Standing At Falas Special Clutch
Name: Drew Robb
Aliases: Darth Medusa, Suburban Ninja Cracker Goth, others
Gender: Male
Gender preference: Female, but would jump into a woman's shape if given half a chance
Age: 22
Hair: Dark Brown/Black, usually cut short, curly
Eyes: Blue, pale like ice
Skin: Light Cracker, ... hairy. :)
Rank: Resident Ninja, Comic Gallery
Marital Status: Single, but looking for true love
Pets: Purple Black Nightwing from Falas flitter enclosure
Talents: Video Game expert, DDR, Martial Arts (very strong), Costuming, Gunz (airsoft and real), Anime
Drew watched with interest as the mages did their work. He was trying to pick up anything - words he could use, phrases chanted... But it wasn't Latin, it was some other language, and he only knew a little Latin. Well, he knew something dubbed at the store, 'pretentious Latin', which one of his RPG characters taught in another universe.
He'd been talking to Lethe too, about this. Discovered that somehow they'd brought Nik to the hatching too, and he was pleased. They at least could hang out and have predictably silly conversations. But what conversing with Lethe brought him was that Melora Nightwind existed in some form or another, in several universes already.
"Look," Lethe said, late one night snuck out of her dorm, "if there are elves, and I mean 'lord of the rings' elves here, there are also elfquest elves, and all kinds of other stuff."
This seemed to pleasantly surprise Nik, who was off in his own world - happily forcing himself to draw, even though it was late and he should have been sleeping.
Then finally, after another couple weeks, the hatching was called. Drew was still apt to follow the mages around, listening keenly. It was very likely he'd picked up a few words by then, but their meaning might escape him. He'd just repeat them later on in private and see what happened.
What happened at the start of this hatching, was that one mage particularly spoke an enchantment to assure that the dragons here would hatch in proper Pernese colors, and be safe.
It had rained for days, but that didn't bother Drew or Lethe, nor Nik for that matter. Everyone liked the sands regardless of the weather outside - Drew had been known to just sit on a ledge and watch that rain. Whatever went on in his mind was only for Nightwind to share.
The hatching proceeded shortly, with a bronze breaking out of his shell first - a terrific sign in terms of Pernese tradition. He bonded off, and everything got rolling. Several eggs would hatch at once, because they had all been laid around the same time. A batch of them impressed their earthly friends. Then, a batch more opened.
Like any hatching, the eggs seemed to take the first few as a cue to hatch at one. A mess of dragonets were suddenly on the sands, and for the candidates it was as confusing for the hatchlings. Out of the group, a bronze had begun to sneak around all of the candidates, to the back, being as quite and as stealthy as possible. Suddenly, the bronze sprang right onto his stunned rider - only it wasn't a ‘he' and it wasn't an ordinary bronze. She was a night bronze.
I gotcha, Drew! the young dragoness grinned, looking down at her pinned, surprised rider. Then she tilted her head to the side. So, am I any good?
Drew Robb was still staring. “Yes...at...huh...what are you good at...Mahtarth?”
Yes, my name is Mahtarth. Yours is Drew Robb. I am your dragon. I was wondering if I was good at sneaking up on you.
He laughed, and told her that yes, she was good - but she could be better, perhaps, with practice. They went off to find some of the meat, which Drew was almost half-tempted to eat bloody raw as well. Five thirty in the morning was hardly a good time to be awake. Meat would be good for that... Nightwind thought so.
It came time shortly - rather more quickly than anyone seemed to realize - for the dragons to learn their first flying lessons. Drew almost balked at that. He hated airplanes.
I am not an air-plane, Mahtarth reminded him. None to gently, she bumped her head against his hand and pushed him toward the flying tack. I wish you to ride me into our adventures. Isn't that what we are supposed to do?
"I guess so," Drew said. He noticed that Lethe was having about the same problem with her blue, and he knew she was terrified of heights. He shrugged and picked up the riding gear. Holding it in his hands like it was a greasy dead animal, he turned it over and over. "I know we went over this in the weyrling classes," he muttered, "but it's not like this is a fashion show."
That strap goes over my shoulder, and you sit here, Mahtarth picked at it with her rather nimble forepaws. If you just think of it as clubbing gear won't it be easier to do?
"How do you know about-- never mind," Drew said, laughing. Anything she could pick out of his mind, she'd mention or bring up at just the right moment. Of course she was right. Putting on the harness was a lot like dressing up for a bondage party or something. Not that he had been to any of those. Really. Honest.
Shortly they were geared up, ready to start flapping. The only problem that Drew had of course was that this all had to happen in broad daylight, under the beating rays of the unrelentingly bright sun. It wasn't a yellow sun. It wasn't earth's sun. That was weird. It was a kind of orangey red shade, but he had hardly even noticed that originally. It was Lethe who had pointed it out, and they went around looking at all kinds of things comparing the colors they 'knew' to the new colors under this light.
Distracted by those thoughts, Drew was startled when he and Mahtarth were next up. The dragoness was excited, the months they'd spent together were busy and filled with discoveries for her. Now, about eight months into her life, she was going to leave the ground.
Her wings spread open expertly, she'd practiced posing with the other two dragons for Lethe and Nik and whoever else wanted to draw them. Many artists in this clutch of course, almost every dragon wound up doing that. Mahtarth's strong shoulders felt like rollers below Drew's legs, as she tested their strength.
"Ready - shoulders forward - not yours Drew, the dragon's!" Shouted the weyrling master, "fingers spread, sails feel that wind? Go go GO!"
With the others encouraging her, Mahtarth began to run quickly toward the short gulley ledge. It wasn't a true cliff, that would be disasterous. By the time she got to the edge of the grassy area, all four of her feet had left the ground and her wings were doing all the work. She flapped four, five, six times and then looked down in surprise.
We are flying! I am flying! Look at me!
Beside himself with either glee or terror, Drew let off a rare shout of surprise. He clung on with his knees like he was taught - those martial arts exersizes he was so fond of doing every day had really paid off for him. He wouldn't fall from her back. With her nose up in the air Mahtarth began to climb a bit, but couldn't really gain too much air. I am not strong enough to fly yet, she commented as they landed a bit roughly onto the gulley's other edge. Those who had made it across formed a kind of chanting circle, happily including anyone who came by. Those that didn't make it grumbled at the bottom of the shallow gulley, and had to walk back around to the back of the line, to try again until they succeeded.
Everyone participated in the classes, but Drew's mind was on other things. Where he could go, who he'd be able to meet. Lethe was in the same boat, he wasn't sure what was up with Nik. But... One of those classes he had to attend, by virtue of Mahtarth being female, was the Dragon-Rising course.
Filled with girls, as the hatching had been almost entirely female candidates and many of them bonded off to equally female dragons... Drew was one of the background participants. The girls asked good questions. The poor weyrling master had to make due with answering and occasionally had to resort to 'Do it my way because I'm in charge' tactics. Drew couldn't blame him - obviously he'd never had to deal with a group of young women who had a far better education than he...
But I will rise some day, Mahtarth reminded Drew quietly. The class went on, but Drew patiently listened to his dragon.
I know you will.
And you are not worried? There will be male riders and... The night-bronze female fretted outside, as many of the females were doing. Their riders were agitated by what was being said in the class, and that made all of them a bit antsy.
I know, Mahtarth, you are female and I'm male, and I don't much care. I mean, I'm pretty sure you'll find a nice guy-dragon to fly with, and I'll find myself a nice ... whoever it will be, to be with me.
He said 'consumed!' Consumed with lust!
I've been consumed with lust before, Drew grinned to himself. I'd like to see a guy come on to me then... He chuckled, but fortunately the class was filled with animated discussion and his laughter was lost among it.
Well I will try and find you a good partner too, then. Because if you will not be picky someone will have to be. The dragon harrumphed.
I never said I wasn't going to be picky. It'll weed out the weaklings, Mahtarth. Drew snickered again, and as the class ended he picked up his pack and headed to the weyrs. All through the dorms and class halls, were people with that dazed look upon their face. They were all talking to their dragons. It was now second nature to Drew and the rest, to avoid collisions in traffic - foot traffic - while speaking through the mind.
***
The dragons would learn so many flight drills, and Drew seemed to be interested in following through on at least a bit of that. The trio of older riders, he, Nik and Lethe, had already begun to make arrangements to be leaving the Weyr instead of signing on as fighters. While Drew and Nik were certainly able to do so, the intellectual pursuits available on dragon-back were more intriguing than life-endangerment remaining on this Pern of theirs.
I know you want to fight Thread just once, Mahtarth commented as they lay in their newer more private weyr. The night had fallen, but as always there was the baleful red glow just under the horizon - that hideous and huge red star. The planet that he'd learned about, that cast off a buttload of the fiberous Thread shit. Why not just get rid of the thing... Hell, if there were talking winged wolves and magical elves here, couldn't they do something about it?
I do want to but... you know me and pain, Mahtarth, I'm not going to endanger my complexion any more than it already is... He thought back with a smile. He'd already wheedled out of one of the magic practitioners a permanently binding spell of hair-removal. It was painless, fashionable.
Keeping Mahtarth off the firestone while the others had to feed their females was an absolute nightmare. "But you're male, she's not going to rise with you and all," or "you fight well enough to warrant it," or "every dragon needs to flame some times," they weren't enough. Just because Mahtarth was female, did not mean that she was going to become a victim of this process.
Besides, some day she'd have a beautiful clutch of eggs - and how could you do that without having a nice fertile dragon? Huh?
But they did practice with the others, formations and marching for the humans and flight drills for the dragons, and more drills for everyone later on. Flamethrowers were handed out to the ones who refused firestone.
Drew had the biggest ass smile on his face ever.
"A flame thrower," he pointed out to Lethe. He whispered, "cooool!"
Lethe busted up, "that's... so dangerous in your hands." She glanced at her blue, "at least we can do the stuff, but coal's so disgusting. When we're out of here I expect not to use it ever again." She wiped her hands clean by habit, even though they had no firestone residue on them. "This place is so... grimy..."
Drew grinned widely, "but flamethrowers are great!"
Waving him and his enthusiasm off, Lethe wandered away to try and complete another exersize. She didn't much care for the very hard work, it was too exhausting and made all of her really want to be back at home. Drew played with the flame thrower.
You remember that you must not burn my head off, right? Mahtarth commented as she watched him tossing the gout of flame around.
"Yeah, yeah," Drew muttered. He would remember, actually. In practice and in form, he was careful.
***
Though Nik was going to stay on a little longer, having some experience with animal medicine and being needed in the infirmary for Thread emergencies coming up, Lethe and Drew approached the Weyrleader for the formal conversation they'd need to have to leave.
Drew was quiet, patient, nicely professional, when Lethe was talking about exploration and world hopping. Mahtarth outside was excited. Did this mean they were going to leave soon? All those places which Drew had imagined and seen, she welcomed them...
"It's a shame to see you going, you're a good asset in a fighting wing," said the man, whose weary expression told of a number of people already before them having this conversation.
"Distractions like the ones Lethe was talking about would always be in my head," Drew admitted. "Even this world is not just about flying against this stuff and marching in formation. I haven't even seen half the place."
"There are parties to attend, people to show off to," Lethe muttered with a grin, and that even elicited a chuckle from the Weyrleader.
"Yes, yes, we all know about you and your fasion sense..." He said. Eventually he would grant permission to the pair to transfer out. To Drew it was a relief, it was a freedom that was attained.
We were not captives here, Mahtarth reminded him.
"No, but we weren't signed on as military ranks either, that's not what the deal was. It turned into that, just beacuse that's what everyone here expects to do..."
So he began packing up, and trying to prioritize. Who should he visit first? Where would they go? Suddenly the universe was much bigger and harder to comprehend - too many choices existed. First, like Lethe, he'd head home briefly.
I want to see where you were before I came along, Mahtarth commented with a draconic grin.
"Well you're way too big to stay there full time," Drew laughed, "even though my house's back yard is pretty large..."
You have mentioned this house thing often... People do not live in houses here.
"I know and it's pissing me off," Drew smirked. Everyone here lived in freaking caves - yallayalla - and they were big and cold most of the time. And in volcanoes! VOLCANOES! Why in the world would anyone choose to live inside a place that could blow up from under you?
Didn't they learn? Well, better the long-term geological events like volcanic eruptions than the hurricanes or tornadoes that people were well known for living around on Earth.
Packed up, Drew was ready to fly home. As the others - perhaps called more brave by the locals - set off to their first Thread fall, to injure themselves in battle against a completely witless force of nature, Drew and Lethe bid their friend Nik a temporary farewell. Lethe had disappeared for a couple days before this, and Drew suspected that after their betweening practice she'd slipped away almost by accident. Whatever first adventure she'd had, she didn't share or talk about to anyone save Sunny in her dorm. So now that they were ready, they both tried to picture their home clearly in their minds.
It wasn't so much like teleporting in regular space. It was cold, hard travel. But the warmth that would greet them both when they arrived would be well worth that pain...
