Candidate robes, spiderclaws, and needles...
South Beach
The black volcanic sand seems to strech out before you to the south, and back towards the weyr to the north. The ocean laps quietly at the sand, rolling calmly unless a storm is brewing when the surface becomes choppy, roiling and swelling, heaving water up onto the beach. Trees line the eastern fringe of the beach, high up and closer to the weyr. A 'plaque' is posted on a sign standing above the roped off area of the half-buried schooner, laying out its information.
It is a winter afternoon. A few high clouds brush the upper reaches of the otherwise clear blue sky. The sun casts its warmth across the land, and a gentle breeze blows. It seems almost springlike today.
To the north, you see four dragons.
Blue Riyth is here.
You see Field Tent and Narika here.
You notice Lyria asleep here.
Rhaeyn, Jozzie, Nadine, and Thistia are here.
Obvious exits:
North South
Rhaeyn
A young man, he stands at a fairly average height for one his age. Proportionally, though, he's rather long and lanky-limbed, like the boy's extremities hit a teenage growth spurt that didn't stop to let the rest of his body catch up. Glossy ash-brown hair sweeps in a thickly messy fashion from a center part, chin length strands emphasizing the sharply angular line of his jaw. Short 'lashed eyes of a blue-tinted grey contrast well with his hair, as does freckle-free pale skin that looks like it runs the risk of burning in minutes. Indeed, a pale pink tint crosses over high cheekbones and the bridge of a rather long, straight nose. Slightly sun chapped lips are perhaps darker pink than normal, their line thin but expressive. His fine-boned hands seem well cared for, despite evidence of recently nibbled nails.
He's wearing a tre sexay white robe that looks a lot like it was cut from a pillowcase. Mmm. Check out those legs, bay bee. A brown firelizard is perched on his shoulder.
Simple white, twisted into a knot, perched on his shoulder: Candidate?
He is a teenager of about 18. He is awake and looks alert.
Jozzie
Golden spiraled ringlets gently brush the cheeks of this falconet face as locks of hair gently trickle down her naturally tanned cheeks. Tightly pinched and hardly distinct eyebrows adorn spirited, deeply passionate eyes set with feathery lashed laden upon her eyelids. Her cheeks are naturally flourished. Pearly white teeth carry a natural, playful grin. Dark tanned, slightly muscular, lean features with a well-curved body proportions seen almost without flaw.
A crimson-red tunic is accompanied by black leathers that show off this dare-devil rider's form as the top exposes her darkly tanned skin. Firestorm jacket with the bronze dragon adheres to this Wingleader's form. Boots with steel-toed tips are seem on her feet as they continue to her knee with a series of buckles at the back of her boots. Do not be mistaken if this fallen angel shows a little bit of her wild-side. A gold firelizard is perched on her shoulder.
Jozzie is wearing a knot with a double cord, double loops and one tassel that is intertwined in gold, which symbolizes her as the Wingleader of Ista Weyr's Firestorm Wing. There in an extra ribbon braided into the knot that is the color of her lifemate. A blue, indicating blue Riyth.
She is a young adult of about 26. She is awake and looks alert.
Jozzie has no apparent threadscoring.
Nadine
Sensual lips, deep brown angled eyes, a round chin, and a slightly squashed, wide nose adorn her ovalish face. Smooth black hair is usually tied into a braid that hangs down her back just to the shoulder blades. Her figure is slim, her proportions generous, and she carries herself to show she knows it. Her complexion is tanned and smooth, the kind achieved after weeks of careful sunbathing, but it's dark enough to appear that her skin would be more than tanned even without the sun. She's of the sort that could be considered attractive, though she's often covered in dust or dirt.
She sports tough-looking sandals, covered at the toes and heels but open over the bridge of the foot, laced up to mid-calf to secure them. Tight capris-like tan pants cover her legs down to just above the knees, held up by a small, thin belt around her waist. A pouch sewn onto one side hangs as though something of weight is in it. A red v-necked blouse, small enough to reveal her stomach most of the time, has loose quarter-length sleeves designed to let air flow. The tie holding Nadine's hair in a tail near the top of her head matches the shade of her shirt and is simple in design.
On her shoulder is a double-corded, single loop, orange and white knot with a small tail and a tassle, signifying her employment at Ista Hold as a messenger. Shoved next to it and crudely tied to the messenger knot to keep it on her shoulder is a second knot of dirty white, showing her to be a Candidate.
She is a young adult of about 21. She is awake and looks alert.
Thistia
Dark eyes glint, catching the light and reflecting vivid blues, greens and a hint of gold as Thistia glances around, eyes never still. Dark black hair is plaited in two tight, twisted braids which twitch with her every movement, falling over her shoulders and ending a few inches below her shoulders, held in place by two scarlet ribbons. Her body seems to be all hips and curves, every movement accentuating this with a dancer's grace and a craftwoman's strength, muscles somehow adding to the suggestive beauty rather than detracting.
Thistia's bathing suit consists of a tasteful patchwork of fabrics, dark blue alternating with Thistia's usual deep scarlet. Straps of scarlet run over her shoulders, holding the top of the suit in place, and blue straps tie behind her back. The bottom is a uniform scarlet shade, tight and cut in diagonals across the back, showing off quite a bit of her lightly tanned body. A bracelet is fastened around her wrist, alternating beads of scarlet and silver, and her feet are bare. Two firelizards are perched on her shoulders.
A single cord of white hangs in a simple loop across Thistia's shoulder, marking her an Istan Candidate.
She is a young adult of about 20. She is awake and looks alert.
Narika
The mahogany brown eyes that belong to a young woman named Narika practically glitter in the light with the innocent curiosity that dwells within. She has grown from a frail child to a young woman with delicate features and manners. Her skin is a soft porcelain white, accentuated by the straight locks of her raven black hair that fall just below her shoulders. Her upbringing shows in her grace and quiet dignity, her face usually showing a placid smile.
%N is dressed in a loosely fitting, delicate green dress of soft sisal. Beginning with a low scoop, the fabric clasps itself around her neck in a pale lace collar before draping over her small shoulders, dipping inwards as if falls along her tiny, slender frame. From beneath a pale emerald ribbon tied in a bow around her waist, the skirt continues downwards, blooming over %N's hips to fall in shimmering waves down to her ankles, displaying the several small firelizard forms embroidered over the face of the skirt in a shining silver thread. Matching emerald slippers poke out from beneath the delicate, lacy hem. Several small stitches at the hem indicate the quality of this minature gown and prove that this pretty dress is weaver created.
Narika is 21 Turns, 8 months, and 15 days old.
Shadis swears, throwing the white fabric to the sand and batting it away with a hand. "I can't SEW!" He exclaims, complaining as he glares. He needs to finish his robe and soon, since the hatching could jump up on them any second. Annoyed, he gets to his feet, pacing in a semi-circle around his barely together robe.
Jozzie slips from her dragon as Shadis comes down the beach, exclaiming that he doesn't know a needle from a thread (or plainly he can not sew). The rider just grins as she is turned facing her life mate.
Narika makes her way up the shoreline with a deep basket over one arm, sand caked on her bare feet and a scarf covering most of her hair. She glances up as Shadis swears, automatically wrinkling her nose in distaste for the vulgarity. But as the rest of his words reach her ears she relents a bit and comes nearer. "It's not really that difficult," she says patiently, setting the basket down nearby. Of course, she /had/ to learn needlework. Inside the basket, a spiderclaw is working its way up the side towards the handle, bent on escape.
Nadine sits silently a dragonlength or so away from Shadis, silently working on her own robe in the semi-privacy of the beach. The sand's certainly not helping her keep track of the needle and thread, though. She pauses in the hemming of her pathetic excuse for a "garment" to look up. "We know that," she calls out ever so sweetly to him. "Is it really so necessary to announce it to the entire beach?" Of course, her stitches aren't that great, either, but she's not throwing a fit...yet.
Shadis half-glares at Nadine, quickly grabbing up his sandal and throwing it in Nadine's direction. Will he actually hit her? Very not likely. "Fine, /you/ do it for me, Narika," he whines, spinning on the girl calmly speaking of sewing. "/Look/ at it!" The boy grabs up his =cough= robe, displaying it and the very crooked, widely spaced stitches along a side. If he had a figure, it'd certainly show it, while he wore it.
Narika gives the basket a deft kick, knocking the wayward spiderclaw back to the bottom of the basket as she steps up for a closer look. "It's a mess," she agrees mildly, lifting an edge of it with the tips of two fingernails as if it were something distasteful. "Although the stitches themselves are fine. You're obviously in too much of a hurry." Notice she doesn't offer to fix it. "Anyway, I need to get these to the cooks for tonight's stew." So she couldn't help if she wanted to. Which she doesn't.
Thistia wanders down to the beach, smiling at her fellow candidates. She cocks her head as she hurries down the sands, calling out a curious, "What's the occasion?" as she gets closer.
Nadine ducks the sandal, being prepared for retaliation, but it certainly helps that it was off-aim. "You just admitted it yourself!" she yells over the distance, blindly trying to jab her thread through the eye of her own needle so she can return to her horrible hems. Grinning, she glances down at her work in time to stop herself for stabbing her own finger, threads the needle, and starts again on her stitches. "Just sewin'--or trying to," she replies to Thistia without looking away from her pathetic efforts.
Thistia grins, looking almost smug as she nods. "Trying to?" she inquires, walking close enough that she can peer curiously at everyone's progress. "Need help?" is her next question, followed by another smug look as she adds, "I finished mine during a break today."
Shadis stares at Narika, a desperate, lost puppy look on his face as he sees a candidate, who /can/ sew, turning to leave. "Wait! I need help! Please, Narika!?" Quickly, Shadis drops to his knees, begging. "I can't do this! At least /teach/ me, right?" He glares again in Nadine's direction, before giving Narika another plaintiff pout.
Yuri hurries in, just that little bit later and somewhat out of breath, the persistent proddings of a creeling firelizard on her shoulder a clear indication as to why she's come, and as she approaches the group of candidates, the pestering suddenly ceases and Sakura begins to look oh-so-innocent, head turned away and chirping softly. "Now /what/ was the matter?" She muses out loud, slowing to a walk.
Narika pauses midstep. Holder's daughter she may be, but she's really not accustomed to people falling on their knees in her general direction. She blinks a couple of times, looking down at the kneeling Shadis with a vaguely confused _expression. "Um, I guess I can show you how to make it better," she tries, setting the basket down again.
Yuri
Dark-brown hair streaked in random patterns with sun-bleached blonde has been cropped short, although that fails to prevent it from falling in messy semi-curls around Yuri's face. Twin eyes of bottomless black peer out from under thin, uplifted eyebrows, ocassionally obscured by lazy eyelids. A boyish figure, toned to a certain extent, is complemented by long legs well-suited for running. Gentle fingers and slender arms are as tanned as the rest of her, although bearing miscellaneous scars and scratches, a lighter white against the bronze.
Yuri wears a sturdy set of clothes, comprising of a comfortably-fitting tunic and trousers, held together with a belt that fits just right. The outfit is worn and a little on the old side, but still tough enough to withstand some hard use. A belt pouch hangs loosely but securely around her waist. Two firelizards are perched on her shoulders.
A twined knot of white perches daintily on her shoulder, scuffed by firelizard claws.
She is a teenager of about 14. She is awake, but seems rather distracted.
Nadine turns ever-so-slightly to put her back to Thistia in quite a casual manner. "Yep. No help needed, but thanks--I should have this done by tonight." She reaches over her lap with the left hand for a small double-blade, which she uses to snip off some loose ends before continuing with her methodical hemming, interrupting it only for another sweet smile at Shadis. So evil. So fun. "Yuuuriiii, 'zat you?" is wondered, eyes still on the stitching; it's not too difficult to memorize voices after a few months, after all, and it's easier not to prick oneself if one doesn't look up to verify.
Thistia grins and nods to Nadine, folding herself down onto the sands and lying on her back, enjoying the beautiful day. She turns to wave lazily at Yuri, grinning and calling a greeting, before turning to watch Narika and Shadis, smirking a little as she watches the odd interactions.
Yuri giggles somewhat sheepishly. "Indeed, indeed..." And with a hop, skip and a jump, she plompfs herself down beside the rest. "Ooh. Still sewing?" An empathetic shrug of ths shoulders, and a squint of the eyes. "Seems to be coming along just fine", she notes to Nadine. "Wonder how far along the guys are with that little project?" A meaningful glance is given to Shadis. Heheheh.
Shadis sighs deeply in relief, grinning brightly up at Narika, as he digs the needle out of the fabric and extends it in her direction, hiding his own multi-stabbed hands beneath the white cloth. "What project? Sewing? I don't know, but Narika is my life-saver. She says she'll help."
Yuri peers back over at Shadis, seemingly.... holding... a lot of laughter back, although a few giggles and chuckles manage to slip past her guard. An evil glint in her eye, that is, as she whispers something first to Nadine, than to Thistia, followed by another outbreak of giggles. Noncomittally, she shrugs. "Oh, good. Good." And then she turns away, perhaps to hide another set of them evil signs of great amusement.
Narika frowns, pushing Shad's hands back. "I said I'd /teach/ you," she replies firmly. "I have enough work to do without making a robe for you, thank you very much." She glances over at Yuri and Thistia. "Maybe one of /them/ might, but /I/ won't." Did she sound disdainful? Blame the breeding. She turns her nose into the air and folds her arms across her chest waiting to see if anyone will better her offer.
Thistia blinks, hearing enough of Narika's words that she actually sits up and brushes the sand off enough to give her own superior look down her nose at the holder girl. But she is distracted by Yuri's whisper and turns back toward Yuri and Nadine, holding one hand in front of her mouth as if to hide her own giggles.
Nadine bobs her head in affirmation, bent carefully above her work which is spread over her knees. "Looks nicer than it did before, at any rate...having hems is helping get rid of that ratty scrap-of-cloth look." She does finally peer up at Yuri, looking somewhat interested for the first time in a while. "Project? The guys have a project?" She smirks. "They think they can actually catch up to us? We're about three points ahead of 'em now, you know." She's also most likely the only keeping any sort of 'score.' Her eyes widen slightly and then narrow in appreciation when Yuri gigglingly explains to Nadine in a whisper. "You really did?" the messenger asks, delighted, glancing over at Shadis to do some of her own snickering.
Yuri eyes Narika for a moment, a vaguely amused look flitting across her face for a while, before she turns to Shadis, not even bothering to try to hide her amusement from that one. "Maybe, for the right, um, persuasion." She nods at Narika, brows furrowed in some kind of concentration... perhaps already plotting? No one knows. And then its back to Nadine & Co, in the endless round of multitasking that is a girl's life. "Well," she says, gesturing to the robe in Nadine's hands, "/that/ project. Heard tell one of them got someone else to do it, and another one is wearing... his sister's robe." Another inane giggle... what /is/ up with her today?
Shadis blinks, getting to his feet with a slightly dazed look on his face. He blinks again, simply standing there, waiting for Narika to do something. This may be his only form of help, and if that's the case, he needs her help. Besides, he doesn't want to offend any of his fellows. Shadis isn't the type to snap out a sharp response.
Yuri stands, brushing herself off. "Come to think of it, I should finish mine, too...", she notes, as she belatedly confirms something with a semi-whisper to Nadine. "Yep, I did it... was too tempting not to.
Shadis blinks, getting to his feet with a slightly dazed look on his face. He blinks again, simply standing there, waiting for Narika to do something. This may be his only form of help, and if that's the case, he needs her help. Besides, he doesn't want to offend any of his fellows. Shadis isn't the type to snap out a sharp response. He's doesn't really want to say please again, since she /did/ just act really prissily, but he needs the help, even if she will only teach him. "I can..use that." He finally mumbles. Yuri is given an odd look. "Not me, I don't have a sister!" He calls, laughing as he barely catches her comment.
Narika waits. And waits. But nobody's making a better offer. Finally she catchs Shad's mumbled response. "I can teach you," she says, turning her glare to the whispering and giggling girls instead. "You could wear it like that but it'd be... kind of drafty. Where's your needle?"
Yuri stands, brushing herself off. "Speaking about robes, I should finish mine, too... a pity it's back in the barracks", she notes, as she belatedly confirms something with a semi-whisper to Nadine. "Yep, I did it... was too tempting not to." And then her voice rises in volume a little more, suggesting. "Maybe... you should just sew his robe on him, so we're sure it fits? Y'know, have him put it on and adjust it... o'course, if he doesn't stand still, he'll be poked by needles and all." And with that, she waves, chuckles, and skips off.
Thistia grins and waves to Yuri, turning to grin at Shadis. "Sounds like a good idea...we can all help out, that way. Otherwise, too many cooks'd spoil the klah, but this way we can make it work." She giggles, torn between planning something and actually helping, but seems to decide that she'll be helpful this time.
Nadine glances at her own robe again. "That's considered a project? Shells, it's not /that/ hard." She does, however, carefully bend further over her own robe while turning slightly again. A wicked grin spreads across her face. "His /sister's/? Who's that?" Quickly she puts a hand on the sand for support and swivels her torso, as if he might be wandering down the beach just now wearing the aforementioned robe. With just a nod to Narika and Shadis, she returns to her sewing yet again. "Yeah, it'll be easier to fit it if he puts it on and you use pins to mark the places where you...ya know, have to take it in or let it out or whatnot."
Shadis turns, giving Yuri a "You had to say that didn't you?!" glare, before shaking his head quickly. "Nooooo, you don't need to sew it /on/ me! Just make it fit!" He cries, eyes widening in fear of these girls trapping him permanantly within the robe.
Thistia giggles, standing up. "Oh, it'll be fine. We're not such bad seamstresses that we'd poke you /too/ much, and it'll fit you much better if we can use you as a model." She grins, not able to resist the possibility of a pun. "A dummy, as it were."
Narika bites her lip thoughtfully. Besides being easier to let the other candidates handle the robe business, it might also be amusing. "Well," she says thoughtfully, "at least you wouldn't have to do any actual sewing. Like you would if you worked with me." She takes a step back, looking Shadis up and down. "Up to you, though." Or not. It might be hard to say no to three eager seamestresses.
Nadine hides another chuckle-smirk-grin mix, her head bowed over the almost-completed hem of her own robe, which is fortunately remaining /off/ her body right now. "Can't make it fit if you're not wearing it," she points out, still without looking up. "If someone accidentally makes it fit so well you can't get it off, well, then it must be a great fit indeed and you should be pleased and full of gratitude!" Well, that's one way to look at it. "Don't want me doing any of it, though," is advised a few seconds later.
Shadis frowns, glaring around him at the girl warily. After sizing each candidate up, he /very/ slowly nods, extending his arms up, moving as though in slow motion. "All...right." At Nadine's comment, he turns sharpley, staring in shock. "Please, no!" Mean girls. Torturing Shadis.
Narika glances up to check the angle of the sun. "I can help for a bit. But these have to get to the caverns for the evening meal." She glances over at the basket and oh's in dismay at the sight of a spiderclaw tumbling over the edge onto the sand. Escape! And then there's the trail of clawtracks headed towards the water. And only a few left in the bottom of the basket. "Oh /no/!" She scoops the nearest escapee in her hands and dumps it unceremoniously into the basket, looking frantically around for the others.
Nadine looks up quickly in order flip her hair ditzily over her head and gives Shadis a bright, if false, smile. "Now, would we /really/ do that, Shadis, dear?" Of course not. "You have to put your robe on, you know," she adds pointedly as she looks back at her hems. With a sigh, she starts ripping them out--they went in an odd direction while she wasn't paying enough attention--and shifts her legs into a new position before they fall asleep.
Shadis nods in Narika's direction. He'd offer to help her catch them, but Nadine had ordered him into the robe, so he carefully slips into the thing, tearing a row of stitches from an armhole as he does so. With the way he was sweing it, it would have fallen off on the sands. Of course, Shadis still has his clothing on underneith, since no one specified that he stand around naked while they sew his robe.
Ozeunzi shuffles her way down the beach, leaving a shuffle-trail of cleared sand in her wake and filling her sandals with...sand. She has an amused look on her face, keeping her eyes upward as she perilously continues her down the beach. She finally stops, only a few feet away from her fellow Candidates, blinking slowly as the blood rushes back to her head. Woo.
Narika picks up her basket and loops it over her arm, starting across the beach in frantic search for her escaped spiderclaws, sewing forgotten.
Nadine is actually staying focused for once, on doing something required of her no less, and doesn't pay attention to either Oze's appearance on the beach or Shadis's donning of the robe. "Mmm," she hums in a mumbled undertone to indicate false attention to her surroundings, finally reversing the tearing of her stitches to start redoing the part of the hem she messed up. "Tha's right, Shadis...like that...mmm." Can't you just /feel/ the energy radiating from her?
Shadis blinks. He's standing around in his very demented robe, since the girls /forced/ him to put it on to be sewn, and yet everyone has abandoned him. Rather than simply standing around in his robe, though, Shadis crouches, scooping up a small handsfull of sand on the pretense of brushing something away from his foot. Turning, he runs towards Nadine, attempting to stuff the sand down the back of her shirt without being dodged.
Now the focus and concentration on Nadine's pitiful robe work against her, and she doesn't even notice Shadis until the sand's going in. "Wha--" she yelps, leaping to her feet and spilling garment, thread, and needle on the beach. Frantically she tries to reach around, to brush the sand out of her back, but it's just out of reach. "Why, you dirty--!" the woman shrieks, spinning and leaping for Shadis. What she intends to do when she's bare-handed is anyone's guess, but her face is set.
Narika is still scooping up spiderclaws.
Shadis laughs, jumping back. He stumbles, falling on his back, cracking up. The boy rolls quickly to the side, attempting to dodge whatever attack Nadine may launch on him as he laughs.
Nadine pounces on the spot Shadis just vacated and spins to face him again while he's still on the ground. Her hands scoop up sand as she heaves back to her feet and in the brief moment she's standing over him, she chucks the very loose chunks at him, somewhere around face and chest. Of course, she's at an extremely awkward angle to do much more then drop.
Shadis laughs, rolling towards the water. Once he reaches the wetter sand, he clumps it up, flinging it at Nadine in a decently packed sandball. "You look like a sandclaw!" Shadis laughs, waving a hand in Narika's direction. "Narika! You missed one! There's a giant sandclaw over here!" He shouts, hopping to his feet to run like mad.
Nadine dives back to the ground to avoid most of Shadis's wetball, using her momentum to roll back to her feet as she snatches more sand up and sprints a few steps to the wetter stuff as well, using that to pack her dry sand into a tighter, denser ball which is not thrown, but held carefully in her hand as she charges at Shadis with a shouted war cry. Gasp, pant, wheeze.
Since Shadis is wearing his falling apart robe, he can duck from the beach without having to stop and gather much... Only his sandals. As he runs, Shadis pauses, scooping each one up along his path before he takes off. Probably to find someone to willingly sew his robe for him.
All references to worlds and characters based on Anne McCaffrey's fiction are © Anne McCaffrey 1967, 2000, all rights
reserved, and used by permission of the author.
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