Sakui!! The dark-skinned greenrider was up and moving before she even placed the voice. By the time she did realize that the voice came from her beloved Athenath she was already halfway to her desk, where she'd last seen her riding leathers.
The tone of amusment in the dragon's voice was unmistakeable. At least once I have you up you keep moving. The dragon walked to her ledge, spread her wings, stretched them slightly and gracefully glid down to the Weyrbowl where the rest of their wing were gathering. They were fighting Thread this morning, and the dratted stuff was two candlemarks early.
Sakui went through the motions of dressing in her leathers without opening her eyes. She'd been drilled so many millions of times that she literally went through the motions in her sleep. And then I went through them a million times with the newbies... She sighed and grabbed her helmet, pausing only a moment to wince at her reflection in the mirror. Long dark brown hair that had once been her crowing glory now hung in knots as she quickly whipped it up into a bun underneath her helmet. Helmet hair before I even put the helmet on...go figure. She quickly raced down the stairs towards the north-east section of the Weyrbowl where Feena, the Wingfirst, was waiting impatiently.
"Running late Wingsecond?" Feena wasn't being harsh using the formal title, but reminded Sakui of her recent promotion.
When the old Wingsecond from Kago Wing had transferred to another Weyr, Weyrwoman Magika left the filling of the postion in Feena's capable hands. No one had been more surprised than Sakui when she's been presented with the title.
"Just a little. I'll make up for it in the air!" Athenath had already crawled into the dragonsaddle in their weyr, after finally having gotten used to the sharding thing, so Sakui only had to fasten it on, double checking every catch now-a-days, and mount.
You can get ready in your sleep, let's see if I can fly in mine. The green dragon rustled her wings as she impatiently waited for the 'newbies' to suit up and get ready to go.
Sakui smiled. "Keep your eyes open love. Let's live through the day."
The green dragon rumbled her amusement. You always say that.
"I always mean it."
* * * "Ughhh....." Sakui tossed her helmet in the general direction of it's hook and winced as it clattered against the floor. "Ug."
Nice aim. Athenath, still caked in dirt, ash and sweat flopped down on her dragoncouch.
Sakui smirked. "My eyes were closed." The greenrider flopped down on her own bed, still in her dirty leathers.
Sure. There was no missing the green's sarcastic tone.
Sakui removed a boot and tossed it at her dragon. She smiled as she heard a soft thunk, indicating she had hit her target. "Ha."
The boot suddenly returned to it's owner, propelled by the forearm of the green 'target'. Sakui yelped as it landed on her back. Ha.
Sakui smiled. "C'mon Athen. Let's get cleaned up." She managed to drag her unwilling body to the floor and from there, to the dragon ledge. Athenath moaned and joined her rider on the ledge. The rider grabbed her dragon's neck and pulled herself up, not bothering to locate the saddle. Neither of them really liked the saddle anyways.
As she prepared for her bath, Sakui couldn't help remembering another bath, with another person. A friend she hadn't seen in a good long while. After they hit the water and splashed around for a while, Sakui finally breached the topic with her lifemate. "Maybe we should pay Jera and Rik a visit, eh love?"
The green dragon never really understood Jera and Rik, they seemed a little odd to her, but she did know that her rider enjoyed seeing them. Sure. Why don't you see if Magika'll invite them to the next gather? You could put on a show.
"That's a great idea love!! I haven't acted in so long. And it'll be great to see Jera and Rik again!" Athenath could see Sakui's mind was already racing with a million ideas. She loved making her rider happy. "And we could perform..." Suddenly Sakui trailed off, a look of horror on her face. "Oh no."
Athenath, believing from the look on her rider's face that it could be no less than the news that the Red Star was planning on attending the next gather, quickly exited the water and contacted the watchdragon. What?
"This is horrible." Sakui looked like she's just found out that Athenath was dead.
WHAT?!? Athenath reared and looked around for the source of her distress.
"I can't remember." Sakui continued to sit shocked on the edge of the lake. "All those hours and I can't remember."
WHAT?!? Athenath was getting slightly impatient.
"That monologue."
Monologue?
"The speech I had to learn. I went over it so many times. It's got to be one of the most famous ancient Terran monologues and I can't remember it." Sakui hung her head. "I used to recite it before I went to bed every night."
Athenath was frozen for a moment, not believing that that was the real cause of her dismay. That's it? You forgot a monologue you had to know five turns ago?
"What do you mean that's it? That's horrible." Sakui stretched as she stood up. She pulled herself back onto Athenath's back. "An actress should remember every line she ever had."
The green dragon sighed, telling the watchdragon that it was a false alarm. Whatever rider-mine.
Athenath gracefully landed on her dragonledge and let Sakui dismount. The rider quickly hopped back into her bed and the dragon returned to her dragoncouch. The room was silent for a moment as both of the room's occupants drifted towards sleep.
"Athenath?" Sakui didn't bother openning her eyes.
Mmm? Athenath lifted her head.
Sakui smiled. "'To be or not to be, that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them? To die, to sleep; to sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub; for in that sleep of death what dreams may come when we have shuffled off this mortal coil, must give us pause: there's the respect that makes calamity of so long life; for who would bear the whips and scorns of time, the oppressors wrong, the proud man's contumely, the pangs of despised love, the laws delay, the insolence of office and the spurns that patient merit of the unworthy takes, when he himself might his quietus make with a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear, to grunt and sweat under a weary life, but that the dread of something after death, the undiscover'd country from whose bourn no traveller returns, puzzles the will and makes us bear those ills we have than fly to others that we know not of? Thus conscience does make cowards of us all; and thus the native hue of resolution is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought, and enterprises of great pith and moment with this regard their currents turn awry, and lose the name of action. Soft you now! The fair Ophelia! Nymph in they orisons be all my sins remember'd.'" The former actress took a deep breath. "Ha. Got it."
Athenath smiled. Congratulations.
* * *
Read Sakui's weyrling story.
Read Sakui's hatchling story.
Read Sakui's candidate story.
Athenath impressed from Tiynarea Weyr.
Monologue from Shakespeare's 'Hamlet', Act 3, Scene 1, Lines 55-89.
Background from Enchanted Backgrounds.
