There and back again. Eventually.
Who: Javeri and Skinner with Chadamalith
Where: The sky over Ista
When: Afternoon of day 13, month 11, turn 18.
What: Javeri delivers Skinner to a place he needs to go in order to fill her order. The two make small talk as they fly that way.
It's almost hard to believe, but Skinner does actually have clothes that - well, fit. Since he's gathering goods instead of selling them for once, he's ditched the hodgepodge of pockets for tough linen slacks and a thick fleece jacket that's maybe a bit too heavy for the Istan winter. Well, what are you going to do? The salesman whistles as he strolls across the bowl, one hand cast over his eyes to shade them while he looks for Javeri and her blue.
Look and they shall appear. Overhead the not quite full grown blue can be seen winging his way down to the bowl. He lands a careful distance from where Skinner waits and the cap that Javeri's used to tuck her braids out of the way gets removed as she looks around to spy where the salesman is since her eyes are not as good as Chadamalith's. One hand lifts in a wave before she loosens the straps and slides down to the ground. "Hey!" in case he missed everything else.
Skinner's hand tilts down to protect his eyes from any dust kicked up by Chadamalith's landing, but given the distance between them it doesn't have to do much. "Hello there," he answers Javeri after a moment, shooting her a grin. "And this'd be your blue, huh? Fine fellow." He picks up an easy jog to bridge the remaining distance, but once he's at the dragon's side he waits politely for some indication from the rider before he'll mount or even touch. "I'm ready if you are," he says smoothly.
"Chadamalith," Javeri introduces with a bright grin as one hand rests on the blue's hide. "He's excited to see some new places." With another smile she nods her head. "Sure. All set! You been up much? I don't need to mess with all the warnings and stuff right? About falling and going splat on the ground and all?" She turns and shows that being tall definitely comes in handy when getting up. Once she's in place she holds her hand down. "Come on up!" Chadamalith holds himself still, wings drawn in, and head swiveled so he can watch Skinner.
Noticing his audience, Skinner shoots Chadamalith a wink before he climbs up the blue's shoulder, using Javeri's hand to pull himself up most of the way. "Never have, actually," he admits, but if he's nervous about his first time riding a dragon, it doesn't show. He tugs experimentally at the straps, leaning out so he can see how Javeri's set up and openly copy her. "Don't worry, though. I've ridden plenty of pack animals and I'm not afraid of heights, so I won't give you much trouble." He clicks the last strap into place and spreads his hands out, inviting review. "There, did I get that right?"
"Ohh? Really? I've never gotten to be the first for someone before!" Javeri's grin grows and she gives Chadamalith a pat. "Well, you got the perfect first ride," she tells him with a nod as she tugs her cap back into place and tucks her braids back while he gets his straps sorted out. When he's done she gives them a thorough check out including tugging a couple of times before nodding. "Looks like they're good. If you fall we'll know we both missed something." Plummeting to one's death is amusing. "Which way are we headed?" she asks as the blue prepares to leap up.
Skinner lifts his arms to give her free access to the straps, and only laughs when she suggests he might still fall. "Take us straight east, out to the coast." Just in case she doesn't know which way east is, he points past her to help out. "It won't take long, so if Chadamalith wants to coast and see the sights, he can." Meantime, although he's pretty confident in his handiwork with the straps, he tightens his legs to steady himself for the blue's imminent launch.
If his landing was good his take off is better. Chadamalith makes as smooth a transition as possible from standing on the ground to flying up into the sky over the bowl. "We know east," is all that Javeri says with a laugh that winds up carried away in the wind when they get up out of the bowl. Then there's a slow curve as the blue aligns himself with east and begins to head that way. She's not much for talking as they fly, but she turns turn her head and raise her voice to tell him, "Let me know when we need to go down. There going to be a spot to land?"
Skinner doesn't have anything to compare Chadamalith's take-off to, but it's smooth enough to earn his approval anyway, and he gives the blue's shoulder a rub for it. "Of course!" he answers the rider, leaning in to her shoulder since his voice risks being carried away on the wind. "I thought ahead, don't you worry. He might have to be careful putting his feet down, though. They don't get much dragon traffic out there!" Skinner doesn't mind talking while they fly at all, even if it does mean raising his voice. A salesman is used to doing that to get attention.
"He can land anywhere," Javeri says back to her passenger. No matter the wind or the level of her voice it's full of typical rider pride when speaking of her dragon. "Never worry at all. If there's space enough for his four feet he can put us down as smooth as can be." They're not flying that high Chadamalith seeming to want to see where they're going. High enough nothing on the island will interfere, but definitely lower than some other dragon may have decided to go.
Skinner seems to be of the same mind as Chadamalith, leaning out so he can see the ground passing beneath them. He has to keep an eye out for their destination, of course, but he seems to be enjoying himself, too, getting so wrapped up in the view that he forgets to answer Javeri for a couple of moments. "I don't doubt it. He's shown nothing but smooth sailing so far, eh? How long've you two been flying?"
"Together?" Javeri asks and then she's leaning down a little to look as well. "About three months. Seems like we've been doing it all our lives though. It's the best thing ever isn't it? Flying?" It is at least the best non-scary part of the whole thing. "He's been doing it a little longer. Had to learn and get big enough for me."
"Sure, makes sense," Skinner replies. He pops a grin, but not for long, because he wouldn't want to get bugs in his teeth. "Well, you've perfected the art. This is a lot smoother than I thought it'd be." Catching sight of a landmar he recognizes, Skinner lets her know, "Shouldn't be more than five or ten minutes out from here. Told you it was close!" But that's no reason to stop chit-chatting. "So Chadamalith, huh? You guys use nicknames or you call him by his full name every time?"
Javeri's attention shifts forward a moment like she might see the landing spot right now. Chadamalith does the same but soon enough he's back to letting his head move from one side to the other in an attempt to not miss a single thing that might be seen. "Thanks! I was real proud of him getting the hang of it so quickly. It's real amazing." As for his name her laugh is loud enough to carry. "Oh, I always call him Chadamalith. It's his name. He doesn't seem to care and I know some of the other dragons use a nickname and some of their riders do too. But he's a Chadamalith to me. It's how I identify him."
"Chadamalith it is, then!" Skinner replies cheerfully, giving the blue a hearty pat. "Feels like forever and a day since these ones hatched. Don't know if I mentioned I was here for that, not that I can claim to remember your Impression specifically. But I heard you guys are gonna graduate soon, huh? Must be exciting." That's right, small talk in the middle of the air. Skinner can't live without his patter.
If he wants to talk about Chadamalith it's not like Javeri's going to say no. "No, I didn't know. We were near the end though. Past halfway and I thought I'd faint from the heat by the time Chadamalith came out. He was real pretty too even then. Can't say I was sure he'd pick me, but I know he was real pretty and everyone said just that." At least down where she was at least. "Still a little ways off from graduating," she admits with a laugh. "A few months away. Feels like forever though."
"The blues /are/ good looking," Skinner agrees with a laugh. "They were always my favorite color as a boy. Not that we saw much of any color, but hey." He pauses for a moment, putting a hand on Javeri's shoulder to make sure he's got her attention for a moment. "You can kind of see the clearing up ahead - see there, the little wagons? I don't know how much time he needs to get down, but that's where we'll need to do it.
"I'm biased so won't speak as to the best looking," Javeri says with another laugh. "Hard not to find him the best. His markings are so striking." Just because she's biased doesn't mean she'll stop speaking of him though. Chadamalith stretches out his neck and examines the area ahead as he drops a little lower. "I think I can almost make it out," she says as her head turns forward again to look.
Where: The sky over Ista
When: Afternoon of day 13, month 11, turn 18.
What: Javeri delivers Skinner to a place he needs to go in order to fill her order. The two make small talk as they fly that way.
It's almost hard to believe, but Skinner does actually have clothes that - well, fit. Since he's gathering goods instead of selling them for once, he's ditched the hodgepodge of pockets for tough linen slacks and a thick fleece jacket that's maybe a bit too heavy for the Istan winter. Well, what are you going to do? The salesman whistles as he strolls across the bowl, one hand cast over his eyes to shade them while he looks for Javeri and her blue.
Look and they shall appear. Overhead the not quite full grown blue can be seen winging his way down to the bowl. He lands a careful distance from where Skinner waits and the cap that Javeri's used to tuck her braids out of the way gets removed as she looks around to spy where the salesman is since her eyes are not as good as Chadamalith's. One hand lifts in a wave before she loosens the straps and slides down to the ground. "Hey!" in case he missed everything else.
Skinner's hand tilts down to protect his eyes from any dust kicked up by Chadamalith's landing, but given the distance between them it doesn't have to do much. "Hello there," he answers Javeri after a moment, shooting her a grin. "And this'd be your blue, huh? Fine fellow." He picks up an easy jog to bridge the remaining distance, but once he's at the dragon's side he waits politely for some indication from the rider before he'll mount or even touch. "I'm ready if you are," he says smoothly.
"Chadamalith," Javeri introduces with a bright grin as one hand rests on the blue's hide. "He's excited to see some new places." With another smile she nods her head. "Sure. All set! You been up much? I don't need to mess with all the warnings and stuff right? About falling and going splat on the ground and all?" She turns and shows that being tall definitely comes in handy when getting up. Once she's in place she holds her hand down. "Come on up!" Chadamalith holds himself still, wings drawn in, and head swiveled so he can watch Skinner.
Noticing his audience, Skinner shoots Chadamalith a wink before he climbs up the blue's shoulder, using Javeri's hand to pull himself up most of the way. "Never have, actually," he admits, but if he's nervous about his first time riding a dragon, it doesn't show. He tugs experimentally at the straps, leaning out so he can see how Javeri's set up and openly copy her. "Don't worry, though. I've ridden plenty of pack animals and I'm not afraid of heights, so I won't give you much trouble." He clicks the last strap into place and spreads his hands out, inviting review. "There, did I get that right?"
"Ohh? Really? I've never gotten to be the first for someone before!" Javeri's grin grows and she gives Chadamalith a pat. "Well, you got the perfect first ride," she tells him with a nod as she tugs her cap back into place and tucks her braids back while he gets his straps sorted out. When he's done she gives them a thorough check out including tugging a couple of times before nodding. "Looks like they're good. If you fall we'll know we both missed something." Plummeting to one's death is amusing. "Which way are we headed?" she asks as the blue prepares to leap up.
Skinner lifts his arms to give her free access to the straps, and only laughs when she suggests he might still fall. "Take us straight east, out to the coast." Just in case she doesn't know which way east is, he points past her to help out. "It won't take long, so if Chadamalith wants to coast and see the sights, he can." Meantime, although he's pretty confident in his handiwork with the straps, he tightens his legs to steady himself for the blue's imminent launch.
If his landing was good his take off is better. Chadamalith makes as smooth a transition as possible from standing on the ground to flying up into the sky over the bowl. "We know east," is all that Javeri says with a laugh that winds up carried away in the wind when they get up out of the bowl. Then there's a slow curve as the blue aligns himself with east and begins to head that way. She's not much for talking as they fly, but she turns turn her head and raise her voice to tell him, "Let me know when we need to go down. There going to be a spot to land?"
Skinner doesn't have anything to compare Chadamalith's take-off to, but it's smooth enough to earn his approval anyway, and he gives the blue's shoulder a rub for it. "Of course!" he answers the rider, leaning in to her shoulder since his voice risks being carried away on the wind. "I thought ahead, don't you worry. He might have to be careful putting his feet down, though. They don't get much dragon traffic out there!" Skinner doesn't mind talking while they fly at all, even if it does mean raising his voice. A salesman is used to doing that to get attention.
"He can land anywhere," Javeri says back to her passenger. No matter the wind or the level of her voice it's full of typical rider pride when speaking of her dragon. "Never worry at all. If there's space enough for his four feet he can put us down as smooth as can be." They're not flying that high Chadamalith seeming to want to see where they're going. High enough nothing on the island will interfere, but definitely lower than some other dragon may have decided to go.
Skinner seems to be of the same mind as Chadamalith, leaning out so he can see the ground passing beneath them. He has to keep an eye out for their destination, of course, but he seems to be enjoying himself, too, getting so wrapped up in the view that he forgets to answer Javeri for a couple of moments. "I don't doubt it. He's shown nothing but smooth sailing so far, eh? How long've you two been flying?"
"Together?" Javeri asks and then she's leaning down a little to look as well. "About three months. Seems like we've been doing it all our lives though. It's the best thing ever isn't it? Flying?" It is at least the best non-scary part of the whole thing. "He's been doing it a little longer. Had to learn and get big enough for me."
"Sure, makes sense," Skinner replies. He pops a grin, but not for long, because he wouldn't want to get bugs in his teeth. "Well, you've perfected the art. This is a lot smoother than I thought it'd be." Catching sight of a landmar he recognizes, Skinner lets her know, "Shouldn't be more than five or ten minutes out from here. Told you it was close!" But that's no reason to stop chit-chatting. "So Chadamalith, huh? You guys use nicknames or you call him by his full name every time?"
Javeri's attention shifts forward a moment like she might see the landing spot right now. Chadamalith does the same but soon enough he's back to letting his head move from one side to the other in an attempt to not miss a single thing that might be seen. "Thanks! I was real proud of him getting the hang of it so quickly. It's real amazing." As for his name her laugh is loud enough to carry. "Oh, I always call him Chadamalith. It's his name. He doesn't seem to care and I know some of the other dragons use a nickname and some of their riders do too. But he's a Chadamalith to me. It's how I identify him."
"Chadamalith it is, then!" Skinner replies cheerfully, giving the blue a hearty pat. "Feels like forever and a day since these ones hatched. Don't know if I mentioned I was here for that, not that I can claim to remember your Impression specifically. But I heard you guys are gonna graduate soon, huh? Must be exciting." That's right, small talk in the middle of the air. Skinner can't live without his patter.
If he wants to talk about Chadamalith it's not like Javeri's going to say no. "No, I didn't know. We were near the end though. Past halfway and I thought I'd faint from the heat by the time Chadamalith came out. He was real pretty too even then. Can't say I was sure he'd pick me, but I know he was real pretty and everyone said just that." At least down where she was at least. "Still a little ways off from graduating," she admits with a laugh. "A few months away. Feels like forever though."
"The blues /are/ good looking," Skinner agrees with a laugh. "They were always my favorite color as a boy. Not that we saw much of any color, but hey." He pauses for a moment, putting a hand on Javeri's shoulder to make sure he's got her attention for a moment. "You can kind of see the clearing up ahead - see there, the little wagons? I don't know how much time he needs to get down, but that's where we'll need to do it.
"I'm biased so won't speak as to the best looking," Javeri says with another laugh. "Hard not to find him the best. His markings are so striking." Just because she's biased doesn't mean she'll stop speaking of him though. Chadamalith stretches out his neck and examines the area ahead as he drops a little lower. "I think I can almost make it out," she says as her head turns forward again to look.