Xanadu Weyr - Feeding Grounds
A large portion of the eastern edge of the meadow has been fenced off, the corralling on three sides is located on the rolling meadow, while the fourth is located a short way up on the eastern hills. Within the large corral are a variety of beasts - ovines, bovines, and wherries - milling around, though the appearance of a dragon may send them one way or the other to try and escape. A small pond is set near one corner of the enclosure, and at times it reflects the low, bordering mountains.
Just at the forest's edge set under the tree line is a guest weyr for use in mating flights, a simple cottage made of weathered planking and grey stones.
It is winter! And it is evening ish.. And yet here is Idrissa wandering along near the feeding ground with a certain green firelizard upon her shoulder. She is humming a few tune to herself as she goes and pauses, peering one way and then another before hoping up onto the fence. "Alright, I'm pretty sure there was a kill a bit ago. Go look for it if your hungry Willow." Well it is a chance for her lizard to stretch her wings, and get some herdbeast munchies if she finds anything! The green trills out softly and hops up into the air fluttering off to check on just such a thing!
Hungry. Exactly! Why didn't Kale think of this before? A hungry firelizard would need some food. And with Kale not around to provide it, it's oh so likely that Alloy would find food on his own. And the easiet place? The feeding grounds! Dragons are sloppy eaters, and small bits and pieces left behind would make a great meal for a firelizard. And so after just barely getting through the day without getting his head chopped off for being less than attentive during lessons, Kale moves at a hurried pace to the grounds. It's darkish, so he holds a light, holding it up and out to see a bit better. And, was that a firelizard sound he heard? Granted, it sounds nothing like Alloy's tone, but hope rises anyway as he moves forward. "Alloy?”
Idrissa hops up to settle upon the top bit of the fence while hmming to herself in the process. Willow is off fluttering over the area, zipping this way and that now and then until she catches sight of a kill with some bits left on it! The green drifts close and lands starting to chew and pull small pieces off for her to wallow down. At the voice Rissa glances around and blinks before catching sight of Kale and waves to him. "Hey!.."
Wait. That's not Alloy. If it was…he would've gotten something by now, right? Those crazy little thoughts that he's always bombarded with whenever the young bronze is excited about something. Bugs. Eating. Flying. Playing. Catching. Rolling. Whoever would've thought he'd miss having his brain bombarded by the images thought by something else? Kale slows, the hopeful look draining from a face that's cast in shadow as his light is lowered. He adjusts his jacket, the same overlarge one received as a gift. Before he can turn though, he's spotted, and he glances off til he sees someone there on a fence. Not a rider, as there's no dragon. He steps closer, soon recognizing her as Idrissa. He smiles a little, though forces it bigger after a moment, approaching. "Hey. What're you doin' out here? Better be careful. Dragon might mistake ya for a snack."
Idrissa blinks and chuckles softly. "Me a snack? I don't think I’d taste very good in that regard." She makes a face at the thought. "What you doing out here anyway?" This questioned curiously, there is a slight pause as she gets the images from Willow on her finding food and it being YUMMY! "You looking for Alloy?" Wlel duh, he did sorta call the lizard didn't he??
Good question. What /is/ he doing out here? There has to be a more productive way to do this? Running around the weyr is not getting him anywhere, and no matter how hard Kale tries to think and send up some sort of .. SOS, the fact that he has no clue what he's doing, if he's been doing anything, or if he's doing it right always hinders any thought processing. And so…he continues running around the weyr. He leans against a fence post, resting the lantern like glowing orb on the ground. "Yeah," he answers as his arms drape over the fence. "…He'll turn up, m'sure." Maybe. He hopes. "Jus'…y'know. Just looking."
Idrissa ponders this while hopping down to stand next to him. "Can't you just call him back?" This questioned with a curious tone and tilt of her head. "I'm sure he didn't get to far.. I mean why would he?" She ponders and glances towards where Willow is and is quiet for a few moments her eyes even unfocus slightly before she blinks and the little green appears in a *poof* and lands upon a post of the fence. The green chirrrrups and trills out while looking at the two.
Kale's eyes turn her way, pondering her first statement. The simplicity of it. A simplicity that eludes him. He's tried! And then, the same question he's pondered. Why would he have gone off? Sure, many firelizards were scared Between the night of the dragon screams, but .. they returned. Can he come back and he's choosing not to? Maybe he's pushed him too hard with all of his training. Getting him to carry things. To follow directions. He /did/ scold him for muddying up the arena foyer once. Twice, actually. And then there was the time he nearly divebombed that Zaala girl and got scolded again. Maybe he decided to unImpress and go find someone else? Can firelizards even /do/ that? Hell if he knows, though right now it seems a likely option, especially as Idrissa demonstrates how well Willow follows direction, and how happy she is to do so. His spirits sink, though it only shows marginally on his face, masked mostly by a grin. "Hey, that's grand of her. You two are doin' well, huh?" False cheer. Not entirely false, as he is glad for her. "I…dunno. I mean, he's probably jus' rollin' in the snow somewhere, huh? Too busy doin' that to notice I need him back."
Idrissa ponders for a few moments while she watches Kale, and there is that fake cheer. Her hand reaches to take hold of his softly. "Hey.. I bet he’s alright.. Maybe Willow can find him." She peers at her little green, Willow is chirruping out preening a wing and pauses while looking at the pair. Her head tilts slightly one way and then the other in a rather bird like manner. "I.. think she might try to find him.." She isn't fully sure if she got that across to her or not.
Meh. Ok so apparently there's no fooling Idrissa so easily, and as her hand finds his own he slowly allows that grin to disappear, no longer needing to hold up the facade of cheer. "Yeah.." he says a bit unconvincingly, eyes drifting from her to instead eye the dark distance, not entirely focusing on any one thing. That is, til Idrissa speaks up again. She? He lifts a brow, glancing at her…then to Willow. "Y'mean…Willow? Y'think she…could?" he asks, brow still arched. "I don' want her to go out ..wherever an' get turned around and lost. I'd feel awful if y'lost her because of me."
Idrissa gives his hand a soft squeeze. "Well… It is an idea. I really dono how if it will work out not. Soriana would be the one to really ask that to." Not Rissa! "I know.. But I don't think I will, she wants to help she says." This offered softly before she looks back to Willow and smiles. "Go on, try to find Alloy.." This murmured out softly. Willow tilts her head, a soft coo escaping her at the thought, she glances between the two and then flutters up into the air and *poof* she's gone in between it seems.
Well who is he to try to deter a helpful firelizard? /This/ is something he obviously hasn't tried yet. Maybe Willow can just … pop up wherever Alloy is and tell him to bring his lizard tail back! Granted he wants to come back. Granted he isn't happily perched on someone else's shoulder. He frowns, shoving those exaggerated thoughts way just in time to see Willow poof off. "Thanks Willow," said to the remnants of nothing that's left behind. He looks to Idrissa now, slightly anxious. One missing lizard is enough. Hopefully she /does/ come back. "Don' tell Soriana," he says. "She's enough to worry over without me addin' on to it. Plus, this isn't hardly as important." Important to him, yes. Important to the weyr and the riders who occupy it? Notsomuch.
Idrissa ahs and nods a moment. "Alright.. Well.. I won't tell her for now at least." For they have what, a few days of her /not/ telling Soriana then! Her eyes grown a bit distant now and then, Willow is sending her images back it seems and she is trying to get her point across one what 'Alloy' is and looks like. She coughs a moment. "She's still looking.." Come on Willow!
"You should visit her," Kale advises, keeping his hopes on a low simmer. Not even a simmer. There isn't even a faint bubble seen in those hopes of his! "Soriana, I mean. Can find'er in the healer's annex on any day, likely. Probably from now til the eggs hatch." Or don't hatch, as the whispers are starting to assume, which is the only thing that makes him happy that Soriana isn't as out and about as usual. The whispers and rumors. Releasing Idrissa's hand, he crosses his arms upon the top of the fence and rests his chin upon them. Willow is still looking. He glances to the area in which she disappeared.
Idrissa takes in a soft breath and nods. "I wanted to visit her today.. Went by and everything and there was a bunch of dragonhealers there looking all serious and grumpy faced.. So.. I didn't get too far." That shouldn't surprise Kale. She watches him a moment and takes in a breath before she looking up to the sky watching it a few moments. "I'm worry about her, and her mom and Yumeth too.." This said softly while she frowns at the thought of something happening to the eggs.
Kale's eyes half lid, staring out at a slowly moving bovine. Lucky to be alive. Lucky dragons aren't out feeding. But who knows what tomorrow may bring. It may bring healthy eggs. It may bring Alloy. Though it definitely will bring at least a few hungry dragons who will happily cut the lives of a few of these herdbeasts short. "I worry too," he says, eyes closing fully now. "Don' let the dragonhealers stop ya next time. Jus' go. Worse they can say is get out. Best you can say is fuck off.." A half smirk. "But I wouldn't advise it."
Idrissa blinks and peers at Kale a moment, as if to say 'do you really think I'd say such a thing?!' She nods a moment while she folds her arms upon the bit of fence, her cheek pressing against her arm and her eyes close a moment. "I just hope everything works out.. Everything to go and been alright, none of this crazy stuff with the sands happening."
Kale doesn't see that peer, but he knows that it's there because the same thought went through his head. She'd never ever ever in a thousand turns say that. Ever. His eyes pry open, not sure how to comment on her last utterances, for… like many others, he has a feeling things won't be so alright, although he'd never say so aloud. That dragon scream told more than the dragonhealers are willing to. "Make her come back," he murmurs, off topic.
Idrissa frowns slightly while her mind wanders over things, a soft sigh escapes her and her eyes close. Her mind wandering, an all the while she is getting pictures from Willow. At the comment from Kale she ponders and her mind wanders. It takes a few moments, or actually longer than a few moments.. An ffor the slow moments Rissa actually gets a bit worried.. An then *poof* there is Willow appearing out of nowhere from between and holding onto what looking like a blanket that Alloy would use to curl up on Kale's bed. Willow trills out as she lands upon the fence post and she dangles he blanket for them to take. Rissa ahs.. and sighs a moment. "Willow.."
For a moment, no Willow. For a longer moment….no Willow. Kale lifts his head from his arms, beginning to frown. Oh no. What if something has happened to her and the reason Alloy hasn't returned is bec-….ah wait. There she is. A silent breath is released as Willow in fact returns, though there's no second arrival of the wayward bronze. The lack of hope did work in his favor, for he fails to feel that sinking feeling of disappointment as his eyes lower to the rag. "Ah, thank you Willow," he says as he gently takes the blanket from her. "Alloy loves this thing. I'm happy to know y'know it means much to'm." Which she may or may not, but it sounds nice anyway. He reaches out to stroke her head and beneath her chin before pulling back. "Gonna call it a night, Idrissa. Maybe tomorrow.." He's tired. Sleep hasn't come easy since the night of the dragon scream and his firelizard's disappearance. His weary mind screams for it, but it hasn't been getting enough.
Idrissa is quiet before a soft breath escapes her once Willow appears, and with a blanket which is Alloy’s it seems. She shakes her head but goes about thanking Willow, whom leans into the attentions from Kale and cooos out softly. The green lizard hops up onto his shoulder, snuggling cat like against him and is then over onto Rissa's shoulder curling up there. She holds a hand out for Kale. "Come on, I'll.. Walk with you, alright?" It has been a rather stressful week for everyone in the weyr..
Company is good. Kale gently smiles at the nuzzle received from Willow and nods in silent agreement to walk with Idrissa. He holds Alloy's blanket in one hand while the other reaches out towards Idrissa's, fingers slipping between her own. "Thanks," he says, another small smile accompanying the word. And with nothing further to be said, he heads back with her to the barracks.