Looking for something I lost (open)

[ShadowReine]

Greenriders, in general, did not wander into the storage caverns. However, T'mar had a very good reason to be down here.

The last he had seen of Blossom, his kagen had been vanishing into the tunnels...well, he had seen her rear end, anyway.

He had thought she would come out fairly quickly, but now he was wondering if the little creature was lost. So, he was wandering through the storage area calling "Blossom! Blossom!"

At least he had chosen a name for her that, while girly, was not TOO embarrassing to call out. And beside, she was a girl and girly colored, so it fit pretty well.

But where the heck was she? He knew she wouldn't find much to eat down here. Kagen preferred fresh greenery to anything they might find in stores.

"Where is that sharding kagen?" he finally said, glaring around the room he was in.

And in his mind came a rumble of amusement. Freyjath thought this was all most entertaining.

[Sparrow]

"Don't tell me you've lost one of those little animals down here." Tirasha, as she often seemed to do, had shown up at an inconvenient moment for anyone else around. "I don't think of the weyrfolk would be happy to know they're crawling around." Sure a few kept them, but the- kagen, were they? She could never remember. Well, a few kept them, but they still looked like they were perfectly capable of doing the usual job of vermin. What would one get into?

Willow chirruped softly, reminding Tirasha she had her own task to do in the storage rooms, but now the animals were more on her attention. She did like the kagen actually, but didn't like mess so... they were only likable in the right places. Not that that made much sense; Tianthe was really starting to rub off on her after so long.

"Well, maybe I could help you a bit then. I brought along three pairs of eyes, anyways." Tianthe, fluttering alongside Tirasha, gurgled, somewhat surprised by this sudden decision to help. Willow took off with his usual refinement and glided across the room, not about to wait for the boy missing a pet to tell him he could hunt for it. "What was its name?" Ignoring her fire-lizards, Tirasha glanced at the boy, whose name was also failing her. Some Greenrider... but there were a lot of them.

[ShadowReine]

T'mar sighed, blushing a little. "Yeah. She doesn't normally run off like this. I'm actually wondering if she might be coming into heat."

She was certainly full grown and she was certainly female. "If she's proddy, then she's going to act a bit odd." He was determined to find her before she did any damage. "Her name's Blossom. She's one of the peach colored ones."

He glanced at the two firelizards...both very attractive, he thought. "And I know she went this way."

She also was hiding. He was sure of that. She knew she wasn't supposed to be down here, and was avoiding the lecture she was likely to get. She wasn't as smart as a firelizard, but she definitely had an awareness of what she was and was not supposed to do.

Running off fell under was not, definitely.

[Sparrow]

"That would be interesting." No one, as far as Tirasha knew, had much of an idea about how kagen went about mating, past that they seemed to have taken to showing up inside to have their young. It wasn't something she was horribly interested in though, despite what she had just said to the rider. Best she just focused on finding the animal.

A small smile quirked Tirasha's lips when the boy added that he knew where Blossom had gone. "And how do you know that?" Well, unless he meant that he knew she was in the storage caverns, but that was pretty broad. If he was actually on the kagen's tail, that would be more impressive.

Tianthe poked her head into every nook and cranny she came upon but, seeing as she was flying, most of them probably wouldn't be accessible to Blossom. Willow had dropped to the ground and looked under shelves, often jerking back from them with a shake of his head and a snort moments later because of dust. Watching them, Tirasha was quickly losing hope in either of the flitters making any progress and stooped to peer behind a crate.

"You're definitely going to have to give her a bath or something when she shows up again," she commented absently. This place was in dire need of a cleaning... it was a relief that wasn't her job.

[ShadowReine]

T'mar nodded. "Yeah. And she won't be pleased about that. It's probably why she's hiding."

On one of the crates, a peach-furred creature crouched. She was hiding...there was no way she was coming out now she had heard the word bath. Of course, whilst neither of the humans could see her up there, it was entirely probable the firelizards could. If they were paying attention or could be made to do so. Of course, being firelizards, they might not. Besides, they might not think she could get up there, although the way things were arranged made fairly neat Kagen-steps.

Tirasha was right, T'mar thought. This place needed cleaning. "I'm glad I'm not a Candidate...I just know who's going to end up sweeping this place. When they get around to it."

Why had Blossom gone and chosen the dirtiest part of the storage caverns to hide in?

[Sparrow]

Tirasha smiled. Fire-lizards weren't much for avoiding baths, but to a furry creature, it would probably be viewed as a punishment. Pets trying to avoid that was something she had mountains of experience in. Willow rumbled slightly too; he always enjoyed sharing in his keepers thoughts and wasn't, anyways, usually the subject of such a thing.

Tianthe, on the other hand, was already growing tired of her search and dropped onto a crate. Tilting her nose up towards the ceiling, she initiated plan B: sniffing until she caught an unfamiliar whiff she figured would mean kagen.

"The chances of them getting around to it aren't particularly high though, I'd imagine." Every Candidate would be on the job if they ever did though. This was a particularly dirty area, but the whole of the storage caverns could use at least a dusting. "Maybe someone should mention it to the Headwoman or Kora." Also not her job though.

[ShadowReine]

T'mar considered that. "Not sure that's my job, on the other hand..." He glanced at Willow. "You have a talkative firelizard there."

Well, vocalization in firelizards and dragons was not really how they talked. Blossom vocalized too. He was still really learning what all her various noises meant.

She was, though, adorable. When she wasn't picking the dirtiest part of the caverns to hide in. "Blossom..." Then he sighed. "You know what. I think we need an extra incentive here. Like redfruit. She loves redfruit."

Not that he wanted to reward the kagen for hiding, but it seemed unlikely she would come out. And Freyjath still thought the entire thing was hilarious. Of course, Freyjath thought Blossom was hilarious in general...an utterly silly creature alien to dragonkind.

[Sparrow]

"Well, then I'll mention it to a cook or something." She knew a few that might take to such a suggestion without being too likely to make her help out. If one of them would claim the idea as completely their own, it would be even better. There would be no chance of her or this rider, since they would probably ask what she was even doing noticing the dust, getting caught up in the job that way.

Tirasha glanced at Willow. "Not usually." Well, mostly she just didn't notice him since the Bronze was rarely making a noise that wasn't just echoing whatever she had said. "I'm surprised Tianthe's so quiet though." It was unlike the Green to not be chattering constantly, especially right now when she had someone to find. Tianthe managed a smirk from her perch, always pleased when she confused her keeper.

A redfruit was definitely something Tirasha- or her flitters, really- could help with. "Tianthe could go grab one." The Green had plenty of practice sneaking things from the kitchens, anyways. Before Tirasha had even given the order, the fire-lizard had taken off and popped between. Only a few moments passed before she reappeared in front of the rider with a fruit clutched in her forepaws.

Willow almost rolled his eyes at his sister's eagerness and continued his slow journey down the rows of crates.

[ShadowReine]

Willow would see a Kagen ear, now, quite clearly poking out, although the rest of the creature was still in shadow.

T'mar flickered the green a grin, reaching for the fruit. "You have them well trained," he complimented the healer. Firelizards, especially green ones, were not *that* easy to train. Heck, some days, his *dragon* didn't do what she was told.

Of course, she was green as well, and utterly silly. "Blossom! Redfruit!"

The kagen did not yet emerge, but the visible-only-to-Willow ear distinctly...twitched. Yes, that was definitely a twitch.

Tirasha had very cute firelizards, too, T'mar decided. I'm cuter Freyjath commented.

You certainly are.

Especially, he had noticed lately, if one asked the male dragons. He supposed she was growing up...and soon enough would rise to mate. He half hoped Tinth flew her. He would definitely not mind R'mer in his furs...and certainly prefer him to a female bluerider.

[Sparrow]

It took Willow a moment to see the fragment of animal poking out from the shadows, but it wasn’t hard to recognize once he did. Sniffing curiously, he put his forepaws on a crate and stretched toward it.

“I wouldn’t call Tianthe well trained, but she definitely gets her… eager moods every now and then. They usually turn out to be more bad than good in the end though.” Tianthe let T’mar take her fruit and fluttered over to Tirasha, her eyes whirling slightly yellow with vague offense at the comment. Landing on the Healer’s shoulder awarded her a few absent scratches though, which made up for it. “She just can’t seem to catch on that she’s the only one around here who’s fond of beetles. Willow though…”

Willow had apparently found Blossom; the slight twitch of her ear assured him he had come upon a living thing and he jumped up onto the crate with a triumphant bugle.

“Well, Willow likes to show off,” Tirasha finished, heading over to the Bronze with raised eyebrows. Seemingly a little embarrassed by his own excitement at discovering the kagen, Willow sat down to wait for her and T’mar. Keeping guard and making sure Blossom didn’t try to run off again seemed like the next best thing to do; after Tirasha’s comment he was feeling a little edgy about the idea of rushing to accept praise for completing his job.

Tianthe chattered cheerfully, quite sure that it was her heroic fetching of the redfruit that had led to Blossom’s being found rather than Willow’s skulking along the floor.

[ShadowReine]

Blossom jumped out of her ears and off the crate, landing at T'mar's feet in a heap of Kagen.

He VERY quickly scooped her up, before she could go anywhere, ruffling her dusted up fur. "That will teach you to get lost." She didn't seem to be injured, at least, by the short distance she had fallen.

She recovered in a moment, and her nose twitched towards the redfruit. Twitch, twitch, twitch. She wanted a piece of that, and she tried to squirm out of T'mar's arms towards it.

"No, don't do that, you'll fall again. Silly creature." Blossom had never struck him as particularly smart. Maybe not even as smart as a firelizard...or, perhaps, too different to be judged in the same way.

Of course, either not understanding him or not wanting to, she squirmed again. "You do have smart firelizards," he mentioned. "Well trained, too. Blossom's...not quite as trainable. She's good most of the time, though."

[Sparrow]

Tirasha chuckled, watching the kagen squirm in T'mar's arms. "Looks to me like she's hungry." Hopefully Blossom didn't have an appetite to match Tianthe's; even if feeding a kagen was as simple as putting it out to graze (with a redfruit as occasional supplement), it would become an inconvenience very quickly.

Willow, relieved to have the search for the kagen done with, flew back onto Tirasha's shoulder, landing with a whump and habitually curling his tail around her neck. Tianthe took off again, even if she had her own shoulder, it still felt like sharing with Willow and that was no good. Wasn't she lucky she could fly rather than having to worry about falling like Blossom! Why a creature wouldn't grow wings was beyond the Green.

Tirasha gave a one-shouldered shrug. "I wouldn't think training a kagen would be much different from training a dog." And they were pretty straightforward. "I guess when you're used to dragons though, they would seem harder." Even if one had to deal with a Green, being able to talk to your subject would make things better. Just the mental connection Tirasha had with her fire-lizards was a big help.

"But thanks. These two do love to be complimented." Tianthe, now perched on a nearby crate, gurgled in agreement. Willow yawned, although his attempt at being nonchalant fell through, at least in Tirasha's opinion.

[ShadowReine]

"No. I don't think she's quite as smart as a dog. I mean, she's not *stupid*." He rubbed Blossom along her back, then surrendered and reached for the redfruit to break it up for her...she was fairly small.

"Of course, Freyjath's easier to deal with and harder at the same time. She's a quiet one, at least." She wasn't one of those crazy greens like Amirinth, who had to do everything in the most spectacular and difficult manner possible. In fact, the largest problem T'mar had had to deal with was her somewhat low self esteem. "And, of course, a nicer shade of green than your firelizard, but I'm biased."

Of course Freyjath was the best shade of green she could possibly be...like every other green dragon on Pern. If you asked their riders.

[Sparrow]

"In my opinion, dogs aren't all that smart. They just like snacks." And what didn't? Anything would learn how to get food. Tirasha shook her head. "I'm sure a kagen could even it out in their own way." Prey animals did tend to seem less intelligent though, so maybe not too. Of the handful of people Tirasha knew with kagen though, they seemed to think them smart. Why else would they take the pet around with them rather than leaving it in a cage?

A Greenrider then. Well, it made sense. "That's Greens, I guess. And you're lucky if she's one of the calmer ones." Tianthe wasn't; it was a good thing she was only a fire-lizard rather than dragon sized. Who knew what trouble she could get into then!

"Well, I like Tianthe's." Tirasha laughed. "Not that I see a whole lot of point in comparing their looks, everyone's biased." Dragonriders especially, although Tirasha felt even less reason to bring that up.

[ShadowReine]

T'mar grinned. "Freyjath is quiet, but she's still very much a green. On the other hand, I wouldn't have wanted a larger color anyway. She does me absolutely fine."

He knew that some boys Impressed green and were disappointed...girls seemed to take it better, perhaps because they came in knowing it was very likely. That might change...the new colors gave women a better chance of riding something large. Skies were pretty big.

But he was quite happy with his green lady. "Your green seems very typical." Of course, green firelizards were supposedly pretty ditzy...and this one seemed hyper, if well trained. "She is pretty, though. And so is your bronze, before he feels left out."

Blossom chirred. What about her? Was she not pretty?

[Sparrow]

"That's good." Tirasha smiled. "Quite frankly, I'm glad I've never gotten anything bigger than Willow." Or anything more than him. She wasn't sure she could live through another hatchling flitter. Definitely not a dragon. That someone could handle something so large was impressive... and that was probably why the most hard to handle in the group were among the smallest.

"Willow's handsome." She laughed. "He doesn't stand for being called pretty." Tirasha fondly scratched the Bronze under his chin. "I don't think he's feeling left out either... but maybe your kagen is. Blossom's pretty too." Albeit a bit silly, with her peach-pink fur.

[ShadowReine]

"She's cute," T'mar noted with a grin, rubbing the kagen under her chin. "And yeah. People aspire to be dragonriders, but kids do turn Search down all the time...and not wanting to be responsible for something so big is one reason."

He would never have turned it down. But he had heard the Searchriders talk about it. Sometimes, they did indeed get an answer of 'no'. Which was as it should be...of course, it was different for the Weyr raised, who were very used to the idea by the time they hit Candidacy age.

He wondered if any of them ever balked...said no, said they'd rather go off and Apprentice to a Craft somewhere. He couldn't imagine trading Weyr life for Hold life, especially for a woman.

Girls probably said no to Search a lot less than boys. It was one of the easiest ways for a woman to get freedom and status that did not come from her man, after all.

[Sparrow]

"What do you suppose the dragon thinks when someone it's Searched says no?" The thought struck Tirasha suddenly, and it found its way out of her mouth before she had taken any time to consider how little she knew about the Candidate hunt. "I mean... I guess that's why it's usually the smaller dragons that Search?" That was what she had heard anyways. "I suppose a Bronze wouldn't take no for an answer."

Willow wouldn't, and he struck Tirasha as pretty average for a Bronze, no matter the size. Bronzeriders tended to be similar. No... they definitely wouldn't take no for an answer. The smaller dragons and their riders were far more tolerating.

Of course, Willow had to snort lightly at that thought. More willing to tolerate things perhaps, but far less tolerable. Tirasha scratched his back. She couldn't agree with that, but she judged by riders more than dragon, unlike the fire-lizard. Not to mention the little Bronze was just as biased as any rider.

"I don't suppose you have any firsthand experience?" Tirasha peered at him. She didn't know how long the boy had been riding. He looked young, but someone could Impress as young as twelve- although she couldn't imagine why, leaving a twelve-year-old in charge of a dragon seemed plain stupid- so she couldn't quite guess how long he had been riding. The last weyrlings would have graduated, or at least should have, by now, but had any gone looking for new Candidates? They would still be a little fresh to the job.

[ShadowReine]

T'mar hrmed. "Actually, I haven't had Freyjath tested for Search sense yet...so no. I should talk about that."

Freyjath would be a good Searchdragon if she had the knack...her extremely calm and quiet manner would help with Candidates who might be intimidated by something as huge as a dragon. He knew that was fairly common.

And she was small, which also helped. "I heard that the reasons are two fold...first that the smaller dragons tend to be more likely to have a good sense for good Candidates...although not always. And second, the larger dragons tend to think they are *above* Searching. I mean, could you imagine one of the queens, or Apolloth? No...they don't generally *want* to do it. But your theory is good too."

He wondered if Freyjath would have any interest in Searching.

OOC: Tempting. Although Tinth is the blue, I could see Freyjath as much more...suited...personality wise, and I wouldn't mind having a Searchrider

[Sparrow]

OOC: I'd have to agree with that. Tinth as a Searchdragon would be interesting though. Cx

"That's true." How had she not thought of that? The chances of one of the largest colors agreeing to Search in the first place were pretty slim. Tirasha had probably been told all this before too, but she never put much effort into remembering the details of dragonriding.

"You think your dragon would be good at it?" He had mentioned asking about it anyways, and Tirasha doubted someone would waste their time finding out when it seemed pretty clear that their dragon wouldn't have the talent. She definitely wouldn’t.

Willow turned his head to bump her cheek and chirrup softly. Hadn’t they come down here for a reason? Sure it hadn’t been particularly urgent, but this was starting to feel very off track. Tirasha gave him a sideways glance. Personally, she found this far more interesting than her original task.