Getting away from it all (02.10.3189)

[ambigious]

As she slipped from the room, Ophelia felt more than heard Julim follow her out the door. The young woman kept her features bland as they walked down the hall, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. If anyone stopped them, she decided to just say that they were on an errand and would return shortly. After another moment, she heard Julim's comment, and couldn't keep the sly grin from crossing her face.

"You're assuming I'd want to do something," she responded in a level voice, her expression still betraying the faintest hint of humor. Once they reached the Weyrbowl her pace lengthened as she allowed her long legs to kick into their natural gear. "Besides, rumor has it that Eavan is much more susceptible to your charms," Ophelia added in a very nonchalant tone, allowing her eyes to cut sideways to Julim to see his response. The fact that Julim found the other girl attractive was understandable, but if her personality was some kind of allure for him then her favorable opinion of him was marred. Still, it could be rather interesting to see how things progressed.

Once they reached the herd beast quarters, Ophelia slowed until she was merely strolling along. Her head was tilted mildly to the side and her lips were pursed as she thought, clearly enjoying the break from the Weyr.

[azure]

"Nah, we all have our sights set on dragons. We're all so virtuous it amazes me. Hatching is so close, you know? I'm almost at the point of carrying robes and sandals with me everywhere."

It was nice to be a bit away. Even smelling herdbeast instead of dragon was nice. Julim's shoulders eased down a bit and he felt that urge to stretch that comes when you relax.

"Ouch." He twisted from side to side, trying to get the kinks out of his back and shoulders. "You were right. Good idea, this."

He had to ask. "What does your ideal dream dragon look like?"

[ambigious]

The fact that he didn't respond to her slight barb elevated Julim in Ophelia's mind. The young man was certainly confident, that much was apparent. Where that confidence came from, however, was another story; it was true he was attractive, if Ophelia found such physical qualities appealing, but there were plenty of attractive men in the Weyr. Julim's confidence came from elsewhere. She pondered this as she studied him, unable to hide her grin at his words.

"I agree," she said as they strolled along, ignoring the smell of dung and faint sweat that hung in the air. "I can't wait to see how some people act once the Hatching is over. Although I guess I should say after Weyrling training finishes," Ophelia added wryly. From her understanding, most Weyrlings were so besotted with their own mind mates that they didn't find any time for other humans. She wondered how her fellow Candidates would respond to the situation. "It is. When do you think it will happen?"

Her eyes danced over to him in confusion at his exclamation, but when she saw him stretching she subsided. They'd now entered the stable, and Ophelia glanced among the beasts, her shoulders instantly relaxing as well. She felt more at ease here, somehow. So when Julim asked his question, Ophelia paused for a moment, considering, before she responded. "Big. And powerful. I couldn't tolerate a small dragon; I'm far too ambitious for that." Ophelia's tone wasn't boastful, it was simply a stated fact. "They say that you accept whatever dragon comes to you, but I know my personality, and I'd probably scare off any small creatures anyway." There was a hint of humor in her voice as she admitted this, yet no regret whatsoever. It was who she was. Nothing could change that.

Then Ophelia twirled abruptly to face Julim directly, probably the first time she'd done that since their initial interaction in the Weyrling barracks. "What about you, Julim?"

[azure]

"What I want changes all the time. A bronze bigger and stronger then my father's,or the littlest daintiest most acrobatic green so I can be a flamboyant green rider and really upset him or maybe a muscular blue and being able to do whatever I want and almost never having to worry about being responsible".

Yes, he knew he didn't make much sense. Wanting a bronze felt like doing what his father wanted. Wanting a green was doing the opposite. Mostly, he didn't know what he wanted.

"So maybe you'll get a Brown then? I can see you as wingsecond. I don't think you'd want a Queen though. They have a very limited life it seems like. Your dragon is always stuck in the sands, or pregnant - and you'd always having to be responsible as suits a queen rider." He shook his head. That just didn't seem to fit what he knew of Ophelia.

"How about you get a brown and I'll get a green? That could upset things nicely."

[ambigious]

The moment Julim launched into his tirade Ophelia listened closely, watching his facial expression as he spoke. The minute he spoke of his dad Ophelia thought she saw the hint of an emotion cross his face, and instantly picked up on it. Ah hah. It made sense. The egotistical, traditional bronzerider and the weyrbrat. "You seem to base a lot of how you feel about yourself on your father. Were you close?" she asked, then pondered his choices. "I don't know what I could see you riding. A dragon for sure, but I can't tell the color. Maybe a bronze. You're certainly confident enough for it," she added with a light smirk, still gazing intently into his face.

"I can't honestly see you on a green though, " Ophelia admitted finally after a slight pause. And then came his own theories. Ophelia cocked her head to the side as she listened, clucking her tongue. "Wingsecond? You mean wingleader. Change the brown to bronze and we've got a deal." Although there was a humorous edge to Ophelia's tone, her expression was actually quite serious. It seemed that Ophelia had found a kindred spirit in Julim as well for being non-conformist. That should be interesting. Ophelia couldn't help but wrinkle his nose at the comments about a queenrider. "No, I definitely couldn't see myself as a queenrider. Pregnant all the time?" Although Ophelia's expression held subtle disdain, there was also another emotion looking in the background that, if one looked hard enough, could discern.

The expression vanished at his next comment as she grinned mildly. "It's a deal. And I promise to keep all of the leering blue, brown, and bronzeriders away from you," she added cunningly, then smiled sweetly. "Unless I misjudged you and you swing that way, of course. Which is perfectly fine, mind you, considering we live in a sexually accepting environment."

[azure]

"Sounds good. I would hate to have lots of attention and admiration directed at me. I'm all shy and modest." Julim batted his eyelashes at Ophelia, imitating one of the more blatant expressions he'd seen T'prin use. He had to laugh at himself though, that was so not him that he couldn't hold the pose.

"My father would be close to me if I were the ideal son, I think. Unfortunately I don't think his idea of an ideal son is so ideal. He puts himself up as the ideal bronzerider and a lot of it is an act. Who wants to be like that?"

Far better to be honest. even if it was honestly prickly and defensive like Ophelia was. He'd far rather be in her company then his father's.

[ambigious]

Despite her best efforts at maintaining composure, Ophelia's lips quirked into a grin at his words. "Oh, of course," she responded sarcastically, and actually reached over to ruffle the lad's hair. "I could tell that from the moment I saw you." Stunned at her own nonchalant manner, Ophelia cleared her throat and quickly withdrew her hand. The gesture was more that of a brother to a sister than anything else, which surprised Ophelia; since she was an only child and didn't have siblings, she didn't know how one acted around one. Did she see Julim as a little brother? Perhaps. A flirtatious brother, that is. As she mulled over these thoughts in the back of her mind, one hand absently reaching up to run through her own dark hair, Ophelia listened to his next words with care.

"Ah." That she could identify with as well; the perfectionists and controlling personality. "I see what you mean now." She listened quietly as she spoke, trying to understand what he was really saying. In Ophelia's experience, people very rarely said what they really meant and expected you to read between the lines. It took another moment for her to respond. "Well, as long as you know who you want to be and live up to your own expectations, no one else has the right to judge you. As for people who think they're ideal?" Ophelia wrinkled her nose in disgust at the idea. "They're lying to themselves and everyone around them. That's what I think, at least." Abruptly the young woman tilted her head to the side with a grin. "Oh, you make much more sense now, Julim. Does your father live here, at Sunset?"

[azure]

"Oh no! He is a wingleaser at High Reaches. I transferred here to get away from my parents. And I like it here. There is less ironclad tradition here and more friendliness."

That was making High Reaches sound bad. It really wasn't that bad.

"Probably its that way back home because of thread starting. All the traditional ways and forms were made to handle that, right? So a lot of it is people taking refuge in what has gotten the Weyr through so many passes before. It is just that to me it was like being slowly suffocated because as an always candidate and Wingleaders son I didn't fit all that well."

Not to mention all the hard partying green and blue riders he was friendly with. That upset some people too.

[ambigious]

[ooc: this is going to suck, I apologize in advance]

As the other boy continued talking, Ophelia found herself listening carefully, and was actually rather surprised at herself for taking an active interest in what Julim was saying. Since her return to Sunset Weyr not long ago, she'd grown accustomed to talking very rarely with others and caring even less for what they said back. Yet since she'd become a Candidate, she had been exposed to so many interesting people that she'd found herself responding in ways she couldn't explain. For example, normally Ophelia would be attempting to bring any man she spoke to down a notch, automatically blaming them for her past. Yet she held nothing against Julim. On the contrary, she found him interesting.

This unsettled her.

"You don't have to defend High Reaches. I won't tell," she added a tad humorously, then paused as they reached the end of the runner beast stalls. "I agree that people flock to what used to be good for the Weyr," Ophelia agreed a tad absently, her expression far off as she pondered this. "But that doesn't mean it's always effective. Sometimes, change has to happen before any progress can be made." Abruptly the young woman's gaze cut back towards Julim and studied his face. "Which is exactly what you did, by voluntarily leaving that Weyr," she added with mild approval. "Good for you." After another pause, Ophelia ran her thinly clad foot along the ground. "Think you'll impress this time?"