Sunlight on the Water [OPEN]

[Mystery]

The day was a fairly lovely one, by far not as bad as the harsh winters Kvothe remembered from the times he'd spent alone in the wilderness. Though his mind inwardly shied away from the memories of what would have brought him to that point, left forgotten in his memories aside from the ache in his heart when he family wasn't there. He would have liked to have been a harper, one day. Only they'd died before he could and yet... His fingers stroked the dark wood of the lute in his lap, eyes staring at aimlessly across the beauty of the lake. Yet he loved music, and he could play better than some of the harpers he'd heard. Snorting as the thought crossed his mind, Kvothe's hands brushed against the strings of the lute, drawing from it a sweet sound.

Though he'd had a tough life, Kvothe didn't particularly feel sorry for himself, rather he pitied others. They hadn't lived through all that he had, hadn't heard the birds calling at the beginning of the day as the sun rose over the horizon, and they were also scared. Scared and weak. He'd noticed that over the last couple of months, that alot of the candidates were... Well... They were just spineless. Kvothe wasn't afraid of any of them, they simply got in his way. People were... they were generally useless, and if there was one thing Kvothe hated about the weyr it was the sheer amount of uselessness. Like Whites. They didn't do anything for the weyr, they were just useless. Since it was Garnets that chased Topaz and added to the weyr population, and Ebony's that chased Obsidian's. Where did the White's come in?

Still...

If nothing else this place was beautiful. Shifting his grip on the lute and bringing it closer to him, Kvothe began playing. The notes as echoingly beautiful as the lake before him, while his brow furrowed in concentration as he sought for the right sound to capture the beauty of the sunlight dancing across the water. It might take him days, hours, months. But it didn't matter to Kvothe, because in the end of it all, while his fingers flew across the strings, he found a little bit of peace. He forgot the deeply buried sense of loneliness, or the burn for more knowledge to fill up the spaces in whatever he was lacking. He forgot that come the Hatching, every candidate would have a family to cheer them on while he stood proudly alone. He forgot what it was to need to be strong all the time, and simply played. Lost himself in the music that flowed around him like the waves licking up against the shore line.

And for a moment, Kvothe felt as though his father's hands were guiding his, and his mother's hand rested on his shoulder, praising him as he played The Way the Sun Dances on the Water.

[Akira]

For being as large as he was, Guarximuth knew how to fly, and land, rather silently. All the better to sneak up on unsuspecting wrong doers Ra. Thee should know that by now. There was a soft chuckle to the brown’s words as he spoke to his rider as they glided down towards the lake. I know that Guar, but still, after all these months of peace, the only wrong doers we found where some little kids playing some pranks. They even returned everything they took. Pandora gently patted the bridle like marking in front of her. There is someone here mine dear Ra. The four turn old dragon banked slightly as he circled above the lake, aiming for a very gentle landing.

Pandora wasn’t very fond of people, never had been really, but has gotten a little more social since her impression to the dedicated brown that is her life mate. You know I’d rather not Guar, and it looks like they’re busy, so we should probably leave them be. She frowned at the snort her dragon direct at her. Nonsense mine dear, who doesn’t like a little company now and then, and every Harper enjoys having an audience no? There were times that one just didn’t argue with a dragon, and Pandora knew that now was one of those times. Most of the time, this was how their “debates” went, but every once in a while Guarximuth would be nice and let his rider win.

Guarximuth bugled softly so that the boy wouldn’t be too surprised by the sudden appearance of such a large dragon. Greetings young candidate. Guarximuth’s voice might have been gruff and booming, but it was still kind and gentle enough so as not to alarm the young man who was playing the lute. Pandora slid off of her dragon and began taking off all of his flying gear so he could go for a nice swim in the lake.

[Mystery]

When the dragon flew over head, Kvothe's hands instantly stilled on the lute and the glare he directed at the dragon rider could have killed if only looks had such an effect on someone. If only, if only. Kvothe was not your average harper. The last thing he'd wanted was an audience, but now, here one was, as though she sharding owned the lake. He wasn't playing after that, nope.

When the dragon spoke to him, Kvothe shook his head irritably, pulling his head back like a startled runner and didn't those eyes just darken with dislike. One hand freed itself from the hold he had on the lute, rubbing at his temple irritably before shaking his head agian and looking towards the rider instead.
"I don't take kindly to dragons helping themselves to my thoughts." He hissed eventually, shoulders stiff and uneasy. One could never know when an approaching person was a danger to themselves or others, and Kvothe had long ago learned not to trust anyone but himself for survival.

'And my name is Kvothe, not candidate." He added softly, before any softness disappeared to suspicion.
"What do you want, rider?"

[jilli]

Hanako laughed, carefree on her first day off in a while. She and Orphyleth had decided that since it was so hot out a swim would be a nice idea. The flight out lifted Hanako's spirits almost as much as the thought of a swim did. There was only the beat of Orphyleth's wings, the rush of the wind past her face and hair. The ever present happiness in her mind that was her Orphyleth. The leathers felt natural in her hands and she was part of the green beauty that was her bonded.

Through their link she experienced the sights and sounds that reached her dragon as they flew low over the lake. There was a brown landing. She tried to remember the rider's name. Was it Pandora? There was someone else as well, and the faint melody of a lyre, which Orphelyth had begun to enjoy.

Hanako's shoulders drooped. There were people down there. Such a shame, she'd been looking forward to the swim. As her mood fell, orphelyth's gentle assurance touched her mind.

"We'll just both swim anyway mine."

"But Orphelyth, what if that other person is a man?"

Orphelyth chuckled at the modest streak that reared it's head in her bonded.

"Can you not swim in your clothes then mine? "

She sighed. It WAS very hot today...

"Oh very well then." she gave into her dragon's reasoning and they dipped into a graceful dive, landing lightly about 20 feet away from the man. Orphyleth seemed disappointed as the music stopped and sent a soft, barely there suggestion of the melody he had been playing, then crooned a greeting to the large brown.

The young man, a candidate it seemed, was definitely no a happy camper, hanako decided as she slipped gracefully from Orphelyth's back. She listened to the exchange and cringed. To be that rude to a subking? If he survived samara that new master would tear this one to pieces.

" If you want to get technical I'm sure he just said hello. That's him giving you one of his thoughts. Not him taking any of your own. And just like you have a name, so does each dragon as well as their rider. " she smiled at pandora and guarximuth.

" Always a pleasure lord Guarximuth, Lady Pandora.". They had only dealt with eachother in passing, and she should probably be more casual with a fellow rider, but after being headwoman and a drudge, some habits were ingrained.

[Akira]

Pandora raised an eyebrow as she listened to the guy speak, but kept her retort to herself, for now anyways. In answer to your question Guarximuth, No, not every Harper likes an audience apparently. She directed the thought to her brown dragon as he looked at the boy with curiosity swirling in his large eyes. She looked him up and down, noting just how tense the poor kid was, and a small smirk playing at one corner of her mouth. Last time I checked this lake was open to everyone in Trelis Weyr, including the riders and their dragons Kvothe. She crossed her arms over her chest as she spoke, a slight hint of mockery in her voice.

Don’t be rude Pandora, he is obviously upset that I spoke to him and not you, tell him I apologize. Guarximuth lowered his head so that it was level with those of the two humans, and nudged Pandora when she refused to relay his message. Alright fine, I’ll tell him. His name is Guarximuth, and he apologizes for speaking directly to you. There was a slight growl in her voice as she spoke, and she leveled a hateful glare at Kvothe. It was obvious that she wasn’t all that happy with having to be “nice” to some upstart like this kid, but that’s just the way Guarximuth was.

Guarximuth turned his large head and crooned softly back at the green that was now joining them. Pandora watched curiously as another rider and dragon appeared on the scene, and seemed to have decided that she would have Pandora’s back. The young woman lifted an eyebrow as she listened to the green rider speak. She knew her name but for some reason it just wasn’t coming to her mind. It is Hanako of green Orphelyth mine Pandora. There was a slight chuckle in the brown’s voice as he spoke only to his rider. Pandora rolled her eyes, knowing full well that what he really wanted to say was that she should work harder at remembering people’s names.

Pandora nodded at Hanako when the other rider smiled at her and Guarximuth. Greetings to you as well Hanako and Orphelyth. Pandora wasn’t as formal as a lot of others might have been, including Hanako apparently. And a pleasure as well Lady Hanako, and you as well Lady Orphelyth. There was a pleased croon in the brown’s gruff voice as he spoke to the green dragoness and her rider. Where his own rider was almost never formal, Guarximuth had a good habit to treat females with a little more formality than most would.

[Mystery]

Oh, great. More dragons.

With the extra person landing on the shores of the beach, Kvothe's hands tightened around his lute possessively, his expression betraying nothing of the discomfort he felt being in the presence of the riders. Not because they had dragons or thought they deserved his respect, but just because it had been so long since he'd had to rememebr all those lessons about polite speaking and how to treat a lady. He didn't want to talk to either woman, he jsut wanted to be left alone. Was that so hard to understand? Shard it all, he should never have come back to the weyr.

"I don't care. I don't want him in my head." Was there a flicker of uncertainty there? Kvothe may not have acted like it, but he was still only a young man, and the way he eyed the dragons was with enough aprehension that on anyone else might have been a flicker of fear. Unfortunately for him, there was none of that left, and for a long moment, he met the brown dragon's whirling eyes before he finally looked away, back down at his lute.

"I didn't say it wasn't open, did I? You landed right near me, it's a big lake, one can only assume you wanted something from me. Like you said, it's a big lake rider and anyone is welcome to enjoy it. Just like I'm welcome to enjoy my privacy." He hissed softly, eyes flickering towards the green and her rider before looking back at his instrument sullenly. They'd ruined everything. The peace, the music, and shards the quiet. How he missed the quiet. Damn riders.