Author Topic: Private At Least We'll Always Have Lunch [ 13.3.2590; 12 PM ] Sethunya (Read 2206 times)

O'sir · « **on:** January 12, 2017, 07:10:08 PM »

O’sir was glad Golds only flew once a turn. Otherwise, the next two would have been even more difficult for him and Sethunya. Such as it was, Greens rose often enough that he and Saibrasoth had gotten… practice denying that call. A much more difficult feat for the dragon than the rider. When Kalestath had flown in the first month, though, O’sir hadn’t been able to pull Saibrasoth away. Normally, then not being in attendance himself would be seen as an insult, but not one had really seemed to notice—and O’sir and his dragon knew well enough that they were not about to win the senior Gold’s Flight. And so he had kept himself sequestered in his weyr and away from anyone else.

So their response to Oriath’s had been… a form of progress. This time, O’sir had succeeded in getting to his weyr before sending Saibrasoth away entirely. While the Gold’s lust had still lain over the weyr like an unseasonal humidity, there had been a palpable sense of relief as soon as the Brown came out of Between over the ruins of Ista Weyr.

But that small victory aside, Oriath’s Flight had still meant that O’sir had missed one of the chances he got to see Sethunya. They weren’t able to meet during lunchtime every day, for one reason or another, but the chances they did get were precious to him. As busy as his weyrmate was with weyrling training, O’sir knew better than to monopolize her free time. To do so would only make the enforced distance between them all the more agonizing.

In the Weyr Hall, however, surrounded by other people, and usually seated across the table from one another, the two of them could share a few quiet moments without worry. So it was with light and hurried steps that O’sir arrived for lunch. His quick inspection of those gathered didn’t reveal any sign of Sethunya, so he collected his allotted meal and claimed a space at a table for them both. She never kept him waiting long.

@SanctifiedSavage

Sethunya · « **Reply #1 on:** January 12, 2017, 07:42:25 PM »

It was hard to believe that Tyrriath was already getting so big he couldn’t follow her everywhere. At least, not the most crowded of places. He was almost as tall as Sethunya, but length wise he was really starting to take up space. Her dragon seemed to be getting bigger and bigger every month. No more was he the tiny brown that had crawled from the egg but, instead, he was nearing the size of a small runner. Certainly longer than one. Nevermind the space his wings took up.

Sethunya had to keep reminding herself that he would eventually get as big as Saibrasoth. Which hadn’t seemed possible when he was newly hatched. Now? Now it was only a matter of time.

Leaving him for lunch always made her feel like she was leaving some part of her in her weyrling barracks. Like dropping off a body part. Having him follow her around, always around, had been… nice. Comforting.

I’m still with you, he reminded her, as he did every time she left him.

Instead of being embarrassed, it just made her smile. Knowing that, even so far away, they were always connected was really a comfort. It made interacting with other people seem somehow less. Now if only she could share her thoughts with O’sir! That would solve so many problems, soothe so many ruffled emotions. Make this so much easier.

Grace was with her, as the Gold tended to be when she wasn’t with O’sir. It was hard pressed to really tell who the Queen belonged to – O’sir or Sethunya. She spent so much time with both of them, flitting between whomever was available to pay attention to her. Now she was curled on Sethunya’s shoulders, tail wrapped loosely around her neck like a metallic scarf.

Of course O’sir was there first. Seeing him there, waiting for her, had Sethunya nearly skipping to her seat with a simple roll and bowl of dried fruit. She sat across from him, grinning, before she said simply, “Good afternoon.” Once she was seated, Grace uncoiled herself as majestic as a tiny Queen might and flopped on the table between them. Expecting attention from both with a soft thrum to draw their gaze to her as she rolled, belly up. “I think that’s her way of saying hello too.”

O'sir · « **Reply #2 on:** January 12, 2017, 09:25:01 PM »

Getting to watch Sethunya enter the Weyr Hall and make her way over to their spot for the day never failed to make O’sir smile. The expression might be a rare on one him, but his weyrmate of all people had been the one who could increasingly draw it out of him. This day was no exception, as Sethunya practically skipped the remaining distance between them and took her place across from him. To the point that he nearly grinned when she finally sat down.

How quickly Tyrriath had grown. It seemed only yesterday that he little Brown had been following her everywhere. In a sense, O’sir too would miss having him around. There’d been something refreshing about it, since it had been so long since Saibrasoth was that small.

//Were you ever?// he teased absently. His once tiny dragon had grown into a huge beast, at the top of his size class and just as big as some of the smaller Bronzes. Would Tyrriath ever get that size?

Ignoring his rider’s teasing, though, Saibrasoth reached out to politely brush Tyrriath’s mind. Good afternoon. Close as their riders were, he always made a point to greet Tyrriath while O’sir and Sethunya met for meals.

O’sir himself chuckled softly and reached out to rub Grace’s belly as the Gold flit flopped onto her back. “Afternoon. I’d been wondering if she was with you.” She’d disappeared earlier in the day, leaving Thief chittering on O’sir’s desk during the morning. Now, sensing that his Queen was present once again, Thief popped out of Between in a puff of cold air and settled himself next to her on the table with a happy thrum.

Eyes flicking back to Sethunya, O’sir smiled again. “How’s your morning been?”

Sethunya · « **Reply #3 on:** January 12, 2017, 09:30:51 PM »

Tyrriath had accepted O’sir and Saibrasoth as part of their lives from the very beginning. Never any jealousy, push back, or irritation. Whether it was because he knew how much they’d meant to Sethunya or he was just that sort of Dragon, Sethunya couldn’t say. But she appreciated, beyond words, how easily her Brown responded to them and her time with them.

Afternoon Saibrasoth, the smaller Brown answered.

Sethunya nodded a little and watched him scratch the little Queen. “She wanted to be around to get oiled when Tyrriath was,” she explained before taking a bite of her fruit. “And it’s starting to get harder and harder to get all of him. I don’t know how you keep up with Saibrasoth…” Her arms ached from all the oiling. It might’ve been because he was growing so fast. Hopefully it’d not be so bad when he got bigger – there was no way on Pern she’d be able to do an entire dragon in the morning.

Grace lazily regarded Thief when he appeared and partially curled her wing and tail around him, accepting him as part of her lazy afternoon nap as readily as she always did.

O'sir · « **Reply #4 on:** January 12, 2017, 09:41:41 PM »

With the high sun shining down on Southern Winds, Saibrasoth had stretched himself out on the ledge of his and O’sir’s weyr to bask in the heat. Now, however, he shifted onto his belly and peered out over the expanse of grass below him. As busy as things in the weyr usually were, he was not distressed at being unable to spot the smaller Brown. Are you in the Bowl? I will join you if you are. When the weyrlings’ dragons got big enough they couldn’t follow their bondmates into the interior, it was equally common to find them either in the Barracks or sunning themselves on the grass. If Tyrraith was doing the latter, Saibrasoth would be glad to keep him company while their riders ate.

“It’s not so bad when they stop growing,” O’sir confirmed as he tore apart a roll, carefully smearing a small amount of butter onto the warm, freshly baked bread. Butter and milk were somewhat uncommon treats now, but between the Herders and kitchen staff, they always tried to make small amounts available to those in the weyr. “Their skin doesn’t dry out as fast or crack as easily, so you won’t need to oil Tyrriath as often once he’s full grown.” Eyes bright, he took a bite of bread and smiled once he’d chewed and swallowed. “It’ll still be a pain if he’s anywhere near as big as Saibrasoth.”

When Grace curled part of herself around him, Thief purred even louder and pressed close against the Gold. He might consider her his mate, but he was still a Blue—still respectful of her space. Not that it made him any less pleased when she invariably allowed him close. Nosing gently against her side, he settled with her, with every intention of enjoying a nap as well.

Sethunya · « **Reply #5 on:** January 13, 2017, 11:24:55 AM »

Tyrriath was spread out in the weyrbowl, his newly oiled hide near glittering in the sunlight. Sethunya might suggest that he was trying to dry himself out but the heat felt especially good when his hide was at its most moist. When he stretched, no part of him felt dry or flakey. It was the best. With his head resting in the grass, eyes closed, he answered lazily, I am if you’d like to join me. One day he’d actually be able to fly up on the ledges. Until then, the grass would have to do.

Sethunya sighed dramatically but she was still smiling. “It’s hard to imagine he’s going to keep growing at all. He used to be able to follow me around and now he’s almost as tall as I am. That he’ll get almost as big as Saibrasoth is just… hard to imagine. He’s too small and cute.”

I’ll always be cute, he insisted for O’sir and Sethunya to hear, lazy and playful.

Sethunya snorted a soft laugh. “And it’s hard to get used to the fact he’s always there. I just… “ She shrugged, smiling self-consciously. “Though I suppose it’s a comfort too, since he’s not always around.”

O'sir · « **Reply #6 on:** January 14, 2017, 05:59:52 PM »

I’ll be right there. Hearing the other Brown’s response, Saibrasoth rose to his feet and spread his wings to drop down into the Bowl. He fell in a lazy glide more than anything, wingsails catching the rising heat of the day and slowing his descent into a gentle spiral. Even as big as he was, Saibrasoth’s landing was light.

A few meters away from Tyrriath, he stretched out once again. The other dragon still seemed so small to him even though he had grown, and Saibrasoth didn’t want to inadvertently hurt him. Not that he would tell the proud little Brown that. Instead, he reflected, Lovely weather, in a cheery tone. He, at least, was glad that winter was over.

Hearing Tyrriath’s words drew another smile from the Candidate Master too. “Very cute,” he agreed. Truly, though O’sir regularly saw his students Impress to gangly, clumsy, adorable dragonets, there had been something different—something special—about seeing his weyrmate Impress to hers. Particularly with all the fuss Tyrriath had taken to clean himself off before going to her.

“I forget sometimes how odd that must be.” Not regularly working with weyrlings, and as long as he’d been a rider himself, it just… didn’t occur to him anymore. Seeing Sethunya go through the same adjustment period he once had granted O’sir a new perspective. "Always having someone hearing your thoughts... It's been normal so long I guess I don't think about it anymore."

Sethunya · « **Reply #7 on:** January 28, 2017, 03:10:14 PM »

Tyrriath lifted his head from the grass to watch Saibrasoth approach. He was noting the Brown’s wings more than anything. He wanted to be able to fly. Almost in reflexive response, his own flared a little. Still too small and useless to do much of anything but get in the way. It is getting a lot warmer. Seth complains about the heat in the weyr, he answered. More than once his Seth had woken up in the night and curled up with him outside.

Sethunya let her chin rest on her hand when O’sir remarked about how long he’d been hearing Saibrasoth. She grinned but chose not to comment on the very obvious joke that lingered there. He was a bit older than her. Instead, grin lingering, she took a drink of her water. “I’m getting better at talking to him… in my head,” she said, almost awkwardly, “But I still prefer just talking to him aloud. I think I end up doing it that way when it’s just the two of us.”

O'sir · « **Reply #8 on:** February 02, 2017, 08:02:11 PM »

Eyes a lazy and tranquil teal blue, Saibrasoth purred a sound almost like a chuckle. It does get very hot here. And then it will get humid in a few months when summer gets here. The air is very wet then. Absently shifting, he re-folded his wings along his sides in a more comfortable position. It will not be so bad when you two have your own weyr. The wind blows through the top of the Bowl and keeps them a bit more cool.

O’sir actually rolled his eyes when Seth grinned, realizing what he’d said. But she mercifully didn’t comment, so he didn’t either. The differences in their ages was something that had made him a little leery at first. But Sethunya was an adult, if a younger one, and her Impressing to a dragon only made that all the more true. It didn’t bother him anymore, but the Candidate Master knew it amused his weyrmate to no end.

Instead, he nodded a bit. “I still do that with Saibrasoth when we’re alone. And I know riders who freely switch between both most of the time.”

Sethunya · « **Reply #9 on:** February 03, 2017, 11:03:49 AM »

Tyrriath thrummed his own amusement, though he couldn’t imagine it getting warmer. The little Brown was actually looking forward to that. It’d be nice to stretch out in some hot son and really get his hide warmed up… Though he imagined he’d also dry out faster. Sethunya is going to have to oil me more frequently at this rate, he mulled over.

Seeing O’sir roll his eyes at her was priceless. A moment she’d treasure and, if she could’ve, kissed him for it. This almost felt normal, like things would just be… ok because they were still together. Just not… physically together. His refusal to comment only made her laugh softly.

“Well, that makes me feel slightly less inept,” she clarified, still in a rather good mood. “It’s just… I forget he’s always listening so I feel like I have to say something out loud for him to actually hear me? If that makes any sense.”

It sort of does, the brown idly remarked, as if to prove her point.

O'sir · « **Reply #10 on:** February 10, 2017, 07:10:41 PM »

She will probably have to, yes, Saibrasoth reflected. He couldn’t remember his own weyrling years, exactly—draconic memory simply didn’t work that well, though the Brown did recall them through O’sir’s own memories. Much of it is because you’re still growing, so it has to stretch. Once you’re older, it won’t be so frequent. The older dragon himself, as most did, only needed oiled infrequently to make sure their skin didn’t dry out too badly. Otherwise, the majority of the time it simply wasn’t necessary.

“You’re not inept.” O’sir did smile at her then with quiet affection. “There’s no wrong way to talk to your dragon. Do whatever suits you and Tyrriath best.” Very narrowly, he caught himself before leaning over to kiss her cheek. “Either way, I’m proud of you.”

Sethunya · « **Reply #11 on:** February 12, 2017, 11:47:49 AM »

Tyrriath didn’t have the concept of time in the way that his rider did. He couldn’t imagine him being so big, though he knew Sethunya frequently tried to picture it. He never quite understood what it was she was trying to imagine. To Tyrriath, he would always be, well, him. The smaller brown accepted what the other had to say because he had no reason to refute or doubt it. I do enjoy being oiled though he added, both to Saibrasoth and Sethunya. There was a spot along his back legs that was itchy, and no matter how calm and collected he might be, it was beginning to get to him.

Sethuyna actually blushed a little at the quick, chaste kiss. She’d caught how O’sir had hesitated and appreciated the attempt on her part. “Thank you, though I’ve not done too much. Just a lot of… work, really. Working with Tyrriath, excercising…” At that, her eyes did go a little wider. “I never realized just how much a Rider did every day…”

O'sir · « **Reply #12 on:** February 18, 2017, 02:56:19 PM »

I do too. It might not be something he needed so often anymore, but O’sir’s memories of it were still something that made the Brown thrum in happiness. He liked attention, and he missed the physicality of it. Just as Tyrriath couldn’t imagine what he would be like when he was older, Saibrasoth could scarcely believe that he’d once been so tiny. Their disparate sizes just seemed too large.

The passage of time was an odd thing.

O’sir did notice her blush, but endeavored to ignore whatever awkwardness there might be. At least he had not completely forgotten himself and actually kissed her. He did have that much self-control.

“You’re learning. That’s all you need to do right now, and is enough work on its own.”

He almost smiled then, but hid it behind his cup of klah as he took a sip, allowing himself time to make sure the expression didn’t actually show on his face. Nonetheless, Sethunya would know he was teasing. She was well aware his days were still very busy. “Why do you think I’m Candidate Master?”

Sethunya · « **Reply #13 on:** August 29, 2018, 10:17:14 PM »

The kiss, however chaste, had been a nice one. An echo of affection they’d shared before she’d Impressed. Of course she’d not trade Tyrriath to go back in time, but she did miss sleeping next to him. Being able to be so casually with him. Small things she’d taken for granted that they just couldn’t do now because they might spark things that would just be... painful.

So. She just didn’t think about it. Even so, Sethunya couldn’t help how she physically reacted to it.

At his answer, though, she couldn’t help but laugh. The thought that he’d taken on all the stress of being Candidate Master to avoid all the drills and exercise required of a Rider was a humorous one to her. She quickly replied with, “I think I’d prefer the drills, to be honest.” Her smile let him know she wasn’t being entirely serious. Sethunya just didn’t have the patience O’sir did. She’d never be able to be a teacher in that same way.

Certain rule breaking rubbed her in the wrong way and she had a sharp temper. Maybe, with time, that would be tempered. Right now, Sethunya was self-aware enough to know she’d make a terrible teacher.

I would make an excellent teacher, the Brown remarked. Which was a thought that actually had her laughing too. He was so confident – without being smug – but it was just too funny. He was so young, so small, but utterly convinced he could do whatever he set his mind to. In this case, being a teacher. “Tyrriath thinks he could be a teacher,” she translated, still grinning.

The brown dragon didn’t see what was so humorous, but he wasn’t upset that Sethunya seemed to be laughing at him either. Whatever put her in a good mood was a good thing, even if it might be at his expense. It wasn’t malicious so he didn’t mind.

O'sir · « **Reply #14 on:** February 01, 2019, 10:34:21 AM »

This time, O’sir did let himself smile. Hearing Seth laugh was worth it, particularly when he knew she was teasing him in response. As distant as they might have to be from one another in certain ways right now, it was good to know that things weren’t wholly awkward. She was still the person he’d fallen in love with, and they could still share this, if not something more intimate or physical.

“Honestly, I don’t blame you,” he confided then, pitching his voice low so no one other than Sethunya would hear. O’sir wasn’t the sort to complain about his job—particularly not a job he’d wanted. That just wasn’t his way, both as the type of person he was and as a Brown rider. But even he could admit that at times, being Candidate Master was far more taxing than anything he’d done as a Wingrider or M’rek’s Wingsecond. A different kind of stress and wholly alternate expectations… but sometimes, he reflected that fighting Thread had been a far simpler affair.

This, sometimes, was like trying to herd flits.

His smile widened too when she relayed what Tyrriath had said. “I’m sure he would be,” O’sir agreed, a bit playfully. “He’s a Brown, after all.”

That wasn’t to say that all of the color were cut out for such things, but the vast majority seemed to be. Most of them certainly had more patience and humility than some of the other ranks.

Sethunya · « **Reply #15 on:** February 01, 2019, 01:10:51 PM »

Sethunya watched O’sir when he confide that he didn’t blame her for not wanting the job. Her patience could be eternal when someone was actually trying, but there were a lot of candidates who didn’t seem to take their place in the Weyr seriously. Sethunya understood that not everyone had the same mindset she did – there had been apprentices with the same attitude – she just didn’t think she’d be able to deal with trying to teach that sort anything.

O’sir was a saint for that.

She shook her head a little and propped her chin up on a hand. “I don’t think he understands what ‘limits’ are, or thinks he has any.” It was as much an observation as it was a little joke. Tyrriath did think he could accomplish anything he set his mind to, and while the confidence was endearing, Sethunya was also realistic. There were things they struggled with and there would be things they wouldn’t be able to do.

We’ll deal with such things as we meet them, he said, simply. As though that had been he obvious answer all along.

“Gah, he’s insufferably mature. It’s like I’m talking to my dad sometimes,” she said, throwing up her hands in exhasperation.

O'sir · « **Reply #16 on:** April 04, 2019, 02:47:33 PM »

“His confidence is good for you,” O’sir said with another bit of a smile. Not to imply that Sethunya wasn’t confident, or was some delicate thing who needed constant reassurance. She was hardly that. But from what he’s observed, Tyrriath was a good foil for her, as many dragons were for their riders. And the comment about maturity did make him laugh.

“I can’t even imagine. Saibrasoth has always been a little…” He searched for a word, trying to settle on the right one. Irresponsible wasn’t quite right, because he was still a dutiful Brown. Immature wasn’t right either, although Saibrasoth did turn a little broody at times when his pride had been injured.

I do not, he interjected with a huff that O’sir sort of teasingly ignored.

“Playful,” he decided on at last. They were very different, in that, though he’d always appreciated his dragon’s attempts to keep his spirits high when he was in a mood or edging toward one.