The Storm Raging Inside [Lakeen]

[PhazonDragon]

"No... No, no, no! No!"

A flurry of explicit words flew from Lawrence's mouth as he tried to tear up his room. He over turned bed sheets and pillows in his haste. Where was it...? His beloved and personal, deeply personal, sketchbook? A mental sigh indicated that Elonverrilth was going to say something, but Lawrence jumped on that in a heartbeat. "No, don't say anything, Elon! I don't need help finding it--I'll find it myself. I probably left it in a drawer or something..." At those words, Lawrence's head shot up from where it was buried in his bed covers. "Drawers!" In a split-second, the weyrling was at his desk, and frantically digging through the drawer.

With a breathy draconic chuckle, Elonverrilth shook his head in a human-like fashion, and retreated back into his room. If Lawrence didn't want his help, then so be it; the bronze wouldn't say anything. Truth be told, he had know clue where the sketchbook was either, but he could at least give the man some advice for finding a lost item instead of ripping up his room. Content to settle back on his haunches, wings folded at his sides, Elonverrilth listened in to his rider's murmurings in the other room.

At hearing the bronze's laugh, Lawrence frowned. "It's not funny, you brute! I need that sketchbook... It's... Well it's personal! Not just anyone can see it!" The weyrling growled in frustration and went back to ignoring the dragon. He didn't need Elonverrilth's help anyway. Maybe it's in the common room? Letting out an angered shout, Lawrence slammed shut the drawers of the desk with a loud thump! "To the common room! And I'm going to murder whoever touched my sketchbook... I swear." Brow furrowed and eyes dangerous cold, Lawrence stormed out of his weyr, leaving Elonverrilth behind to his own musings.

He charged through the hallways like a bull, not stopping to anything, and entered the common room with a look of complete and utter hatred on his face. He raged through the common room, any weyrlings or riders with enough sense were quick to get out of his way, else they be roughly pushed aside by the whirling tempest. "Where is it...?" he fumed, searching the many tables and chairs in the common room for the familiar worn edges of his sketchbook.

[FaizahPandora]

Lakeen was sitting in a comfy position, her back against the wall and her knees drawn up as she worked in her own worn sketchbook. An mp3 player was on and blasting spanish music. She was currently working on a drawing of a wher hatchling just emerging gracefully from its egg. She was simply putting to paper her memory of Lakeesk emerging from his egg back on Pern.

She was so wrapped up in her drawing that she didnt notice the angry boy enter the common room. Only after a book knocked her sketchbook forward and then spilled the loose sheets about did she move.

"What the hell?!" Lakeen yelled as she glared at the offending person.

At the same time she was grabbing her sketches as quickly as she could. She didnt want anyone setting eyes on them...

[PhazonDragon]

In his rage, Lawrence rushed past a shelf, knocking a book of of the wooden structure. He thought nothing of it until someone's angry shout caught his attention. "I'll tell you 'what the hell'!" Lawrence exclaimed, twirling around and glaring right back at the source of the voice. "I'll tell you 'what the hell' in just a moment," he repeated, flecks of spit flying from his mouth. "I'm not in the mood to be bothered! I've lost something, and I would very much like... it... Wait, is that what I think it is?"

Lawr--

STOP. Lawrence mentally commanded the bronze, on the trail of his sketchbook, and nothing was going to stop him now. He saw the papers that fell out of the woman's hands, and even started to recognized the sketchbook between her fingers. "Is that... Is that...? My sketchbook?" he roared, flying forward and reaching out to grab at the the dirtied edges of the sketchbook. If that really was his, then Lawrence wasn't entirely sure what he would do. He could hardly control himself as is.

[FaizahPandora]

Lakeen quickly grabbed the papers back from him. "No. It's mine! Now keep your grubby mits off of it." Lakeen growled right back at him. For extra measures Lakeen turned the cardboard cover and showed him her name in marker on it.

With a flourish Lakeen stuffed her pencils into the backpack that was next to her, swung it over her shoulder, and clutched desperately to her sketches. She glared at the boy with defiance in her eyes, and for once she wished Lakeesk was there to show this arrogant child exactly what he was dealing with.

Almost as if he had been listening Lakeesk was in her mind. Need Lakeesk tear bad boy?

[PhazonDragon]

"Grubby mitts?" Lawrence repeated, a haughty edge coming into his enraged voice. The sketchbook was ripped out of his hands, and the weyrling grabbed for it again, missing by a hair. And maybe that was the good part: the woman flipped the book over to show Lawrence where her name was scrawled on the cover. He barely managed to read 'Lakeen' before the item was roughly pulled away. "Well, excuse me!" he retorted with a snort.

The weyrling huffed, straightening up and crossing his arms in defiance. He frowned, and half turned away. Why did he think that was his sketchbook anyway? That would be the day, when some... gnat gets ahold of his precious sketchbook. Not feeling particularly interested in striking up a conversation at the moment, Lawrence brushed off the woman, Lakeen, with a wave of his hand. He shrugged and rolled his eyes, perfectly content with continuing his storm around the common room to find his missing item.

[ooc: Rawr. That's awful!post for you.]

[FaizahPandora]

Lakeen was so angry at that... that... that child, that she wanted to scream! And at the same time, she was somewhat glad for having grownup with a large family. It had gotten her in the habit of putting her name on all her belongings.

She sat back down as he stormed off, clutching her beloved sketchbook to her. A few of the pages were wrinkled, and the drawing of a hatching Lakeesk had a dark pencil line across half of it. Lakeen's blood began boiling all over again. Dratted child! He had practically ruined the drawing she had been working on for a solid year...

Lakeen began erasing the offending line as best she could, her frustration building. Tears began to sting her eyes, but she held them back. No point crying in frustration...

Lakeen sad. Lakeesk come to His. Lakeesk said to her, and Lakeen knew the bronze was on his way.

Lakeen smiled, deciding it would be best if the bronze dint have a run-in with that brat. She got to her feet, grabbed her bag, and met her bronze in the weyrbowl. After working the best she could to fix her beloved drawing, Lakeen put away her sketchbook. She pulled out another one, which she had found in the common room the day before.

She flipped open to one of her favorite drawings. It was of a young dragon, its front legs underdeveloped and its wings resembling those of a wyverns. They had obviously adapted to the need of using them as alternate legs. It was drawn with what seemed like compassion, but mostly from an objective point.

Lakeen then turned to a page with a halfdrawn background. She had begun drawing it with a game in mind. She wanted to see if she could find a fellow artist in the weyr, so she had begun drawing and had written a note explaining the game.

"I want to play a game.

"The life of an artist is often lonely, especially those who have true talent. I can see your raw talent, and I can see you hide it.

"So here is my game. I shall draw half a picture, and leave this book where I found it. Then I want you to draw the other half, and leave the finished picture for me to find and admire. Perhaps afterwards we could meet face to face and be constructive critism for each other, if not friends."

Of course, thanks to a certain storm in the common room, Lakeen now knew who the pad belonged to. But she still wanted to know another artist.

---------------

Lakeen finished the drawing just as the sun was rising in the east, coloring the sky pink and gold and red. Lakeesk had headed back to their room, exhausted after hunting a large meal in the surrounding forest. Lakeen would be joining him as soon as she left the child's sketchbook in the common room.

She smiled once it was safely on the table she had found it on. Virika, in the common room finishing an episode of "Jersey Shore", gave her a strange look but ultimately ignored her. Lakeen left then to get some much needed sleep.

((Took it to the next day. Also, feel free to describe the background however you please. I had nothing in mind.))

[PhazonDragon]

... Lawrence? the bronze ventured, obviously hurt from the weyrling's snappy response moments earlier. I do not mean to prod, but maybe if you were not so forceful, you would get a better response? Yelling is not going to get others to listen to you, nor will it get you your sketchbook back.

Not wanting to deal with anyone else, considering the rude response he got multiple times, Lawrence was out of the common room in a few seconds flat. He ignored Elonverrilth to the best of his ability, the bronze's scolding sinking into his mind and lurking in the back. It's true--the crippled dragon was right. Was Lawrence going to change though? Hardly. Before he worked on that, he wanted to get his sketchbook back, and the weyrling wasn't going to stop until he found it.

Sneaking away, Lawrence kept his rage under a controlled fist. He went back to his weyr, pointedly avoiding the bronze dragon that kept nosing into his half of the room. At least, he tried to until Lawrence wound up his arm and chucked a pillow across the room to have it thump against the wall where Elonverrilth's head was moments before. Without another word between the bonded pair, Lawrence fell into an uneasy sleep, already making plans to search again in the morning.

* * *

Morning couldn't come fast enough. The second the bronze weyrling was conscience enough to recall the details of yesterday, he was up and out of bed in a flash. He changed in a matter of seconds, and was glad to know that he and Elonverrilth still were not on speaking terms (or the bronze was still asleep. Lawrence couldn't care less at this moment). He wasn't in the mood for the bronze's lectures again, and he wasn't going to get one. With a huff, and a half-hearted, 'I'm leaving, Elonverrilth,' Lawrence was out the door and heading straight for the common room again.

Rage starting to boil over again as he entered the general area for Rocky's residents, Lawrence's narrowed eyes scanned the room again. It was still partially a mess from the day before, when he stormed through and knocked over various items, but someone had the decency to try and tidy up before going to bed. Out of the corner of his eye, the weyrling spied a certain little book with the faded and worn edges that he had come to love and protect. His sketchbook? Lawrence was over at the table in a heart-beat, grabbing up the delicate personal item between his hands, like he just found a long-lost friend.

"Did I leave you here the whole time?" Lawrence whispered to the precious item, pulling it closer to his chest. But something felt out of place. It wasn't the same. Someone had touched it, tampered with it, invaded his space. Lawrence rounded the table to sink down into the armchair next to it. Eyes stuck on his sketchbook, Lawrence flipped through the pages, looking for anything that was out of place. Everything seemed in order until he stopped near a drawing that wasn't there before. His eyes widened, and Lawrence fully opened the book to stare at the half-finished drawing. Someone drew in his sketchbook. Someone drew in his sketchbook.

His temporarily suppressed anger was now enflamed again. Who would be so rude as to draw in his sketchbook?! Ready to tear apart the weyr again to find the offender, Lawrence almost passed over the note scribbled to him on the side. As his eyes locked onto the words, and he drank them in, Lawrence's frustrated face lessoned into a softer look of content.

"...meet face to face and be constructive critism for each other, if not friends."

Well wasn't that wonderful? Skeptical, but not totally dismissing the idea, Lawrence felt obligated to comply. He looked over the drawing again, registering it as a sketch of the mountains of Rocky Weyr. A simple and familiar location to start this crazy game? Lawrence could deal. He pulled his mechanical pencil out of his pocket, settling with using that one for now, until he felt this other artist garnered enough respect for him to use his artist pencils. Ignoring all other distractions in the common room, save for those that tried to sneak in behind him and catch a glimpse at his work.

The weyrling set to work, his hand flying across the page as his imagination and creativity took ahold of the reigns. He filled in the rest of the landscape with his own doings, even taking the time to shade the sky to a darker color, turning the time of day into night. Adding in a detailed full moon and a couple of dragons flying in the moonlight, Lawrence sat back to look over the finished piece. Not his best work, but it would do until he decided if the other artist was worth his time.

Lawrence finished with a scrawled note of his own, small and in the corner of the page. 'I'll play your game,' was all he wrote, stretching out each word as he took the time to write it down. Satisfied, the bronze weyrling closed the sketchbook back up, and though he was reluctant to leave it behind again, he stood up, stretching, and placed the article back on the table. Glancing at the time, Lawrence noted dully that it was past noon, and he had yet to have breakfast or lunch. His stomach growled in protest, and deciding it would be a good time to retreat to the dining hall, Lawrence left his sketchbook behind.

[FaizahPandora]

Lakeen had intended to be up early, but it was not to be. She woke up late, and that was due only to Virika banging on her door in aggravation. Apparently Lakeesk had broadcast to Virisk that something was wrong with His.

Lakeen assured her cousin there was nothing wrong with, that she had just slept in, and sent her on her way. As a testament to his worry, Lakeesk didnt even notice that, while the cousins were conversing, brown Rannoch was zooming around the weyr. Lakeen wrapped her arms around the bronze and sent him comforting thoughts to assure him. Then she continued to change, brush her teeth and hair and then head out.

She stepped by the main hall to grab a cup of coffee and a breakfast biscut which she smothered in grape jelly. Then she headed for the common room. She finished her food and half her coffee before she got there.

It was completely deserted, and someone had tidied up from the storm that had come through. She noticed the sketchbook where she had left it, and wondered with optimism if he had decided to play her game. She sat down and flipped to the page with the drawing on it.

He had expanded on it. It was night now, ad dragons flew through the skies. She noticed there was a rabbit hiding in the brush and a raccoon tail was outlined against a tree. She smiled at the picture. Then she noticed the carefully scrawled words in the corner.

"I'll play your game"

"Fun..." Lakeen muttered to herself with a smile. She pulled out another sketchbook, brand new, and began drawing in it. That would be their gamebook. He could have his sketchbook back and hidden if he so pleased.

Lakeens hand flew over the page with fluidity and ease. Her imagination took control and the drawing unraveled on its own. She didnt think, and it seemed like she didnt blink or breathe either. When she was done it was one of her better drawings, without a doubt.

There was no background, giving him the opurtunity to fill it in as he saw fit. The center peice of the drawing was the black wolf that was trotting on the page. It had a thick coat and a single white paw on the hind left. Its tail tip was also white. Besides the shading from her pencils, there was one color. The eyes of the wolf were a peircing green color as it stared at you from the page.

Lakeen was proud of the drawing as she closed the book. Her coffee was finished, and her hand was shaded itself and cramped. She stretched and yawned slightly, then stood and looked around. Virika had joined her, watching a rerun of "Scream Queens" from season two. They smiled at each other as Lakeen left to get more coffee and something more to eat. She noticed disdainfully that it was nearly dawn. She wasnt in the least tired, so after eating a heavier breakfast she headed back to the common room, sitting and continueing her sketch of a hatching Lakeesk.

[PhazonDragon]

Returning back from his late lunch wasn't exactly exciting, nor was the meal. Lawrence was among one of the few weyrlings that decided sleep was more fun that eating, not to mention the wherhandlers that just only now woke up after a long night spent awake. He ate his lunch in silence, not in the mood for talking with anyone, and headed back to the common room. He dully noted the few people in the room, including Lakeen, whom Lawrence ignored with a roll of his eyes. He passed through the common room into the hallways, and back into his weyr to be alone for as long as he could.

Still in a foul mood, Lawrence spent the rest of the day in his weyr, and no conversation passed between the rider and his dragon. Elonverrilth being touchy, and Lawrence not one for conversation at the moment. The short memory spans of dragons meant that the bronze would forget all about the fight in the next couple of days, and he would be back to his usual caring self, even if Lawrence was pointedly ignoring him.

* * *

In the morning, Lawrence was up early, having gone to bed before he normally would, and dead-set on getting breakfast at a respectable time. A light snore from the other half of the room meant that Elonverrilth was still asleep, and that much was fine with the weyrling. He changed quickly and quietly, then snuck out of his room and made it to the dining hall in time for the first bits of fresh, warm food to be set out. Inhaling deeply, Lawrence grabbed up a plate and piled food on it, then went off to eat.

The tables were mostly empty, so it was easy for the bronze weyrling to find an open one for himself. Not wasting any time, Lawrence finished down his breakfast of eggs and hash browns, handed off the plate to the kitchens, and was back into the common room in fifteen minutes. Unknowingly, he managed to tail Lakeen back to the common room, and after taking a breath to calm himself, Lawrence went over to the table from yesterday. His sketchbook was there, along with a new one.

That's how she wanted to play this game? With another sketchbook? Fine by him. He would get his sketchbook back instead of having it travel around and possibly be ruined by some kid's dirty fingers. He snatched up the pair sketchbooks, grasping his tightly to his chest, before slipping out of the common room and to his own weyr, where he could tuck his sketchbook away, and look at the new drawing for him.

A thick-furred black wolf pranced across the page, with a white sock on his left paw, and a white tail tip like a paintbrush at the ready. Mood still considerably damped from the events two days ago, Lawrence wasn't feeling a peaceful background. He pulled out his pencils, and brought the lead to the paper, sketching lightly. Objects took their shape as the weyrling's mind filled in the background with the scene of a wolf pack hunting a caribou. A bad-looking caribou, but what was he to do with no reference?

Satisfied with that, Lawrence turned the page, wanting to give the other artist a challenge of his own. He thought for a moment, staring at the blank page before stand up from his desk, and going over to where Elonverrilth was sleeping. The bronze dragon was stirring, so he'd have to make it fast. Lawrence doodled out the basic shape of the dragon, standing in the doorway, before he returned to the desk, and touched up the image with the details.

That done, Lawrence shut the sketchbook and left his room. Time to take it back to where he found it, for the other artist to pick up and comment on. He made it back into the common room just before dinnertime, his two drawings taking longer than he would have liked, but there was no time to rethink his choices as Lawrence set the sketchbook on the table, and left the room for the dining hall.

[FaizahPandora]

Lakeen managed to fall asleep while drawing. She knew this because Virika was shaking her shoulders. Little green Virisk was there, and Lakeesk was coming into the room now, his eyes swirling the colors of worry.

She smiled at her younger cousin and then turned to reassure her bronze. Then she stood and stretched, all the while Lakeesk was brushing against her legs. She chuckled as she laid her hand on his head. Lakeen looked around, noticed it was only the wherling Pandoras there with their whers, and then saw the sketchpad.

Her smiled widened as she calmly walked over to it. She opened it to see the wolf picture finished, quite nicely too in her opinion. An entire pack of wolves were hunting a caribou. Lakeen flipped the page.

She had been expecting a blank page, but had found a drawing. It was of the same raptor-like dragon she had seen in the previous notebook. The difference was that now he was sleeping. Lakeen nibbled her bottom lip for a minute, then grabbed her pencil and began to draw furiously.

A sleeping dragon. So many interpretations. So many possibilities. But already the scene was firmly in Lakeen's mind. First she sketched out the beach that the it was sleeping on. The ocean was next, dolphins jumping from the water in glee. The sun was shining down on the glistening hide of the sleeping behemoth and its smaller companion, a bronze firelizard. She colored it the rich metalic color she had grown to love, based on Lakeesk's bright tones. Lastly she added a few trees and a small wave.

When Lakeen was finished she sighed and leaned back. Lakeesk was watching Virika and Virisk, both sleeping lightly. She patted his head, then nodded towards the kitchens. Both she and Lakeesk needed to eat, so after grabbing a cup of coffee she followed her bronze to the feeding grounds.