Just Dropping In, Sir

Writers: Leigh M-F., Paula
Date Posted: 3rd June 2013

Characters: A'kua, G'nir
Description: "Do you have rocks in your head?" "No, but I prob'ly got a few embedded in my skin now."
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 13, day 28 of Turn 6

G'nir

The sun was setting, the air was cooling down, and in contrast to that, one Candidate was climbing up, breathing appreciatively of the scents of green, growing things wafting in from the rampant plant life outside the Weyr. This truly was the best time of day. Add that to the fact he had not climbed this side of the Weyr until tonight, and it was fun, and things were copacetic all around now. Exactly now, not one heartbeat sooner or later.

Aluka shifted his weight to his left side and dug his foot into a crack that brought him high enough to move onto a thin ledge that had enough room to be a stable place to stand. There, he looked for another ripple of rock to grab or another crack to fit his hands into. He found one such ripple and started reaching for it, and that was when the Weyr wall decided to be a complete bastard by making the seemingly sturdy outcropping cave under him.

The redhead shot several feet down with a frightened profanity, and only stopped his fall by slamming his fingers into the first crack he could see as he passed it. After regaining his breath and footing (and getting over the case of jibblies the fall had brought on), he was clear-headed enough to look for a safe place to climb to and examine his shredded shirt, and injured torso and arms, which felt pretty bad from being scraped against stone. Good thing he was wearing a pair of gloves that actually covered his fingers, or they and his palms would be shredded as well.

Aluka shook his bangs from his face and glanced around, finding a ledge not too far from his current position. Perfect; he could ask the rider inhabiting the weyr for some water to wash off the blood starting to seep through several of the cuts and accurately assess the damage. Aluka carefully inched lower and lower until his feet were a few inches from the top of the weyr. "Hey! 'Cuse me!" he called. "Candidate requestin' permission to land!"

}: Well, this is strange, :{ Nirreth opened his eyes and studied the boy who dropped in to his ledge.

**What?** G'nir got up and walked out to the ledge. "What the..." he said when he heard the boy's question. He stared Aluka with disbelief.

The Candidate shifted his weight again and climbed lower still until he could better see over the upper arch of the weyr's entrance. "Permission to land," he repeated. "Sorry to disturb ya, sir and big guy, but I could momentarily use the use of your ledge there, if'n ya don' mind."

"What in a First eggs name you're doing?" G'nir asked while gesturing him to get down to the ledge. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared.

"I was climbin', and one of the smaller outcroppin's gave out, so I fell," Aluka said, and came low enough that he could grasp the edge of the arch and swing his legs down. A quick look to gauge the distance to the ground, and he dropped, landing a bit more heavily than he liked. "Thank ya both." Without any thought for propriety, he peeled off his ruined shirt and started wiping off the accumulated blood.

"What a sharding brilliant idea," G'nir commented with heavily sarcastic tone. "Are you injured?" he asked then.

"Really was brilliant, and fun. 'Til I fell, anyway," Aluka commented, for once not returning sarcasm with sarcasm. Not when truthful was better. "Aye, I'm pretty scratched up here. Don' think I'm gonna need any stitches, though. Li'l bit of washin' and I'll be fine. On the other hand, my shirt's sure done for." But then, it wasn't his only shirt. It wasn't even a particularly nice one, either, so he didn't mourn its loss.

"Idiotic past time, if you ask me," G'nir muttered with annoyed tone. "What's your name, candidate?" he asked.

The younger man gave his torso and arms a better look first. Oh yes, scraped up to there and back again, but more stitches didn't seem to be needed. "Aluka, sir," he said. "Right, nothin' incapacitatin' here. I'll be on my way now." He put his shirt on backwards, and nodded to both dragon and rider. "Thank ya for the loan of your ledge. 'Preciate it."

"Not that way," G'nir grapped his arm and nudged him towards the inside. "Use the door like civilized people. And get yourself to the infirmary for a check up," he told the boy. "And that's an order, candidate Aluka. If I don't receive report from the healer's that you have had those scapes tended..." he finished omniously.

"Hey," Aluka said in protest of being manhandled, and pulled free. "C'mon, it ain't that far down from here. 'Sides, I'm fine. It's just some scratches." Scratches that were stinging, admittedly. "Whatcha care what happens to a Candidate anyway?"

"Every single person in this Weyr is my responsibility. Besides I care what happens to a new hatchling if his rider isn't there because he broke his sharding neck while climbing walls. The door is _that_ way," G'nir replied and pointed the direction.

Aluka stopped dead, eyes widening so far the darkness of his irises contrasted starkly against the sclerae, and proceeded to choke on air and nearly die. Of all the ledges he could have landed on, he'd landed on the Weyrleader's?! Unbelievable! **My luck was never this bad in Bex,** he thought. **Someone shoot me, or at least gimme a crowbar so I can wrench my boot outta my mouth.** He took a slow, deep breath, turned to face G'nir, and bowed. "Yes, sir," he said without a trace of accent, and with such seriousness there was no way his tone could be misinterpreted as sarcastic. "I will go to the healers' right away. Thank you and your dragon again for the use of your ledge."

"Don't let me catch you doing it again," G'nir warned. He was mostly just annoyed with him.

The tall redhead bit the inside of his cheek to keep from smirking. Did the Weyrleader have any idea how big a loophole he had just handed over? It would be very easy to avoid getting caught rock-climbing by G'nir again, now that Aluka knew where his weyr was. "Yes sir," he said another time, and went for the door.

G'nir did know he hadn't actually forbidden the boy to _climbing_. Watching him go, he let out a sigh. If that boy ever Impressed, he needed to keep an eye on him.

~*~

Last updated on the June 18th 2013

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Just Dropping In, Sir