Who

Cascabel, Raktraeth, Doji

What

The cows Cascabel was staring at might not be snacks, but seems Raktraeth found a new reason to be at the dairy pens.

When

It is noon of the tenth day of the second month of the seventeenth turn of the 12th pass.

Where

Igen Weyr - Pens

OOC Date 26 May 2019 05:00

 

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Pens

Here thar be pens, in a variety of shapes and sizes fit for all manner of beastie. The largest pens are those housing plump herdbeast for human or draconic consumption. A few of the smaller pens are unoccupied, though there are remnants of their former occupants still evident on ground and fence. The actual pens themselves are made solidly constructed, proof of Igen's resilience in improvements. In each pen there are troughs for feed and water, and they appear again by the stableside.

It is the fortieth day of Winter and 34 degrees. It is a bright, sunny day.


Even at the height of the sun, and even when that sun is making sure to permeate every square milimeter of Igen's skies and ground, it is still desert winter and it is still very cold out. Which means that if you're Cascabel, it's a perfectly reasonable day to be outside! She sports a different fuzzy sweater than last time she was seen out and about, but it's still fuzzy: just this time cowl-necked and red, with a matching red scarf to boot. Someone has friends in yarn-y places. She's currently in the midst of a staredown with a milking bovine, Cas on one side of the fence leaning against it, cow on the other side staring back at her while slowly chewing. They've already held this position for about five minutes. It is very strange looking, if you're looking for strangeness amongst the Pens.

What's winter when you're a creature built to withstand between? While Raktraeth's hide might be thick enough to withstand the temperatures no problem, it doesn't mean he's happy about the shorter days and lack of any real vegetation. Woe to the tree-dragon. The behemoth brown should probably stick to the section of pens designated for Draconic lunches, but he's now slowly wandering on the outside of the pens. Making some sad, sad eyes at that bovine. And possibly Cascabel's back while his rider is currently nowhere to be seen.

The bovine has officially lost the staring contest with Cascabel now; this is because there is a dragon looking at her. This has completely destroyed the peaceful hay-chewing gazing experience, and she's taking a few steps backward now in preliminary feeling out of the idea of bolting, like Raktraeth wouldn't be able to catch her. It takes a moment for Cas to realize what's going on, and then she turns to lean backward against that fence instead, looking curiously at Igen's Widest Brown. "Er, hello," she says a little hesitantly, "These ones are not for eating, sir."

All cows are for eating if you're brave enough! But Raktraeth isn't his father (at the moment) or else he's just feeling very, very sluggish with the winter weather. The brown behemoth does give a sniff in the general direction of that not-for-eating bovine before he gives a sigh and slumps down. There are witness. And also, to get to the cow he'd have to actually have to do more than slowly waddle on the ground and that's not in this brown's agenda for the day. Instead, he'll place his head on the ground so a single eye is staring right back at the kitchen worker, about ten feet away.

Why, this is not intimidating even one little bit! Or strange! No, it is probably about as up there in the strangeness as the whole bovine staring contest thing, and it seems that prolonged eye contact with non-human beings is going to be how Cascabel's entire lunch break goes. "I'm sorry I ruined your meal," she tells Raktraeth, unaware of the fact that effort was part of the problem. "But it is sunny, a nice time to lie around?" Dragons sun, she knows this. Perhaps dragons like to sun while watching their future meals.

What's to be intimidated by? This is a Dragon Weyr and Cascabel's just living in it! Raktraeth at least won't keep the staring contest up for long before he breaks into a yawn (thankfully away from the woman as he does have some manners still) before settling his head down on his forearms. The sun is indeed very nice and first one and then the other of those tawny wings are extended. Raktraeth can certainly try to give the impression of the largest, brownest feline rug on Pern. But while Cascabel is feeling guilt about potentially ruining his not-meal, he'll tilt his head just a little closer so his eyeridges are about at hand level if a certain someone were to just stretch a little bit.

They are very pretty wings, and Cascabel can't help but watch appreciatively as Raktraeth sprawls. Apparently she really was just here to visit that herd, because she's showing no signs that she needs to be here to actually work. Still her lunch break. Nothing wrong with some draconic company, either — even if the bovines are now staying Way Over There, on the other side. As the owner of a canine and four firelizards, Cas does know the four-or-six-limbed guilt trip when she sees it; all the moreso when she knows Raktraeth understood what she said. (This is debatable with Trumpet and the fair.) Since the eyeridge is so conveniently available, she couldn't possibly be so rude as to pass up the opportunity to give it a gentle scratching. "How is this?"

Despite the species barrier, some sounds are pretty universal and that sigh as Raktraeth leans his head into the scritching can be nothing more than the sound of contentment. He's got the sun. He's got scritches. He's possibly got snacks if he ever were to gather up the motivation. What more could a dragon want? But that relaxation is about to be interrupted as Doji finally arrives, with a glare directed firmly at her dragon, although Raktraeth is quick enough to move from sunning and scritching position to a new position slightly behind Cascabel. Like the slight woman could really do anything to hide him. "He didn't eat anything he wasn't supposed to, did he?" There's definitely an unspoken again hidden in there somewhere.

There are snacks available that aren't off-limits milk stock, so except for the fact it's wintry, it must be a perfect day; and it has already been covered that dragons don't much care. Cascabel keeps the scritch going with a small but pleased smile on her face, watching for any change in expression on the very large head she's in contact with, until the change is not that of expression but full-on positioning. Cas' hand is still hovering in the air a little when she answers, "No, he seems to have listened when I pointed out those," a head-tilt toward the bovines from earlier, "are not for eating. I was providing consolation affection, I hope that is okay?" Because yes, it is a little weird to get caught by someone she's pretty sure is the dragon's rider; Cas isn't entirely clear on the culture of petting someone's dragon when they're not around. But she does know dragons are sentient and he asked her to.

Any anger is definitely directed at the dragon and not the innocent bystander recruited for pettings. Doji does at least stop with the glaring once it's confirmed no harm had actually been done and nods. "Good. He shouldn't need the pointing of it out. He knows what pens are the feeding pens. Hope he didn't toss them off their milk production with a fright?" There's a head tilt towards those bovines cause clearly Cascabel knows more about the dairy herds than she does. Raktraeth meanwhile from his cowering is looking for any distraction. The best one he can find is to sort of nudge to Cascabel's back, towards the rider.

"I doubt it, since they should be used to the occasional dragon stare down — I suspect some of it must be hereditary memory." Cascabel considers the bovines, who while remaining on the other side of the pen are otherwise behaving normally. "Their mothers weren't bothered by dragons, and anyone who didn't produce well would likely not still be here," is half conjecture and half confident statement. Raised by farmers means she knows some, but she isn't the local expert. "Though that would mean they were sold, and not snacks," she adds for Raktraeth's benefit; milk stock is not even for eating when it isn't producing milk! When the dragon moves again, though, she turns to look back at him again with a cant to her head.

Doji tilts her head as Cascabel explains her theory and then blinks as there is a bit of draconic shoving back there. She moves to try to get closer to the brown head, but Raktraeth is doing his best to circle around so the kitchen worker remains between him and his rider. "I'm sorry about him. The eyeing dairy beasts is normal enough but this…" She waves a hand at the whole circling. "Isn't. Do you also have some hereditary memory? You're clearly not unnerved by dragons." Even dragons doing things they clearly should be.

Indeed, this is even stranger than before, because now Cascabel is the center of a relay of rider and dragon turning around her. That is certainly a first; it's also possible that she's just not unnerved by much anymore, but she doesn't say that either, instead shaking her head. "Of dragons? No, though my — " Now she has done it, and has to stop talking. If she names Divale as her sister, she has contradicted herself in a way, since she just implied there were no riders in her family. And if she doesn't, what does she call her? But then again, fostering is normal in a Weyr, so she just goes with it, "Sister by fostering rides, so I am more used to browns than other dragons."

Let's just ignore that Cascabel fostered herself to Divale's grandmother.
Who needs technicalities?

Strange is sometimes just a way of life. Before anybody's head might get too dizzy from all the spinning, Doji puts a stop to it by planting herself firmly across from Raktraeth and they have like a little Cas-sandwich. "He might be a little biased to browns. And may also be trying to distract from the fact that he shouldn't have been her in the first place… but have you ever considered riding yourself? Surely if your foster sister rides, it's not something you're unfamiliar with?"

Cascabel looks first at Doji, then at Raktraeth, then more gradually back at Doji as the circling comes to a stop. "I might be biased toward browns as well," she admits, because her dragon interaction checklist mostly includes them: generally Lukoith, but Odskovith made friendly noises at her, and Rhovvth gave her a really, really important ride that one time. "But I — " Everything Doji actually said sinks in as Cas' thought process grinds to a steady halt and then reboots. " — Have not, it was never suggested before." Sure, she could have volunteered to stand in the two turns she's been at the Weyr, but she never thought of it, and now she likely looks like someone who is facing a thing that should have previously been obvious to her as an option but wasn't. For good reason: that's exactly what she's doing. "The fact that I have worked in the Weyr long enough to volunteer simply never occurred to me. Should it have?"

Doji is no stranger to having this little conversation even if this exact situation is a first. And so while Cascabel pauses, the rider just tucks her own hands into her jacket pockets and waits. The last she gives a shrug. "I know I certainly hadn't considered it when I first got to the Weyr. Thought I'd always be a healer. Still thought I'd always be a healer even when I was on the Sands." And Raktraeth definitely thought differently, but now she's a dragonhealer so that's sorta the same thing, right? "We do have two clutches on the Sands now. The more volunteers we can get to give them suitable choices, the better."

"I would not want to take up the space," Cascabel says foolishly, as Doji just said there was a pretty significant amount of it, "if it were not likely that I would be considered, but …" She shrugs one shoulder and looks curiously back at Raktraeth before returning her glance to his rider again. "If the dragon is proffering an invitation that I do so, it would be rude to refuse?" It's a little unclear as to whether that is a statement or a question, as if Cas herself isn't sure.

From behind, Raktraeth gives a snort that certainly shows his opinion on how rude refusal would be. And another nudge to the back before snaking his head around to give a wink at the woman. It's definitely a wink even if only one side of his head is visible. "We have dealt with bigger clutches before. While things might get a little cramped, we make do. And if you weren't sure, Raktraeth is really trying to Search you. Or just trying to distract from whatever trouble he might have been trying to get up to but he claims he was only out here to find Candidates… and it certainly wasn't the cows."

Cascabel cannot help but laugh at the idea that cows might be wonderful candidates. Dragonriders whose dragons would eat them. It's the only thing that distracts her away from trying not to giggle at Raktraeth's wink; she didn't actually know dragons could wink until right now. Learn something new every day. "I was the only one here, so if he felt drawn to the area, it could have been me. Or maybe it was actually the caprines?" A glance back to Raktraeth, as if he is going to confirm or deny.

The Charter probably lacks a fifth amendment, but nonetheless Raktraeth isn't incriminating himself, although he does love caprines nearly as much as he loves bovines. Doji just shrugs. "Dragons don't normally lie." Misleading is another story. "But you look young enough and able bodied enough and I'm assuming you're not married? So if you're willing to Stand…" the brownrider digs a hand out of her pocket and now there's a white knot in it that is there for the taking.

A little bit insane, but absolutely able-bodied enough to garden, which means Cascabel is certainly able-bodied enough to ride a dragon! One must assume. "Widowed," she says, but not in a way that's any more emotional than stating a fact, "So if that is sufficient, then yes." Maybe that's why it wasn't suggested before; maybe it's unrelated. "I will." But her hand hovers before taking the knot, just in case the fact that she was married ever is a complication. She certainly isn't broken up any about it. Nor does she actually think there's any reason for Divale to be upset about this, else she might have thought. That will be a fun surprise.

Doji winces a little at the mention of widowing, but since the other woman isn't emotional about it, she'll just nod. "I believe it is." As long as she isn't currently wed, it's not a legally binding attachment that would get in the way of being a rider after all. The hand is still outstretched and the knot there for the taking. "I can show you the barracks." And give the full rundown of all those rules along the way.

Cascabel has always been unusually easygoing about her widowhood, after those raw first few months; at this point, it's only an afterthought, and that might be why some people attach the 'little bit insane' label to her. As far as she's concerned, she's perfectly sane and it's perfectly normal to not react to some things. So, with the sort of tiny little micro-nod that more signifies her accepting something to herself than anyone else, Cas takes that knot and replaces her own with it upon her shoulder. "I would appreciate that, ma'am." Oh, they never exchanged names, did they. Not that she moves to change it.

Not knowing the details of the event, Doji will continue believing that Cascabel is sane enough. Her dragon certainly thinks so and the mindhealers will have their chance to give a full evaluation at some point later. Determination of sanity is best left to the experts. Knot accepted, Doji will lead the way to the barracks, providing the full run down on Candidacy for the most part. And if names aren't provided, at least Cascabel did hear Raktraeth's a few times during the whole conversation so Divale will know who to blame eventually.

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