Assisting a Rider II

Writers: Chelle, Miriah
Date Posted: 20th January 2012

Characters: P'nal, Paetri
Description: Paetri is introduced to Jodeth
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 6, day 27 of Turn 6
Notes: Follows Assisting a Rider

After they finished up in his office, the brownrider suggested they head
outside to meet Jodeth. The girl hadn't had much experience with dragons and
as a candidate,it was something that needed doing. As they walked outside,
the brown headed down from his ledge to come to rest in the Bowl before them.
He furled his wings and looked at them with whirling blue eyes. His head
lowered as he looked at this curious girl. "This is Jodeth."

Dutifully, Paetri followed P'nal out of the office and into the bowl, hands
clasped neatly in front of her. While outside, she appeared calm, her heart
was pounding within her chest. Her eyes swung upwards to find the large
brown winging down to meet them. As he landed, Paetri's first reaction could
not be hidden. She gave a strangled yelp that couldn't quite be muffled by a
hand to her mouth as she stepped back.

Brown eyes wide, she stared at Jodeth's huge head, unable to stop her hand
from trembling. The green that had searched her was nowhere near as large,
and Paetri could only feel very small. Catching herself, her gaze flung to
P'nal as she stammered out an apology. "I'm so..so very sorry. He's...just
so big..I...I apologize..."

"It's okay. This is why we're doing this. You haven't been around dragons
very much and it's necessary for you to get used to them before you impress
since it could cause problems. The more you know going in, the better." He
approached the brown and gave his eye ridges a scratch. "He's a big softie
and will let you scratch and rub whatever you like. Tell me, Paetri, what do
you know about dragons?"

He didn't look like a softee. He was huge! Paetri rubbed her arms nervously
and flushed with embarrassment. He was right after all. She had been
Searched, so she had to get used to them. Even the big ones, for
surely, if she did
Impress, it would be to a green.

She stared at the pair for a long moment. Finally curiosity won out over
her nerves. Taking a careful step forward, she reached out a tentative hand.
Laying it lightly on the brown's cheek she gave a careful stroke. She
blinked, and in an instant, a full fledged smile came to her face and her eyes
softened. "He is so soft..." She looked up at P'nal, her face
transformed by the smile to a rosy glow. Cheeks dimpling, she reached
to lightly rub the eye ridges as
P'nal had done.

Decorum was forgotten as she took pleasure in rubbing the dragon. She
laughed softly. "I know little. They fight thread and there are five colors.
Women impress gold and greens. Men can impress anything but a gold
and the golds lay the eggs." She glanced back up at him. "That's about it.
My father...well.." She flushed and quickly turned back to Jodeth, clearing
her throat. "I shall say that he envisioned something else for me."

"I understand that. Sometimes life surprises us all." P'nal thought about
his own father for a moment before he looked back down at her. Jodeth gave a
pleased rumble, glad he was getting such good attention. The brown made
sure she had easy access. "All dragons flame except the golds. The
queenriders use flamethrowers like the hold groundcrews instead. They fly
beneath us in the queens' wing. Dragons fight in wings in several different
patterns. Their hide must be bathed and oiled to prevent cracking every so
often.
That's why he's so soft." He let her know she could ask more questions as
she
thought of them.

"Like my flit," Paetri agreed softly, then looked upwards to the rider. "My
brother explained the oiling. He rides a green at another Weyr. He got me my
little blue firelizard before he went up north." She turned back to the
dragon and
smiled again, her fingers growing more confident as she stroked.

Though his size was still daunting to her, she was obviously more sure as
she reached to scratch lightly around his eye ridges. She laughed softly at
the rumble and patted him. "He must like getting scratched alot." She looked
up at P'nal and then asked softly. "Is a Hatching scary?"

"Well, it can be sometimes I think. So much happening at once and all those
people are up there looking down at you. As long as you stay out of the
dragonets' way you'll be fine." He tried to explain that a little better.
"They're
like babies, you see. If they figure out you aren't the toy they want, they
might
throw you aside."

Paetri paled visibly and looked back at Jodeth. She knew hatchlings were
smaller; that was merely common sense. But to have claws and teeth rush
at you...the thought was a frightening one. "Did he rush at you, P'nal? What
was it like?" She looked back up at him, privately wanting some reassurance.
Nibbling her lower lip, she kept her hand on Jodeth, her fingers moving
absently. "Were you frightened?"

"Your own dragonet..you'll know. They are inside your mind their first
thought is to protect you. It's just the ones that aren't that's the
problem."
He thought back to hatchings and considered his own feelings. "I stood
there,
just waiting. Other dragonets went by. I went onto the sands as the eggs
broke.
Then, I felt something tugging-back there. And then I heard a voice calling
me."
He looked up at Jodeth, whose eyes were whirling blue with love.

"He was coming to find me and he did." His eyes turned down to Paetri. "And
from then on, I was never alone again. He was perfect. Paetri, the heart of
a dragonrider will feel fear, but it will overcome it to do what needs to be
done."

She absorbed his words and looked long at the brown at her fingers. Her
words were soft as her hands trailed over the soft hide. "It sounds
wonderful.Never to be alone, to have someone love you just for being
you and nothing
else." Her eyes softened as she turned to P'nal. "Thank you for sharing that
with me. I'm not as worried now."

"I thank you for all your help today. I've got to get going, but Jodeth will
take as much attention as he can get before you have to go back." The
dragonrider gave the brown a good pat before he slowly began to amble off.

"You're welcome. And thank you, P'nal." She turned back to Jodeth, and ran
her hands over the warm hide. She spoke softly to the brown, a slight smile
on her face. "And thank you, Jodeth, for letting me get to know you. If you
don't mind, I'd like to just sit and scratch you for a while. Just to get
used to it, but just for a little while." She ran gentle hands over
his eye ridges
and continued to scratch lightly.

Last updated on the January 22nd 2012

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Assisting a Rider II