Post by zenith on Feb 14, 2009 11:54:34 GMT -5
Malchan had managed to garner himself a ride to the gather, and now that the weyrhealer was here, he wasn't sure exactly what to do with himself. Standing there on the edge of the gather square, he simply waited while he thought.
It didn't take long; his brown flitter appeared from between with a burst of chilly air, and settled down on the lad's broad shoulder. Malchan reached up and patted Klar on the head lightly, before starting forward into the throng of people and music and gaity.
He paused at a stall that had some delicious aromas coming from it, and obtained himself a long thin stick that had a long skinny hunk of butter roasted meat on it. Munching on that, he headed deeper into the gather, looking and watching and generally enjoying his time out of the infirmary.
When he finished the meat, he dropped the stick in a trash bucket, and licked the butter off his fingers, looking around to find something else to get into that might prove fun.
Finding a stall that had a small pool with water birds swimming around in it, he paused. "What's this?" He asked, of the person manning the stall.
"It's a game!" The man replied, gesturing at the fowl that had to have had thier flight feathers clipped to keep them from flying away. The birds were swimming around peacefully, quacking at each other in thier strange, gutteral voices, eyeing the crowds that walked by, turning thier heads this way and that on thier long necks sticking up.
"A game? Bobbing for fowl?" Malchan asked.
"No, not at all." The man chuckled. He produced a set of carved wooden rings, that were made out of a light, but tough wood. "You use these, and try to get one over a bird's head, hang it around thier neck. See?" The fellow flicked his wrist out, and sent a ring sailing through the air to fly past a bird that ducked, and whack a second one on the rump. The bird squawked, and fluttered across the water, settling them all to swimming faster in random circles. "Well ... not quite like that. But ... if you manage to get a bird ringed, you win a prize."
Malchan gave the vendor a doubtful look. It was a strange game... and would be a difficult one at that. He was pretty sure those birds were skilled at ducking by now, if they were used for this with any kind of regularity. He watched in silence as the fellow used a stick with a hook on the end to retreive the floating ring from the water. All the birds stayed clustered at the far end of the pool, quacking worriedly as the ring was retreived.
Klar watched this with interest, getting the idea of the game from his pet. After a moment, he started bouncing up and down, warbling and cheeping.
"No, I don't think he'll let you try, Klar. Just ... calm down." Malchan mentioned, reaching up to still his flitter.
It didn't take long; his brown flitter appeared from between with a burst of chilly air, and settled down on the lad's broad shoulder. Malchan reached up and patted Klar on the head lightly, before starting forward into the throng of people and music and gaity.
He paused at a stall that had some delicious aromas coming from it, and obtained himself a long thin stick that had a long skinny hunk of butter roasted meat on it. Munching on that, he headed deeper into the gather, looking and watching and generally enjoying his time out of the infirmary.
When he finished the meat, he dropped the stick in a trash bucket, and licked the butter off his fingers, looking around to find something else to get into that might prove fun.
Finding a stall that had a small pool with water birds swimming around in it, he paused. "What's this?" He asked, of the person manning the stall.
"It's a game!" The man replied, gesturing at the fowl that had to have had thier flight feathers clipped to keep them from flying away. The birds were swimming around peacefully, quacking at each other in thier strange, gutteral voices, eyeing the crowds that walked by, turning thier heads this way and that on thier long necks sticking up.
"A game? Bobbing for fowl?" Malchan asked.
"No, not at all." The man chuckled. He produced a set of carved wooden rings, that were made out of a light, but tough wood. "You use these, and try to get one over a bird's head, hang it around thier neck. See?" The fellow flicked his wrist out, and sent a ring sailing through the air to fly past a bird that ducked, and whack a second one on the rump. The bird squawked, and fluttered across the water, settling them all to swimming faster in random circles. "Well ... not quite like that. But ... if you manage to get a bird ringed, you win a prize."
Malchan gave the vendor a doubtful look. It was a strange game... and would be a difficult one at that. He was pretty sure those birds were skilled at ducking by now, if they were used for this with any kind of regularity. He watched in silence as the fellow used a stick with a hook on the end to retreive the floating ring from the water. All the birds stayed clustered at the far end of the pool, quacking worriedly as the ring was retreived.
Klar watched this with interest, getting the idea of the game from his pet. After a moment, he started bouncing up and down, warbling and cheeping.
"No, I don't think he'll let you try, Klar. Just ... calm down." Malchan mentioned, reaching up to still his flitter.