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Naara's Search


Date:  August 17, 2008
Places:  Igen Weyr's Main Beach and Candidate Barracks
Game:  PernMUSH
Copyright Info:  The World of Pern is copyright(c) to Anne McCaffrey 
l967. The Dragonriders of Pern(r) is a registered copyright.

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Kassi's Note:  Everyone's roping in young men and women and sticking a 
white-threaded knot on them, then tossing them to Kassima's tender 
mercies as Candidate Coordinator.  Of course Lyss and Kassi themselves 
have to get in on this action.  Lysseth surprises Kassi by allowing two 
young women to assist just a smidge with one of her washings, but it 
doesn't surprise Kassi at all when the green has an ulterior motive.

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The Log:

You wing northwest to land at the Main Beach.

You slide off of Lysseth's neck to land beside her easily. She rumbles,
cocking her head down at you, and you rub her eyeridges gratefully.

Sylotra laughs and disappears under the water for a moment, coming back up
further out in the deeper water. She flips onto her back and agrees with
Naara, "Aye, its very good." She begins to sing some nonesense song about
shipfish. Out of tune, for the most part.

IGEN-> Sylotra says, "Rubber ducky...I love rubber ducky."

IGEN-> Naara says, "Rubber ducky you're the one!"

Jorel continues to walk out, until the water's deep enough that he has to
tread or float - he opts for the former, keeping his head out of the water,
curls slicked back in what's not -the- most attractive style ever. "Hard to
beat a swim on a day like this. Naara, right?" he checks, but only looking
at the shy girl from the corner of his eye, as if hoping that will keep her
more comfortable.

Yes, that would make her infinately more comfortable, but right now she
doesn't care. Diving and swimming and spinning and occasionlly leaping from
the water, Naara can be heard laughing freely as Riike joins in her antics,
himself more graceful in the water where a tail doesn't much matter anyway.

Bad, bad greenpair--Kassima and Lysseth fly down without benefit of any
straps to keep Kassi from a horrible, splattering death, but at least on
this occasion death is avoided anyway. The dragon touches down on the beach
without so much as breaking her rider's neck. Kassi slips down, unscathed,
wearing loose clothes and with a bristle brush tucked under her arm. It's
someone's bathtime! Given the size of the brush, hopefully not Kassi's. She
uses it to point out the group of people swimming. "Don't drown them. Got
that, lump? I don't need t'be explaining it to the authorities." Lysseth
exhales a long sigh.

Sylotra disappears under the water again and then emerges from it a little
closer to shore, as she watching Naara frolick. She has a thoughtful look
on her face as she treads water. Her song is more a murmur now, but she's
still humming it. She approaches Naara and Rikke and gives Rikke a playful
splash.

Jorel doesn't look offended when he doesn't receive an answer, just perhaps
a bit surprised at the girl's sudden enthusiasm. He continues to tread
water but looks toward shore, attention caught by the arriving greenpair,
though he doesn't call a greeting, far enough out in the lake that it'd be
awkward. Instead he watches, both them and the pair of girls who are
swimming nearby.

Pushing up out of the water for a breather, Naara pushes wet hair back from
her face and beams at the familiar green. Riike, startled by the splash,
creels in distress and she's immediately whirling about to his side,
checking him over for injuries with tender fingers. Just a splash. Once
she's sure no harm's been done, the girl turns a shy smile on Sylotra,
offering a tentative splash in return.

Lysseth precedes her rider into the water. All Kassima has to do before
she's ready to join is slip off her low shoes, using them to weight down
the brim of her sunhat. She goes into the water in all her other clothes.
"G'dafternoon," she calls across the way to the swimmers once she's
scrambled up onto Lysseth's back. The brush gets waved in cheerful fashion,
for good measure. "How goes the day?"

Sylotra looks a little guilty with the firelizard seems distressed by her
playful splash. But, when Naara sends a splash back in her direction, she
giggles and flips under the water, her shipfish kick sending a cascade of
water towards Naara and Rikke. She pops up beside Jorel laughing. The
greenrider's greeting makes her turn, pushing her dripping hair from her
face. She waves, offering a bright "Better now that its wet."

Jorel grins at Sylotra as she pops up, and even dares to splash at the girl
before paddling quickly backwards for distance, should she choose to
retaliate. "Afternoon," he calls back to Kassima. "Goes... hot. Better
now," he agrees on the heels of Sylotra's response. "How're you and yours,"
he indicates Lysseth with a nod, "ma'am?" *re*

Sputtering at the sudden influx of water towards her face, Naara can't help
laughing, diving back under the water and swimming towards Lysseth to see
if she can help with this bathing business.

"Ow. Ouch! Covered with hives, see me itch?" Kassima asks plaintively,
trying to scratch theatrically at her arms without dropping the brush;
she's dubiously successful. "I can't believe 'twere so cruel as t'*ma'am*
me. What'd I ever do t'you, I want t'know? This sun could melt your brain
and leave it dribbling out your ears," she agrees, pushing dripping hair
back from her forehead. Lysseth reaches the depth of water that leaves just
her back and head above the surface, stretching her wings out to help her
float. Kassima wiggles the brush again to the approaching girl: "Sorry for
that business in the galleries the other day, Naara; were you all right?"

Sylotra giggles at the greenrider and swims dragon-ways herself, waiting to
see if Kassima is accepting help for dragonback scrubbing. That or she's
curious about the 'business in the galleries the other day'.

"Sorry," Jorel's grin makes him look slightly less than seriously
repentant. "Nothing personal, Kassima. Hard to keep track of who likes
their ego fluffed and who doesn't, y'know?" He swims toward the dragon as
well since, well, everyone else is doing it. "What's your name, by the
way," he asks Sylotra quietly as he pulls up near her in the water.

Naara nods up to Kassima, offering the rider a shy smile before she dives
under again. The next time she surfaces, she's closer by and has a handful
of sand--good for scrubbing--that she holds out to the rider with a
questioning look on her face. "Y-you um...need any-any help?"

Kassima gives Jorel a *look*, but there's amusement in it. It misses being
an effective chide. "'Ma'am' doesn't fluff m'ego, it implies I'm old or
respectable or *responsible* or something. None of you are Candidates so I
can make dismayed noises about the idea." Lysseth curves her neck to look
long at both young women. Her eyes match the water in blueness--they're
rather less blindingly bright. "Oh, I could always use help," Kassi says,
"but the Sky-Lady doesn't permit it. She enjoys making m'life difficult too
much." However, Lyss shifts unexpectedly, lifting the wing nearest the
girls perhaps an inch from the water and then smacking it back down;
ripples spread outward, and Kassima reports in bemusement, "Huh. I stand
corrected. She says you may clean her wing claws if'n you wish. Don't do
'em any *favors*, Lyss." The green gives a mellow rumble: yes, she is all
magnanimity.

Sylotra smiles at the green dragon, "Oh, good. Wing claws. Glad to help."
She glances over at Naara and then dives for her own handful of sand and
she approaches Lysseth, "If you please," she asks politely for a wingtip.
Then to Jorel she adds, "Sorry, I'm Sylotra. Well met..." She trails off as
Jorel hasn't given her his name.

"I'll be sure to avoid it in the future," Jorel assures the greenrider. He
propels himself back a little, putting a little extra space between himself
and that down-coming wing - and he's not making any moves to volunteer to
join in the washing brigade, either; it seems he'd rather just watch. "I'm
Jorel," he offers to Sylotra. "Nice to meet you."

With a billion-watt smile that so rarely broaches her usual dreamy
half-grin, Naara croons a sort of thank-you to Lysseth, the same noises she
uses to comfort Riike when her mind isn't enough. But then that massive
wing is lowered and the young girl eagerly sets to work. She's careful
about how she scrubs, remembering how sensitive the area is on her own
tiny-big blue, but despite the care, she's thorough, in no rush to be done
and have to stop touching the soft hide.

Although Lysseth's wingtips end in dark, charcoal hide near to black in
color, there's a single claw extending from one particular joint. If the
ribs of her wing are 'fingers,' this would be the thumb. Kassima points to
this. "'Tisn't much. Or usually dirty. I don't know what she's thinking of.
Whimsy, I guess--there's another on her other wing if'n you don't want
t'crowd. I'm Kassima," she introduces herself, "and she's Lysseth, a
pleasure 'tis t'be meeting you." The rider starts applying her brush with a
will to the increasingly shallow ridges along Lysseth's back. Despite the
strength of Kassi's scrubbing Lyss doesn't seem to mind; she accepts
Kassi's ministrations, and Naara's, as her rightful due, although she keeps
her eyes on the latter. The claw and the soft green skin around it wiggle a
little bit as they're tended.

Sylotra smiles at Jorel, "Well met, I'm sure." Then she accepts the
opposite claw from Naara and begins a through examination before she begins
scrubbing meticulously. She's obviously no stranger to dragon scrubbing.
She glances up at Lysseth and Kassima when they introduce themselves, "Well
met, Kassima, Lysseth."

Jorel watches a bit longer, before kicking to propel himself farther away,
closer to shore. "I'd best be off, back to chores," he says generally to
the group. "See you all around - have fun scrubbing," and with a flash of a
grin and a wet sort of wave he paddles back to land, picking up shirt and
shoes before heading off.

Jorel leaves the beach, heading for the center of the Bowl.

Continuing to scrub with increasingly gentle strokes, Naara dives under
twice more to bring up fresh sand, but finally even she can't fathom
scrubbing it any more clean than it is already and so she dives under a
third time for fresh sand before turning her bright gaze up to Kassima
plaintively. "Umm...ma'--er...Kassima, ma'--I mean..." Her natural
subservience is undermined by the rider's dislike of the title ma'am and it
makes Naara more uncomfortable even than usual. "May um...I mean, would she
mind if I uh, c-cl-cleaned more?"

Lysseth's second claw is in fine health, unsplintered, and not visibly
dirty--just like the first. Why the dragon thought they could use special
attention might be a mystery, but it pleases her enough. "When did you
become a sybarite?" Kassima mutters over the rasp of bristles on hide.
"Nay, I know what you're after. How long have I known you and your style,
hmm? She'll make you a deal." This is not directed at Lysseth, but to
Naara. "She says: if'n you agree t'go to the Candidate Barracks where you
belong, you may wash her whole wingspar. Worst deal I've ever heard,
personally." Confided to Sylotra now, "You'd think Lyss would at least
offer her shoulder."

Sylotra looks up from her scrubbing, more polishing since the claw is
clean, and giggles at Kassima's clever invite to Candidacy for Naara. Her
eyes sparkle and she relinquishes the wing claw to dive under the dragon's
neck to see how Naara's reacts. "Naara!" She says in excitment.

Naara seems a bit surprised by this, but measuring up the wingspar, she
eyes it speculatively and then turns to Kassima with a single sharp nod
before setting to work. Good enough deal for her! But sadly, she'd not made
it an eighth of the way up the spar before Sylotra's shouting of her name
startles her and she drops the handful of sand, diving after it and hiding
under the water for a surprisingly long time before hesitantly peeking her
head above the surface. Riike peers around the large green body where he'd
been basking in the shower of wet sand from Sylotra's cleaning, churring a
curious note to his bonded.

IGEN-> Kassima welcomes Naara to Candidacy, courtesy of Lysseth, who
somehow got her to agree to weeks of drudgery in exchange for being
*allowed* to wash a section of her wing. I want Lyss to come with me next
time I buy a car. ;)

IGEN-> Celane says, "Yay Naara!"

IGEN-> Sylotra ROFL.

IGEN-> Iesia says, "Woot!"

IGEN-> Naara petitions Ies to have her head examined. ^.^

IGEN-> A'deth grins.

IGEN-> Iesia says, "Sorry, not a mindhealer. They're all brain-dead
anyways.. ;)"

IGEN-> Desdinova says, "Yay Naara!!!"

IGEN-> Naara says, "It's a party now! ;)"

IGEN-> Iesia says, "Is it me, or is the Beach a popular spot for nabbing
candidates?"

IGEN-> Lanisa grins, "Congrats!" :)

IGEN-> Desdinova was grabbed inthe LC. Buck the trend!

IGEN-> Iesia thbpts at Des.

IGEN-> Desdinova got a /written invitation/. So neener1

Kassima laughs in open delight at Sylotra's excitement, Naara's agreement,
and even the dropping of the sand. "Thankee!" she says when Naara's
resurfaced. "You've spared me a grumpy dragon. More grumpy than usual,
anyway--" Lysseth wriggles in the water, possibly pulling her wing
momentarily out of reach but not sending Kassi tumbling down. Alas. "I'm
the Coordinator, so if'n you've questions... and I can show you to the
Barracks when you're ready."

IGEN-> Desdinova's om always asked her if she was waiting for a ritten
invitation. Apparently, the answer is yes. ^.^

IGEN-> Iesia grins.

Sylotra grins, "Sorry to startle you. You're a candidate now. Its exciting.
Um...you are excited, right?" She raises an eyebrow at the other girl. She
glances up at the greenrider then and swims closer to her friend.

Naara can /get/ excited? Just kidding, she can and does, on occasion, but
now doesn't seem to be one of those particular times. Words never come easy
to this particular girl, but in this instance, she tries. "I um...I'm just
sort of an uh, an odd j-jobs wor-worker anyway, so ah... S'not, s'not much
of a d-difference, y'know?" To try and explain her lack of obvious
enthusiasm. "I am...h-h-happy, though." Kassima gets a nod and a grin
before she sets to with a steady sort of hand. Her end of the bargain
first, then they can go back to the barracks.

"Except for the chance of a dragon at the end," Kassima comments, her tone
gentled. "You're all right with that?" She meets Sylotra's glance and lifts
a shoulder slightly. She's a little puzzled, too. "So long as you are, 'tis
well."

Sylotra snorts, "Not much of a difference? Except you could get a dragon at
the end of all the scrubbing," she makes sideways little scrubbing motions,
causing little splashes to and fro, "and chopping," cue the chopping
motions and more splashing, "and cleaning out chimneys." She dives under
the water and comes up with a bit of greenery on her head. She looks up at
Kassima as the greenrider seconds her thoughts and shrugs back.

Embarrassed by the looks shot between the other two women, Naara ducks her
head and blushes, looking for all the world like she wishes she could take
that back and just nod and smile and let them fill in the blanks to satisfy
themselves. "I...y-y-yes, I'm ah, pre..pa..red," she stretches out that
word to buy herself some time. "For dragons." Thought finished, she looks
up and between them hopefully to see whether she got her point across
before returning to her scrubbing. Quarter done, now.

Kassima may still be nonplussed, but she accepts this. "Getting you all as
prepared as anyone can be by the time they crack is what I'm supposed
t'do," she says, and a wry grin flickers. "So if'n you aren't now, you will
be--ideally. Have you ever cleaned out a chimney?" she wonders of Sylotra.

For her part, Lysseth is calm, no longer staring at Naara so intently but
very aware of the presence of both young women. She holds her wing still,
but for occasional twitches of muscle beneath the hide Naara cleans.

Sylotra grins wryly, "She's happy." That seems enough for her. "Congrats,
Naara." Kassima's question, "Me? Um...I climbed up in a chimney once. Uh,
when I was about four turns. Does that count?"

IGEN-> Sylotra says, "I have to go in five. *sigh*"

IGEN-> Lanisa wavers :)

IGEN-> Kassima zhaiwaffles! Thanks for the RP. :)

IGEN-> Sylotra says, "Ditto!"

Naara nods, working her way along the spar. A little over half done now. "I
am," she assures both of them in her own quiet sort of way. Sylotra's tale
of chimney-climbing has her giggling with an absolute glee. "H-h-how'd you
get um, get down?" she inquires, curiously.

Sylotra grins, "That's a story for one day when neither of us has anything
else to talk about." And she paddles a bit away and floats on her back.

"Mayhaps she fell into a cooking pot," Kassima offers--when a story is
denied, make up your own! "Mayhaps they turned around and saw a
soot-covered four-Turn-old in the stew they'd just put on the fire, and
everyone fainted except the brave drudge who hauled her out. But alas! The
stew could nay be saved! The kitchens had a day of mourning!" She presses
the back of her hand to her forehead in anguish for the fallen.

Giggling all through Kassima's impossible re-telling of a story neither of
them knows the truth of--yet--Naara works her way meticulously up the
wingspar, looking almost...dismayed when she finds herself finished.
Turning her face back up to Kassima, she swims back a bit to showcase her
work before glancing towards shore--asking permission.

Kassima approves: "It looks good. Lyss says she has nay complaints, either,
if'n you wondered." There's naturally a great deal of green dragon left to
wash, but Kassi slides down anyway, hitting the water with a splash,
surfacing again some feet away and closer to shore; she offers, "We'll go
get you settled in, aye? She'll swim for awhile and enjoy her triumph."

Oddly enough, for a girl shy enough to mak a wherry brave, Naara seems to
have little issue with walking along the shoreline in nothing but the skin
she was born in. Not her type of modesty, apparently. Once on dry sand, she
shakes herself off--rather like a canine--and then dresses herself quickly
and with little wasted effort. Once ready she turns and faces the
approaching rider, waiting while Riike wings over to settle in her arms.
"R-r-ready, ma'am." Ha! She can call her that, now! ... Can't she?

Kassima, by contrast, is still fully clad, in dark and opaque clothes all
drenched with water. She doesn't walk to her shoes so much as drip. "Argh,
don't call me that!" Nope! "Kassima's still fine. I *promise*." Setting her
sunhat squarely atop her sodden crown, she grins at the younger woman.
"Just follow me."

You trot off to the east.

You head south to the main entrance.

You walk down the long, winding path to the Inner Caverns.

You stride into the Candidates' Barracks.

Naara strides in from the hallway.

Kassima hasn't dried off much by the time they reach the Barracks, Igen sun
or not. Her soaked clothing and hair still leave a trail of drips across
the floor. "Let me get you a knot," she says to Naara, and crosses the room
to a particular table; this one has drawers, and from one of them she
fishes a simple knot of black and gold threaded through with white. "Plenty
of bunks left. Nay anyone's going t'have t'bunk very near each other, even
when 'tis as full as it's going t'get."

Accepting the knot with a shy sort of smile, Naara removes her simple
resident's knot and replaces it, taking a moment to admire the prettiness,
the /newness/ of it. "Th-thanks." At the mention of bunking, Naara's eyes
immediately fly to the far corners, top bunks. Nooks she can crawl into and
hide.

"Welcome. The rules are there--there's the chore schedule--" Kassima
indicates where marked hides have been posted on the Barracks walls.
"You'll be on that starting tomorrow. Today's yours, for getting moved in
and settled. And taking a breather a'fore the routine begins. I don't think
you're going t'have much trouble... d'you have any questions yet?"

Shaking her head, Naara offers Kassima a grateful and--let's be honest,
here--pretty pathetic excuse for a salute. Hey, she...tried? "N-nothing uh,
nothing yet, ma'--Kas-s-sima." She stumbles over the name again. Really,
what's wrong with a good old-fashioned ma'am? "Th-thanks ah, again."

Kassima suggests, "Kassi works too?" This is perhaps not helpful. "You
don't have t'salute, either." But she takes it in the spirit it was given,
even so, saluting Naara back as sharply as all-too-many Turns of practice
at it allows. It's followed by a smile. "'Twill leave you to it. Good
luck... I'm bound t'see you around, soon enough. And Lyss thanks you again
for doing fine work on her spar." After waving to the other Candidates in
the room, she exits--hopefully to find a towel.

You wend your way out to the Inner Caverns.