Listen With All Your Heart [Reivyn and Rowan]

IC Time: Month 9, Late Winter
IC Setting: Candidate's Barracks, Midday

Music, to the mind of the one who listened, it was everywhere all the time. Reivyn loved music. Loved to sing, to dance, loved to entertain others. It was her gift; though sometimes the constant tune running through her head made it feel more like a curse. But when she was alone where no one could judge her, Reivyn loved her gift. Current the other candidates were off doing chores or something else, so Reivyn had come back to the barracks early to use the common room to practice. Her eyes shut, she moved her body freely to the music only she could hear. Her gift made her good at what she did, but it also made it hard to relate to others sometimes. But in this moment, with the music blasting through her mind and body, she forgot everything else. She simply moved, sometimes to a quick beat, sometimes a slow one. It never mattered to her how she moved, simply that she did. If someone caught her, which had never happened, Reivyn wasn't sure how she would react. How would she explain her gift to another person? How would she tell someone else about something only she could hear? She didn't know, and didn't worry about it now as she let the music take her far from Pern into a place where only the song and the movement existed. For the moment, she was free of all worries and cares. But how long could it last?

Existing outside of the world her Pet occupied was Blondie. The palely colored green often picked up the music floating through her Pet's mind but she never could understand it. That didn't really bother the green though. In fact, very little bothered her. What did often trouble the green was her Pet's lack of human companionship. She'd had others near her before, but those had left. So for the moment, she did the only thing she could do - she sat on a shelf in the common room and watched her Pet dance. She kept Reivyn company.

Chores; everyone in the Caldera had to do them to keep the place running. That didn't mean Rowan had to enjoy them, which she didn't really. At the moment she'd much rather have been in her quarters, up to her elbows in clay with a half-finished sculpture being molded by her hand. That wasn't happening today though, but she didn't mind quite so much because her chore today as an easy, methodical one, one where it was easy for your mind to drift: washing dishes after the midday meal. Rowan didn't mind doing that; her hands were so used to doing something without much direction from her mind that it was hardly a challenge to daydream while her hands kept up the steady rhythm of cleaning.

Now the chore was done, however, and Rowan was on her way back to the candidate's quarters. How long would she be living here? Would she be moving soon, when Galateath's clutch hatches? Leaving and moving into the hatchling's quarters with a charge of her own? Two hatchings had passed and none had approached her, no mind had reached out to hers. But - mustn't lose hope. Galateath's hatching would surely be soon, and maybe she'd get lucky then. Or maybe she'd come home back here that night. Whatever happens, it's for the best.

Pausing at the doorway to the candidate's quarters, Rowan shifted the messenger-type bag she carried over her shoulder absently, leaning against the doorframe. When would the hatching be? SHe wondered if it was going to be any different, with the 2nd Pass riders here. Things had been changing since they arrive. How much more would change, and how soon? And for better, or for worse?

A light chirp sounded by her ear, and Swirl's familiar weight landed on her shoulder. Rowan smiled, and reached over to stroke her green gently. "Hey, girl." Then, she opened the door, stepping into the common area. It was empty - or almost empty. Turning, Rowan caught sight of another candidate in the center of the room, a blonde one she recognized well. Reivyn. She was moving and turning about in the center of the room, graceful....as if dancing. For a long moment Rowan simply watched, smiling slightly. Reivyn was a good dancer. The redhead had never actually seen her friend perform, come to think of it.

She took a slow step farther into the room, wondering if she shouldn't disturb the other candidate; if Reivyn was too caught up in her own mind, Rowan didn't want to bother her. But it would be nice to talk to her friend, and Reivyn made good company. "You dance very well," she observed, grinning. "The music you dance to must be beautiful." It seemed quite obvious to her, as an artist, that Reivyn was dancing to a song in her head; Rowan understood well. Her mind was an endless swirl of motion and pictures, music too sometimes, but mostly the artwork that only she coudl see - sometimes still, sometimes a movie only she could see.

Immediately Reivyn paused in her movement and turned to greet her friend with a brillant smile on her face. "Rowan!" She moved over to the other girl and promptly wrapped her up in a warm hug. After a moment she released her and bounced up and down on the balls of her feet; clearly excited to see a friend. "How have you been? I haven't seen you in a while, guess we've both been busy." She looked up at Swirl and cooed happily at the green. "And hello to you too, pretty Swirl." And speaking of firelizards...

"Blondie, c'mere sweetling! Come meet my friends."

The pale green lept from her perch and twirled around the room over Rowan and Reivyn's heads. She chirped and cooed happily at the two women and chittered happily at Swirl. Then of course she tried to land and ran into the wall next to her Pet's head.

Reivyn rolled her eyes and went to retrieve her firelizard. "You little clutz. That was a wall you ran into." She ran hands over the little green before putting her on her shoulder where the green promptly curled herself around Reivyn's neck. Turning back to her friend, she smiled good-naturedly. "Don't mind Blondie, she does that alot. And don't worry, she's not hurt or anything." It was clear from how Reivyn was acting that the little green did this sort of thing often.

Rowan stepped forward and hugged her friend warmly, then separated to smile brightly at her. "Hey there, girl!" She too was excited to see the other candidate, This and that seemed to have kept them busy enough not to have seen that much of each other; they'd certainly have to rectify that! While Rowan had no qualms about being alone she valued her friends and loved spending time with them.

"Must be! We'll have to change that, won't we? I'm great - you? You look good." From her shoulder, Swirl fluttered her wings and crooned back to Reivyn politely. This was a nice girl, and Rowan's friend, but Swirl had already looked and seen no treats of any kind in sight, so she didn't quite merit Swirl's love. But she'd be nice.

Rowan looked up at Reivyn's call to see a pale firelizard taking flight and circling over their heads. "Oh, you've Impressed!" she exclaimed. "Congrats!" Swirl, seeing the other green, immediately took off to follow Blondie, chirping welcomingly. So her pet's friend had managed to Impress a fellow firelizard - wonderful, now she'd have a friend to play with while their pets talked.

The green stared in surprise as her would-be friend suddenly shot into a wall. Okay, well that was weird. Not the smartest firelizard, huh? Rowan burst into startled laughter at the sight. "Oh, my! She okay?" The smile her friend gave her spoke of such events happening often. "Well, Swirl may always be getting into things, but at least she's not running into them!"