[ OPEN ] split tomorrow from today

[godshattering]

Who: Claude and various
When: November + December
Where: Nocwich, Cadens, TBA
What: Catch all for both months
Warnings: None currently, will add/mark as needed


( Open and closed starters in the comments! Also good with prose or brackets and please feel free to wildcard into the open prompts with something else. If you'd prefer plotting first, you can find me at indech, arboria#1862, or by PM at any time! )

Comments

[godshattering]

Dawn, because she hatched right before dawn. [ A beat, and then, rather dryly, ] Child me was still working on the whole creativity thing.

[ Not an exaggeration on either count, but. There's a good chance he could've thought of a better name with some time and less eagerness, much as it'd fit anyway. All the more reason to give a sharp whistle which gets an answering screech from the sky as the wyvern descends.

It doesn't take that long and Claude holds out an arm for her to land on with some short flaps, and then her gaze is turned on Ciri with a head tilt of curiosity. He'll use that distraction to hand a packet of jerky strips - a favorite snack, even if it's the Horizon and none of this is real - to her. ]

I promise she doesn't bite, but a little bribery never hurts either.

[wiedzminka]

That's cute. [ At least he doesn't name all his wyverns after a small fish for no real reason. Speaking of lacking in the creativity department.

Ciri takes the jerky, offering it to the beast on the flat of her hand so her fingers don't get mistaken for meat. ]

She's so small. Is she a baby?

[godshattering]

She is, at least in here. Back home she's an adult and much, much larger which helps with the whole riding thing.

[ In contrast to this wyvern perching on his arm that he holds out now to encourage her towards the snack since there's no disguising her attention's turned from Ciri to the jerky. It takes another minute, but eventually she sidles down to his forearm to reach out and take it. Politely, thankfully, after one careful sniff of Ciri's hand. ]

She's also a little more temperamental in person towards others but that doesn't seem to have translated here. That or my memory's adapted that a little somehow, but as an adult she's more like a... very spirited horse. It's the sizable fangs most people don't care for when paired with that.

[wiedzminka]

I was wondering about that.

[ Surely the wyverns he's used to riding are bigger. ]

Why didn't you make her bigger here so you could ride? I'd love to try riding a wyvern.

[ Her smile grows, as she watches Dawn munch on the bit of jerky. Ciri takes the opportunity while her mouth is occupied to stroke the side of her neck. ]

Horses do plenty of damage without fangs. It's not whether or not the animal can hurt you. It's how much it trusts you not to give it a reason.

And I will admit -- I love a spirited horse.

[godshattering]

[ It's a valid question - one Claude's certainly asked himself several times once it became apparent there was no way to fly on wyvern or otherwise outside of the Horizon. Unless that's escaped his notice, but he'd like to think it wouldn't. A second goes by while he considers an answer before shrugging his shoulders slightly. ]

I suppose the simplest answer to that is missing some parts of when she was this age. But I'm certainly not saying no to the idea of being able to ride a wyvern again someday as I'd very much like to, so if that happens consider yourself first in line for also trying it out.

[ Claude doesn't miss Dawn preening under the attention nor that she raises a wing slightly in an invitation for Ciri to scratch there next. Between that and the next comments about horses, it gets a grin from him. ]

My father's always been a fan of spirited horses himself. Some of them used to be rather unpredictable, but when I was a child I enjoyed spending time with them. Got my fair share of bites for being difficult myself to go along with it, and he used to tell me the same thing about trust since I was too impatient without getting a few more years on me first. It came in handy later and particularly with the horses at the academy, considering it was bond with them or get bucked off at their discretion while traveling.

[wiedzminka]

[ Ciri nods, as if the indicate this is an acceptable answer. When the little wyvern seems amenable to her petting, her smile widens, and she steps a little closer to continue exactly that. Her fingertips glide over the smooth scales, gently stroking down to the joint of the wing and underneath it. ]

Sounds like your father gave you some good advice.

[godshattering]

Something like that. [ Said with a tone perhaps implying that if he said as much to his father, Claude might never hear the end of it. Nothing to dwell on, though, since he's got another idea. ] Here, hold out your arm.

[ Claude holds his own out to encourage the wyvern to sidle down along it a little farther and meaning for Ciri to do the same, as if they're just transferring a very large bird between them. Dawn looks at him askance and he sends the same look right back, mostly because he's pretty sure the lure of More Attention is going to win over this particular wyvern. ]

Now that I think about it - the monastery where I attended school with Petra and Sylvain is also here in the Horizon. Between all of us, we could probably manage to create a life-size wyvern or two sometime to balance out Sylvain's horses.

[wiedzminka]

Oh, you were schoolmates?

[ She knows they're from the same world, and has had a few conversations with Petra, who's obviously close with Claude. Sylvain is a vaguely familiar name, and she might've seen the man in passing at the Sarstina, if not exchanged many words, but Ciri's mostly familiar with the Summoned who have taken to living at Mag's inn in some way. She goes there frequently enough. ].

What a good girl. [ That last bit is cooed at the little wyvern while Ciri offers her arm, trying to coax the creature onto it with soft clucking noises. ]

[godshattering]

We were for a time, yes. Back in much simpler days.

[ There's more to it than that, something Ciri likely has put together between their talks on the supply run, but no need to go back into it without being asked. It's nice to think of them as classmates rather than the opponents they ended up being.

Fortunately for Ciri, Dawn's easily won over by praise. There's a shuffle of her wings Claude might feel like he needs to explain is delight if it wasn't also done at the same time she continues walking down his arm to place one tentative clawed foot onto hers. Then that's where she pauses like she's showing off this balancing act and Claude reaches up with his other hand to nudge her fully onto Ciri's arm. Which she does, but not without a trill meant to scold him which gets a short laugh from Claude. ]

She's this stubborn in real life, too. Worse than any horse with a mind of its own that I've ever come across since she has enough attitude for all of them combined, but that also might be because I've encouraged it along the way.