Til the Cows Come Home ((open))

[Lady Tiger]

Kalara stood at the edge of the pasture, her eyes fixed upon the bovines and other herdbeasts that were grazing peacefully there. Her tanned arms rested crossed on the fence in front of her, and she had one foot propped up on the lower fence piece. Her auburn hair was tied back into a low ponytail to keep it from sticking in her face and marring her ability to see.

Liren,Kalara's little blue firelizard, fluttered around by the bovines in the field, occaisionally landing on them, or plucking mischeviously at their ears. The bovines seemed to ignore this totally, which made Liren try harder to annoy them. Kalara just laughed quietly to herself.

She could sit here for hours, watching the herdbeasts as they romped, grazed, slept... They were so fascinating. At least to her. She realized that none of the other kids her age would agree with her. Most though herdbeasts were smelly, boring creatures... but Kalara knew that they had some intelligence. And their hard bristly muzzles were so neat feeling to the touch.

She watched from the edge of the pasture mostly because she didn't want to have to pick her way through the scat. She could go inside if she wanted, but she preferred not to at the moment.

Movement from the outer regions of her peripheral vision made her turn her head. A female bovine was picking her way over to Kalara, following the fence. Upon reaching the girl, the bovine uttered a quiet moo and snuffled Kalara's arm. Kalara giggled and scratched the bovine's nose amiably. The bovine mooed again, happily sticking her wet nose all over Kalara.

She just giggled in response and kissed the cow on the muzzle.

"Silly girl... I wonder what your name is?" she said softly to the cow. "I think I'll give you a name that at least I can call you. Hmm..." She thought for a second and chuckled. "How about, Nerina?"

A name from her childhood, but a nice name.

Kalara chuckled to herself again and continued to stroke the cow's nose thoughtfully, her mind wandering to visit her world of dreams and fantasies.

[hrsegrl245]

Hanen had finished helping the beastcrafter with some of the daily work that needed to be done with the runner beasts. He was apprenticed to the beastcrafter though he was found lacking in most areas, he was better at this than other crafts he had tried. Hanen was still thirteen after all and a Weyrbrat.

The future was always on his mind and he seemed so much more mature for his age people often thought him to be around sixteen or seventeen. HE certainly had the height for it, not many thirteen turn olds could claim a height of 5'11". No other boy could certainly, considering they developed later in life than girls.

Watching the girl who stood at the fence name the bovine he smiled. She must like animalsvery much. Daze was resting on his head, as she liked to do. Her favorite perch was always the highest. He must look completely odd with a flit on his head. On the other side of the fence bovine calves played chasing one another until one went to hide behind mom.
He laughed at the actions, not quite realizing he had in fact given himself away.

His dark eyes watching over the herdbeasts as if focused intently on one. Hanen was not one to introduce himself straight off unless he had to. It was not impressive that he was a weyrbrat and apprentice beastcrafter. He stood a few feet from the girl leaning on the fence. "They are in good spirits today."he spoke ass if to no one.

[Lady Tiger]

Startled from her reverie, Kalara gave an involuntary jerk. Quickly regaining her composure, she looked at the young boy from the corner of her eye. Judging him to be nice rather than vindictive, as some people tended to be, she smiled softly while still watching the cows.

"Aye, they are in very good spirits," she responded with a chuckle.

Liren had finally given up trying to get a response from the cows, and his little blue body flashed in the sun as he quickly returned to Kalara. She smiled fondly at him when he perched on her shoulder nearest the boy to examine him and his firelizard. After a moment of intense scrutiny, the little flit chirped in greeting to Hanen's, and mimicked her, by climbing atop Kalara's head. She winced in pain.

"Liren, your claws hurt!" She told him sternly.

He chirped at her and settled down on her head happily. Chuckling, Kalara returned her attention to Hanen.

"My name's Kalara," she said, her dark eyes still focused on the bovines in front of her, but flicking to glance at Hanen. "I'm new here." She added with a small smile.

[hrsegrl245]

Daze looked at the other flit. She was only a couple months old and not big on flirting...yet. She merely chirped in greeting and looked down at the girl, obviosly a jealous flit she started to pout a little sending Hanen images of when he was dancing with a couple other weyrbrats/candidates.
"Daze, you can't be mean to every girl I talk to for the rest of our life together." Grimacing at her image of her taking a chunk out of his leg for saying anything bad about her he immediately apologized. "I'm sorry, Daze."

Already quite happy at the outcome the little green began to croon sweetly to him. "She is a bit jealous of my interacting with girls....even if its just talk. I'm sure she has made her point though and won't be mean." He could not say more than that about her behavior. The other's blue flit seemed a bit more laid back.

"I'm Hanen. Pleasure to meet you Kalara. I figured I have not seen you before....Are you a candidate? I'm a Weyrbrat, so I was born and raised here. I'm an apprentice for the beastcrafters here." As if that would explain his rudeness on impeding on her tranquil afternoon.

[Lady Tiger]

Liren chirped again at the little green, but finding her uninterested in him, was a little put out. Kalara chuckled at her blue.

"Little one, why don't you go play with the calves?" She said to Liren with a short laugh. "You would probably find them more amiable than the older ones."

Liren trilled happily and went to play with the little calves who were quickly enamored with the shiny blue. Kalara just chuckled and turned her attention fully to Hanen. She idly twisted her hair around a finger as she listened to him speak.

"Liren could care less about my relationships, I think," she said with a chuckle. "Of course, I haven't had anything more than aquaintances since he hatched... Not many people feel like being friends with a girl who plays with the cows all day." She grimaced comically at her last statement and chuckled.

"Anyhow, I am an Apprentice Beastcrafter as well. A senior apprentice really, but I still have awhile before I earn Journeyman status." She said, biting her lip thoughtfully. "I haven't really met anyone other than the Master Beastcrafter here, so it is good to meet another Apprentice. I suppose we'll be working together a bit." She said with a smile. It was good to meet another human being for once.

Her new bovine friend had meanwhile moved back to join her herd again, and was now cropping the grass slowly and methodically.

[hrsegrl245]

He laughed at that. "Its not so much the bovines. Its more the smell. Runners have that sweet smell that most don't mind, but bovines are completely not good smelling. There is no way to really describe it. Once your shoes dry even the smell lingers and changes to something even more putred. I know, I have the same trouble. I try to change quickly and run for the bath. " He grinned a little.

"I'm afraid I'm not all that talented in beastcrafting. So far the only thing I'm decent at is cooking, and thats cause I've been doing it since I could hold a spoon. I plan on standing at the next hatching though. Someday I might impress a dragon. I might even get to go to another Weyr. I'd really like to travel you know." He was as always looking intot he future. His mother thought him a bit fickle. At least he had no run away when he had wanted to.

"If you ever need someoen to show you around and introduce you to some other poeple you may be seeing from time to time let me know. I know this place better than myself."

[Lady Tiger]

Kalara laughed at his statement about the bovine's smell, her voice echoing through the field in a tinkling bell-like way. "Aye, it's quite true. Most normal people steer clear of the smell of the bovines, it is very rank. I've just gotten so used to it over the years that I don't really smell it anymore... Which isn't a good thing, because I can't tell after I've bathed, if I still smell like bovine or not."

Kalara chuckled quietly, her brown eyes dancing. "Beastcrafting has been my job my entire life... I've lived and breathed it since I was born..." She paused and grew a little more solemn, reflecting for a moment. "Standing for a Hatching would be a wonderful opportunity," She said thoughtfully. "I never would stake my life on being able to stand or Impress, but it's always been a fancy. I suppose it is for everyone under twenty-five turns."

The smile returned to her lips and she nodded. "It would certainly be a good thing to have a guide, I'm not too fond of introducing myself to unknown people." She said with a chuckle. "And I really haven't been to much of the Weyr, except for here... since here is where I'll be mostly, I suppose." She paused and pursed her lips for a moment. "I guess what I'm saying is, yes, I would love it if you could show me around sometime... when you have time, of course."

[hrsegrl245]

"Well you never know...it is the dragons who choose after all." He moved away from the fence and turned toward the Stables. "Personally I would rather impress..." He looked at his potential work as something he did not love or have passion for. This girl was obviously happy with her line of work.

"You won't be shy long... not in a place like this. Too many people so you won't be seeing the same people everywhere you go. You'll see what I mean. Did you want to take a tour now, or do you have some beastcrafting to do?"