Gossip, etc (Tag; V'nius)

(I'm not sure when in the timeline you want this set, so I've tried to write is so that it can be before or after Up All Night)

Weyrling chores were assigned fairly specifically to each Weyrling. The Weyrling Master and his assistants made sure that each Weyrling got the training they needed to be excellent Dragonriders, so Tiv was never required to do chores on his own.

T'veli's ability to get sidetracked wasn't legendary, but it was noted. So when Tiv was assigned a task, it wasn't surprising that another Weyrling was also working with him.

Today, Tiv and V'nius were assigned to work on creating fake Thread. While their Weyrling group wasn't yet at the stage of flying, or flaming, fake Thread was time consuming, and often assigned to Weyrlings to assist in making Thread.

Tiv had been looking forward to this chore all morning, and through the midday meal. The sun was shining on the Weyrbowl (through the wind was cold) and Velikath was sunning not too far from where Tiv had set up all of the supplies he and Vinnie would need to create Thread.

Tiv, forward thinking for once, had also stopped by the kitchen to beg for some of the tea they had been mass producing for the last week for the mild cold that had swept through the Weyr as the cold weather had swept over Fort Weyr. Tiv had managed to get ahold of a drink skin, which held in the heat of the tea much more effectively than cups would have, and he'd also managed to get ahold of some other food while in the kitchen.

Tiv was full at the moment, but he knew himself well enough that he'd be hungry part way through his chores.

Mentally running through a checklist of everything he was suppose to have remembered to bring for these chores, Tiv sat down, and started up on ripping the cloth, knowing that Vinnie would join him shortly.

One of V'nius' favorite chores was creating the fake thread ropes all riders used during drills and wing practice.  He couldn't quite define what it was about the task that he so liked-- maybe it was the fax that the ropes reminded him of grape vines.  Or maybe it was the fact that they were repurposing old materials.  Or maybe it was dipping the twined fibers in paint that was truly the fun part.

Whatever the case, he was certainly happy to be tackling this particular chore, and more importantly, to be doing it with the company he'd be keeping.  Tiv was definitely one of his favorite people, and he knew spending time with the other greenrider would make their task go quickly-- or maybe not so quickly, but it would at least be more fun.

That thought in mind, Vinnie had a little spring in his step as he approached his friend's claimed piece of the Weyrbowl.  "Hey, Tiv!  Sorry I'm a little late.  Tasunath needed a little extra oil."  He grinned sheepishly at the other greenrider, shoving the longer locks of his hair out of his face before staring down at the supplies and considering the best place to sit.  Finally choosing a spot, he settled down and picked up some other cloth that needed tearing.  

"I'm glad it's warm enough to sit out here today, aren't you?  And that we don't have drills right now."  Being outside was another of his favorite things, and though they got to experience it often enough as weyrlings, and dragonriders in general, he didn't quite consider having to practice real 'enjoyment' of the weather.

"Vinnie! You aren't late, not really, the tea is still hot and everything."

Tiv's smile brightened as his friend arrived, and he started ripping cloth in earnest.

"Yeah, my arms are still sore from all that firestone tossing. Velikath has no sympathy either." Tiv shot a glance over at the green lady of his heart, who had her wings every so slightly open, and was obviously soaking up the sun, and half napping.

"I can't wait until we start flying, and I'm not the only one exhausted after drills." Tiv shifted slightly to shift the sand beneath him into the most comfortable configuration. Once he was settled (in a sprawled position, with his legs spread, and his body bent forwards toward Vinnie, which looked incredibly uncomfortable, but to Tiv felt just fine).

"Speaking of things to look forward to," Tiv continued in what had to be the least subtle of conversational shifts that the Greenrider could have come up with, "what are your thoughts about this Ball?"

V'nius winced and nodded in agreement at the comment about firestone tossing.  His own arms were not happy with him, either, but they were certainly better than they had been the sevenday before.  Maybe he'd wind up with some fairly impressive muscles, after all.  But then he'd probably be even less attractive to Sh'nar…

Shaking off the thought, he focused back on T'veli's words.  "Flying will just be… awesome.  Exhausted or not."  Even if they had to run drills while doing it some times.  Vinnie doubted he'd ever get tired of the wind beneath his green's wings once he got to feel it.  Like standing in the open vineyard, or on a hill and just letting the breeze take all his cares away...

Tearing a few strips and trying not to daydream further, the weyrling greenrider then considered his friend's question.  Truthfully, he thought it would be fun.  They and their classmates would get to enjoy themselves for once, instead of having to worry about lessons or drills.  Of course, the thought of the party allowing for masks and hiding their identities made him secretly wish he could find a way to pretend he was… whatever it was a certain bronzerider wanted.  If he could find out what that was.  And then manage to disguise himself…

The brightness of his mood lessening a little, V'nius finally shrugged in response.  "I dunno.  I'm sure it will be fun.  Do you think you'll go in costume?"

"Have you done any flying? Like, I know you got Searched, but since then? One of my brothers used to take me on Flights. He said that he thought all of the Candidates ought to be taken up a few times to make sure they could handle it. Apparently one of the people who Impressed during his Clutch got sick whenever he went Flying. It was crazy."

Tiv paused to take a breath, and focus on the task at hand. It wasn't that this was a particularly hard task, but it was kind of boring. Gossip was better in every way. Tiv took a second to eat some preserve covered bread before continuing with his ripping.

"I don't know if I want to dress up that much. I mean, I absolutely am going to wear a mask; that is at least half of the fun of a ball like this. But I don't have very many marks laying around for like, a proper costume. Like, some of my brother's Wingmates are going crazy for this; but I'll have a tough enough time getting a nice mask. If I was a full rider though, I'd go crazy."

T'veli took the opportunity to wink at Vinnie, since he couldn't exactly shoulder-bump him from across the blanket.

"So, do you have your sights set one someone? Are we going to have to bribe their friends so we know what they're dressed up as so we can 'bump into' them?"

V'nius shook his head.  "No, I haven't been flying really since I was Searched.  And that was the first time."  He'd only vaguely dreamed of being a dragonrider before that, committed as he was to his family's vineyard.  "You're lucky you had family who would take you.  But that had to really suck, getting sick.  Did your brother say if that other rider got used to it?"  He certainly hoped so-- how could one be a dragonrider without flying?

As he continued to work alongside his friend, the greenrider's thoughts strayed back to the masquerade.  He didn't have that many marks, either, so he doubted he'd be able to afford more than T'veli.  But something fun with… feline ears, or feathers dyed a bright color, or… something, would be lovely.  Would sewing up some of the strips of cloth into a tube, and stuffing it with more scraps make a good enough tail?  They could at least be… animals or something that way, couldn't they?  Instead of having fancy, flashy clothes?  Or was that a dumb idea?  "Do you think anyone will be dressed as particular things?  Or that they'll just be dressed up in sparkly clothes?"

Flushing at his friend's wink and subsequent question, V'nius shrugged again and focused his gaze on the cloth he was tearing.  "I dunno," He hedged, before adding a little more quietly, "I don't even think that would work."  He knew T'veli wouldn't ridicule him for his crush, but it was such an impossible idea, he wasn't even sure it was worth mentioning.

"I think one of the Healers made him a tonic to take, but if he had to go flying suddenly, he still felt ill." Tiv shrugged. It wasn't a story that was relevant to T'veli, after all. Tiv had never felt ill from flying, or frightened of height. It had been freeing, and wonderful, and the Greenrider couldn't wait to experience it with Velikath. If Vinnie got sick from flying, Tiv would hunt the other rider down, but otherwise the flight-sick rider was merely a cautionary tale.

"Eh. I don't know? I'm sure at least one person will go as a Dragon, but I think it's pretty open ended. All you need is to cover your face." That was a good idea though- going perhaps as a feline, or a brightly colored fish. Well, if Tiv had enough money to scrap something together. Maybe he could sneak into a storeroom and find some old clothing and turn it into something cheaply.

"Hey, Vinnie."

Tiv paused here, and thought deeply about how he was going to phrase his next statement (which was not something he often bothered to do.

"You know I have a lot of experience with the, you know, ill-fated love affairs, right? Even if you don't do anything, or if nothing works out, it doesn't hurt to take a look at someone who's dressed all fancy, you know? Sometimes it's nice just to pretend." Tiv, of course, wouldn't recommend some of the things he'd done- seeing people who had no interest in you wasn't a good plan for not getting your heart broken, but Tiv did think that the occasional whimsy was better than nothing.

Vinnie nodded, and also hoped he wouldn't get sick from flying once they got to try. He hadn't when he was Searched, but was that a guarantee?  He certainly hoped so.

Wincing, the greenrider wished he wasn't quite as transparent as he apparently was.  Although really, maybe T'veli just knew him too well.  With a sigh, he flipped the strips he'd just finished tearing so they rolled and scattered the sand in front of him a bit.  "I know.  But he'd never look twice at me, even if we bribed his friends.  And I think his friends would just laugh at us for trying, anyway.  They don't like greenriders, from what I've heard."  Even those of the female variety.  "They'd probably spread it all over the Weyr that we'd asked, too."  Which would just be painful-- he still wasn't comfortable enough with others knowing of his preference for men, since he'd had to hide it for so long at home.  And having the whole Weyr know… who knows what people would say behind his back.  Or even to his face.

Quietly, his tone almost long-suffering, V'nius murmured, "It would be so much easier if I liked girls."  No one would question it, then.  And he wouldn't always want what he couldn't have.

Tiv frowned seriously. He hated the idea that there were Dragonriders in the Weyr that didn't understand that male Greenriders, and the way that male Greenriders felt about other men was natural, normal, and absolutely necessary.

Tiv sighed. At the very least, it would be nice if Vinnie didn't crush on people who didn't deserve it, but it wasn't like Tiv could control who people liked- he couldn't even control himself.

Tiv reached out to squeeze Vinnie's arms.

"They don't deserve you then. And I'll make sure to find you someone better at the ball." Tiv promised, wracking his brains to think about the very best people to introduce Vinnie too.

There were a lot of attractive people in the Weyr, after all. And most them weren't jerks.

"But I don't want to push you past your comfort zone, so you tell me if I'm pushing too much, alright?"

With a small grateful smile for his friend, V'nius nodded and started tearing strips of fabric again.  "I appreciate that.  And I'll let you know.  It's just… so different here.  It's hard to get used to how… all… this… is okay here."  At 'this', he gestured towards the two of them, and then towards where Velikath was resting.  "That no one thinks it… wrong, or strange."

He was quiet for a few moments, then added, "You're lucky your family was supportive all along."  At least in that they didn't say anything against it, even if they didn't expressly say anything about it being a problem.  "You didn't have to hide it."

So, of course, T'veli had no issue with just being who he was now.  While Vinnie was still adjusting, despite being at the Weyr for months.  At least his family seemed to be a little bit… okay with things now.  Even if they still didn't quite know what to make of him Impressing a green instead of one of the male dragons…

Shaking his head once again, he gave another smile to his friend. "But you don't want to talk about such depressing things. We should talk more about the masquerade. Or something. Do you think the rest of our class will go?"