckled. "Barred, barred, barred! You really hope I get a barred, don't you? Well, the odds are good. You may get your wish." She shook her head, and played with a wooden coin. She flicked it between her fingers, making it dance across them.

"I, too doubt that this weyr will see another queen for a while. That is why I do not expect to see one hatched. Plus, if one did, I hardly think the young queen would go after one such as myself. I am a lowly woman who does not mind the muck of the world. Hardly gold material. So it is lucky that I do not have to worry about my credentials with a green, barred or even perhaps a blue." She shrugged.

[ShadowReine]

R'mer considers that. "You just don't, quite, strike me as a greenrider, but one never knows what will happen."

He reached out to rub Thunder's eyeridge, which was suddenly suspiciously convenient. "Whatever you get will be right for you. But I think I already said that."

He glanced at the carved dragons for a moment. "Maybe you should carve images of your dragon at each stage, so you can remember what she...or he...looked like as a hatchling."

He sometimes wished he had a better record of Tinth, but then again. "Of course, if he's anything like Tinth, you'll be wanting him to grow up as fast as possible. Or just period."

I heard that

You were meant to

I'll get you for it

How?

Bath time

But I like getting wet

Spoilsport

[Minajerie]

Andilay laughed. "Well, I'll keep your idea in mind, I may just end up doing just that. After all, who wouldn't want a carving of their own little beauty? And while you say such things about your dragon, I know you love him greatly, it is in your voice. Affection is a strong thing, perhaps you should shower him with more of it?" Andilay smiled and tucked the rest of her small multicolored balls away and with a slight of hand made the wooden coin disappear.

[ShadowReine]

R'mer laughed. "Oh, I don't think anything could change Tinth. He's always different and always the same. Sometimes I think there's almost more than one dragon in there, he's that changeable. But he's an overgrown hatchling a lot of the time. So's Thunder, but he's a firelizard, so has an excuse."

Firelizards, after all, were simply not all that smart compared with humans or dragons. Especially the blue and green ones. But still...R'mer did love both of his blues.

"You'll love your dragon too, regardless of anything else. And they choose the way they do for a reason...even if it sometimes seems less than obvious to *us*."

Sometimes, the choices of dragons made sense only to them, R'mer thought. But at other times...they could be quite predictable.