Inspection (open) 01.21.3189

[ambigious]

There were certain things that Ophelia had forgotten in her Turn of absence, and other things that she remembered like the back of her hand. The teaching ballads that she had learned as a child were the ones she remembered. The instruments, and how to play them, were ones that she forgot. Quite aware of the fact that one needed to play an instrument in order to teach one of the teaching ballads, Ophelia strode towards the craft rooms after eating a light meal for lunch. Some fool had tried to assign her a list of chores, but she very quickly and easily forgot them without the slightest intention of doing any of them. Since she stood at nearly 6 feet tall and possessed ample hips, her stride was more of a saunter as she made her way towards the craft hall. It was also obvious, simply by the way she moved and carried herself, that Ophelia was aware of her curves and was aware of the effect they had on others. She was not afraid to express her sensuality in her movements.

A large canine that reached up to her hip slunk after her, his paws soundless against the stone floor. The creature was a dark brown in color with a lighter brown underbelly, and although he resembled the Earthen wolves of old, his tail curled at the end to brush against his back. Alert pitch black eyes roamed the hallways as they walked in amiable silence.

Once they reached her destination, Ophelia paused in the doorway and reached up to tousle a few strands of her spiky, chin length black hair. Instinct made her glance inside with wary hazel eyes before she actually stepped in. Luckily the room was empty, so she stepped right in and immediately walked over to the Harper area. Shade, the canine, trotted after her, his ears perked as he glanced among the crafts. His nose twitched incessantly at the air, and he grunted curiously as Ophelia reached for a gitar.

"Sit," Ophelia commanded in a quiet tone that brooked no argument. Obediantly Shade sat, cocking his head at her as he waited. Knitting her brows together in a frown, Ophelia let her fingers play over the instrument, allowing her mind to register the notes. She began to notice if they were sharp, or flat, and tuned the instrument accordingly. She also noticed the emotions that rolled through her as she touched the familiar instrument. A sense of nostalgia for the worry free days of her youth. A sense of disgust, at how naiive she was. And lastly a sense of anger that pulsed through her. All of these feelings were acknowledged, noted, then discarded, as they did not serve her in that moment.

"There we go," Ophelia murmured as her fingers picked out a familiar tune. Shade perked up his ears as the haunting melody of the rider ballad floated through the air. "These songs teach kids to believe in lies," the young woman explained in a scornful tone to the canine, who merely sat silently, the perfect audience for he had no idea what she was saying. "They teach kids to respect dragonriders, for they are the saviors of Pern. What they don't mention is that they are only saviors when it suits them." The melody ended with a sharp twang of strings, and Shade winced, whining as he picked up on Ophelia's sour mood. The young woman's thin lips puckered together, but she forced herself to relax, and patted Shade's head fondly. "It's alright, boy."

[Rust]

Chores. Chores were never finished! That was the one constant between all of the places that Kogran had been, and it wasn't exactly comforting. At least he got to be outside, tending to the Weyr's herds on the days he wasn't doing some other mindless indoor cleaning work.

On the way out, Kogran took the long way. They wouldn't miss him if he was a minute or two late, right? He hadn't explored the place enough anyway. What if he had to run messages and got lost? Pleased with his excuse, he jogged along the hall until he heard music.

He slowed, deciding to enjoy it, but he heard talking instead of singing. Wasn't that the opposite of what was supposed to happen? Curious, Kogran paused by the door it all came from and listened. He only caught, the very end: "What they don't mention is that they are only saviors when it suits them." Strange statement. Who was 'them'?

Oooh she had a dog! Kogran smiled and took a step into the doorway, to get a better look at the animal and make conversation.

"I thought you were supposed to sing along with music?" he half asked, even though it was more of a statement.

[ambigious]

The moment the pair heard footsteps down the hall, the music stopped. Shade tilted his head to the side as his ears perked, listening intently for the intruder. A soft whine issued forth from his muzzle. Calmly rising to her feet, Ophelia patted the canine gently on the head. He was still skittish around others, due to his abusive past, but Ophelia would make sure that no more harm came to the large canine.

Still, that didn't mean Ophelia was exactly looking forward to the encounter. In the deepest recesses of her mind she tried to figure out who was approaching. A dragonrider? No, they wouldn't enter the crafts area. Unless they needed to mend a harness, or perhaps a riding strap...it was probably, however, one of the resident craftsmen. That, or the Headwoman, checking through her wares. None of these options appealed to Ophelia, and a slight grimace twisted her otherwise pretty face as she paced lightly around the room. Shade watched her intently.

When the comment broke the silence, Ophelia paused in her pacing and glanced over her shoulder at the lad. If it surprised her that the boy was a craftsmen and candidate, like herself, it didn't register on her pale face. Instead she merely regarded him for a moment with her keen hazel eyes, then placed the instrument very gently back on its stand.

"And I thought one was supposed to knock before entering a room," she replied in kind without acknowledging his statement, and turned to stare at him with unwavering hazel eyes. For his part, Shade slunk over to Ophelia's side, his ears pinned to his head as he glared sideways at Kogran.

[Rust]

Kogran looked confused for a moment, as he wondered if he had done something rude. It didn't seem like a big deal to him; it was music and he wanted to hear it, even though she stopped before he appeared. Also puppies!

To be honest, Kogran could see that the dog didn't seem to like him, even though he didn't notice anything even resembling hostility from Ophelia.

"I guess so," Kogran agreed, a smile returning to his face. "But I shouldn't be here anyway. I have chore to do, but I'm taking the long way around. What were you saying about the uhh...."

Pausing, Kogran snapped his fingers twice in thought. He had been taken off guard by her question about doors, so he forgot what he had heard on his way up. What was it? Um, saviors? Suits? Mentioning.... that.... hm. Well, he'd have to guess.

"Saying about saviors?"

[ambigious]

It seemed the other lad had trouble keeping eye contact. Although Ophelia's expression remained calm and expressionless, satisfaction flared within her. Let him avert his eyes. If he did not have the strength to confront her, then he was unworthy of her attention. Abruptly, however, a thought occurred to her. He seemed like a kind young man, dutiful yet polite. The barest twitch occurred at the corner of her lips, and abruptly Ophelia's attitude completely changed. She shifted her weight to one foot so that the curves of her hips were immediately apparent, her long, slender body revealing surprisingly feminine curves.

"Were you? Well I don't mean to keep you from your chores," she replied sweetly with a smile that didn't reach her hazel eyes. "What are the chores? Maybe I could help you, to make the job quicker and easier." Sensing her shift in mood, Shade glanced up at his master, a soft whine sounding in the back of his throat. Absently, Ophelia reached down and caressed his ears, a surprisingly tender gesture for such a cold young woman.

The moment she heard her own words repeated back to her, however, the smile fell from Ophelia's lips, replaced by an irritable frown.

"So not only do you lack proper manners to knock, but you also eavesdrop," she snapped, her irritation flaring before she got herself under control. "Do you have any sense of respect?" In one fluid movement, Shade rose to his feet, took two silent steps, and pressed his muzzle against Ophelia's leg. Responding to the touch, Ophelia visibly calmed herself, although her eyes remained cloudy. With an audible sigh, Ophelia perched herself on the edge of a desk, her mood shifting again.

"Forgive me, I haven't slept well at the Weyr lately," she lied, "and I'm going to answer your question with another one. What do you think of dragonriders?"

[Rust]

Kogran couldn't help but blush in embarrassment and confusion. He highly doubted someone who played music would want to help clean out runnerbeast stalls, and on top of that, she was mad at him. Mad! He really didn't feel like he had been eavesdropping. It had been an accident! He was just listening to what he had thought was music... and got curious.... Was that bad? He took a step back into the hallway so he could run if she wanted him out.

When she apologized, Kogran did feel better, but he stayed outside the room anyway. He was half-tempted to ignore her question and defend himself, but he knew better. It was always best to accept your wrongdoings and apologize rather than explain. All the times in the Hold as a child when he bumped into people and broke things while playing, well. They were all his fault, right? This had to be the same.

Putting his hands behind his back, Kogran forced a smile. "I don't know. All I know about them is the stories. Dragonriders didn't come to Nerat often, and when they did," Kogran paused and laughed slightly. "Nobody would let me talk to one, obviously. You think I'm bad now? I was worse as a kid."

He tried to smile apologetically at her, but it probably looked more like a grimace. He had a feeling that her question was a loaded question anyway, and he was starting to feel almost scared of what she might say to him next.

[ambigious]

A very subtle smile quirks the edges of Ophelia's rosebud lips as the other young man blushed. So even he, the naive, innocent looking lad, was infallible next to the force of Ophelia's sensuality. At least, that's what she assumed, but she'd have to wait and see. The fact that he was so flustered intrigued Ophelia even more. Was he really that simple? This thought both pleased and irked Opelia. No one should be so...common, yet he appeared to be quite genuine with his responses.

When Kogran backed towards the door, Ophelia hid a chuckle and rested leisurely against one of the stools, attempting to adopt a non-chalant pose. Even as he spoke, Ophelia remained relaxed, her hands resting on either side of her slim hips. She arched a brow in response to his words, and blurted out a laugh; it sounded like a single, harsh noise punctuated by a breath. "The stories are...interesting, to say that least. You means the one that teach all of Pern to respect the dragonmen?" she asked with a nod of her head, then grinned. "I can only imagine what you must have been like as a child." Although Ophelia said the comment sarcastically, she softened her tone so that she wouldn't scare the poor lad.

Abruptly Ophelia pushed away from the stool and walked towards him, still outwardly friendly. "So, about those chores?"

[Rust]

Despite her changes in demeanor, Kogran couldn't shake the unsettled feeling he got from Ophelia's earlier statements. Was it just because he had offended her by showing up, or was it something he said? Or maybe something he had done earlier than this? It wouldn't surprise him, but he did tend to get on people's nerves, even if he felt bad about it afterwards.

There was one thing he had to wonder, though. "You don't seem to like dragonmen much... but aren't you a candidate like me?" He had asked it before he could decide it was a bad idea. Should he wait for a response? Would she be upset for him asking? Was that disrespectful too? Why was respect so sharding hard to keep straight anyway? He had probably said something wrong, so....

"That was rude, wasn't it? I'm sorry. I'll uh, I'll get back to my chores now," Kogran said, taking two more steps back before he turned to leave.

[ambigious]

[ooc: ugh, sorry Rust! Just ran out of mental juice haha XD I'll respond tomorrow, though!]