Ryuth

Tarin's Umeboshi Plum-Blue Ryuth
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Daytime's Passage Egg
Struck full swell in morning's time, with cabled mirrors of brilliant hue,
rinded edge of toughened lime reflects and refracts to darkened rue. Round
and round 'cross shell it wends, twined to complexness of voiced whim;
starcaught memory forfends to cast it away, faded and dim, to trace out a
heart — bright gold and green — that slips past pale vision's damascene.
Struck past swell of even's shadow, it melts and fades into umbered sloe.

Egg Hatch Message:
Daytime's Passage Egg rends and warps, darkened rue cracked all in two;
halved at last, integrity's past — winghooks first he emerges, all egg-wet
blue, and lid by lid unfurls his gaze for the very first time.

Desc:
Gigantic, wide-set eyes stare audaciously about, their eccentric brilliance
set off by the deep blue hide that as yet drowns this tiny dragonet's
resilient, compact frame. Plummy shadows drape into obscurity the details of
broad chest and expansive wingsails, though nothing can hide the stubborn
bluntness of muzzle or the so-sensitive coil of tail. Likewise, fledgling
demeanor blurs the potential of ability, intelligence unhoned in favor of the
willful determination that grounds itself in soft, indigo-mottled talons.

Impress Message:
Eternity held in a heart-beat, the whirling gaze of plum-deep blue grasps
your own to hold and bind; rainbows explode, blinding your vision as
another — newborn — sense awakens to a presence… /his/ presence.
Stalking. Towards you. In the explosion is acceptance as he delves into
you, of you, but of himself, so that you /feel/ his fierce warmth
blood-deep and ichor-sharp. He suffuses you with his demand, with desire.
His own. Yours. Body, mind, heart. And then his voice, crystalline as
rock salt, with an instinctively familiar burr:
» I am Ryuth! «

Name: 'Ryuth' is taken from the root Ryu, the Japanese word for 'dragon';
it's a mystical symbol, fraught with power and history — and both darkness
and light. It symbolizes luck, wisdom, intelligence, justice, fire,
success… a Japanese dragon is rare, beautiful, dangerous, and fierce.
And boy does it snake and wriggle in splendid, natural flight. This
fits also with the inspiration of an umeboshi plum, which colors hide and
character; salty-sweet when preserved, some people eat such plums straight,
some wrap them in dough for desserts, and others roll umeboshi paste in
sushi.
The name 'Ryuth' is courtesy of Sh'lin, and we liked it; it's short,
and strong, and with a zing to it. For pronunciation, we recommend
'rye-OOTH' or 'RYE-ooth', rather than having a short vowel for the 'u'.
While the name 'Ryuth' is close to 'Ruth', I just now noticed the similarity!
However, the two are very different; Ryuth is not nearly so pale, and he
/will/ grow big and burly to fill out that currently wrinkled, oversized hide
that for now pools about him. He does share somewhat of the later Ruth's
playful confidence and spunky go-get-'em attitude, but heightened into
stubborn pride that just knows that this (whatever it is, at the moment)
/will/ be done. Whether you think it should be, or not.

Ryuth is for now the chubby little kid with sticky hands, a runny nose, bare
feet, and short pants two sizes too big that constantly need tugging up.
While he'll grow up to be a ManlyMan(tm), for now he bears showy expressions
— at once defiant and endearing — as he stalks in search of suspenders.

Voice:
While Ryuth's talkative, he's not loud. He doesn't generally need
to be. However he /is/ insistent, lyrical, even methodical and occasionally
messianic and can even be addictive for the delightful tones he blends with
instinctive ease. His mental voice flavors with whitely clear,
crystalline rock salt, so precious in the ancient world as it enhances
almost any flavor (though now we know to watch it for health
reasons), and with a blue yet more deep and intense than his hide; plum
flavors more in the occasional tang, less in sight than in deepening
emotion. Physically, his voice will deepen from high tenor to his mind's
deep baritone, underlaid with a raspy burr that plays perennial,
individual accent.

Physical characteristics:
While admittedly somewhat wizened as a hatchling, he'll become
imposing, though not overbearing. Ryuth's definitely not a cute dragon,
nor even handsome in any classical sense; blunt, bull-headed, and most
often determined, he'll likely learn to carry himself with confidence and
charm. His frame is large-boned, though compact instead of truly massive:
broad chest, expansive wingsails, and incredibly huge paws until he grows
into them. 'Course he does enjoy leaving his prints on and in anything
that might hold them; he takes after his dam in his delight of snow, and
all the amazing properties thereof, trailing talon-prints behind him
/extremely/ delighted that they are staying put. His strengths will be
resilience, stamina and long-term speed (if slow on turns) rather than
agility or sprint-swiftness. If he gets tired, and he can and will get
/very/ tired, he can also bounce back quickly, too.
Though one of the smallest when hatched, Ryuth will grow very
swiftly and with matching clumsiness; he'll even outsize his brown brethren
when all are not much over a Turn old, before his rate of growth tapers off
and he begins to get used to living in his skeleton. He doesn't like being
clumsy, and if he thinks about it he gets even more awkward, whereas if he
doesn't think and just /does/, he does a whole lot better. But he thinks a
lot.
That overlarge hide bothers him, too, folding all plum-blue over a
compact frame that /will/ grow and broaden and fill out into the
aforementioned rather large and sturdy blue. For now, though you might like
investigating the suede-soft wrinkles that curl about Ryuth's extremities, it
embarrasses him; only in comparative private, among his closest companions
and clutchmates, does he like (and does he ever!) being petted and preened
over — in public, oiling is simply something one does, a task like any
other. Unfortunately, the barracks aren't very private, so secluded moments
are to be savored, and his enjoyment will leak into the draconic ambient.
When he /does/ grow into his skin, the color will remain — but now only
very, very barely perceptible, and only if you know where to look: a memory
of shadows in the smooth and wrinkle-free hide that is, for the uninitiated,
a solid plum-blue. You, and those who know him and remember, can trace the
darker threads of near-indigo that wind about his sturdy frame, the child's
traipsings never, ever completely lost.

Personality:
The rapscallion of this clutch, mischievous humor tempers Ryuth's
fierce determination. Generally. Sometimes. He's headstrong and
opinionated, though more when you yourself are concerned than about anyone
else. He knows what's Right and assumes you should know it, too, grounded in
the satisfaction of mutual belonging. If you convince him otherwise, he'll
not so much change his mind as instantly do an about-face, believing the new
thing with little worry for consistency — but this also means he does it
freely, excitedly, without even what passes for rancor in dragons' generally
good-willed, short-lived memories. If for some reason you two cannot (after
long length) agree, too, he'll quit arguing and agree to disagree … until
late that night when his /touch/ invades your dreams. But during the
arguing, well! Later on, you might well have disagreements wherein he picks
you up in his talons and holds you in the air a la Mnementh and Lessa in
_Dragonflight_. No mothering /him/! He loves you very, very much, though he
wouldn't exactly /say/ so, particularly when pressed; it just shows,
rock-deep beneath it all.
But for now, he's small, at first, and far from the innocent he
appears. Outwardly innocent with too-large, admittedly buggy eyes and a hide
a few sizes too big, he /looks/ (at times, and if he wants) guileless and
charming and totally incapable of doing anything /bad/. Hah! You're in his
mind, you know better. He won't develop his intelligence 'til he's over
hatchling clumsiness, and that more after (and if) you prod him; until then,
there's more of a slanted cunning, and that endless, willful determination.
Audacious. Oh yes. Think of that sly-eyed glance he offers you, tail
twitching.

This is, by the by, a charm he's not above using on the ladies -
when it suits him. No playboy, he, for all his delight in getting a reaction
out of the girls; he's more interested in riling things up with any sex than
in catching the females — though that too will, in time, interest him as
well. Interest him a /lot/. Be warned.)

When Ryuth gets bored, which is often, his thoughts tumble toward
you with near-wicked glee — » Tarin!!! « your name a kaleidoscope of
colors, paired with the imaged equivalent of, » Let us go find us some
/mud/, « — his mischief infectious, his glee the same. Now, he isn't going
to tell you what is planned with the mud, oh no. He has to /show/ you.
Mud, sand, snow, anything /useful/ like that — anything one can /build/
with, or throw, or have you build with, or even build around you… we
suggest never, ever napping near this one when he has nothing better to do
than nap too… for he might bury you. Of course he calls it art, especially
after he adds a few paw-prints for good measure /and/ shows you off to all his
friends. TarinTheSandcastle, TarinTheSnowSculpture, TarinTheMudMask… he
will try them all.

While he easily amuses himself (and by extension you), he gets great
vibes out of drawing others into his games — more of a challenge, you see,
though he /does/ like to win and isn't above bending the rules to get there,
unless he gets it into his head that that might spoil the game. Dogged,
stubborn determination gets him through tasks that might otherwise prove too
much for him; he isn't above asking for help either, just never whines about
it and is not effusive in his thanks afterwards, just as he doesn't expect
great thanks from others, See, while he's headstrong with /you/, he's also
Protector of the Meek and Mild (though he prefers passionate personalities to
hang out with), and he'll listen to Those Who Know More (hi, Riallath!),
because he wants to know more, too.

When he's not a go-getter (which he generally is, if there's
something he can Go, Get, and Torment or Treasure), he's a bigtime
procrastinator (one or the other), and always is every sense-indulgent
(every sense); all the senses carry through in his mental conversations, as
well. Talk about a gourmand! Quantity over quality in his feasting on
experience; beware the risks of encouraging him to demand quality /as well/,
because it won't be /instead/… for this one indulges, he devours. He consumes taste and touch
and smell with a voracity that can actually be scary and dangerous when he
gets so wrapped up in doing something that he becomes unwaware of anything
else. He likes sharing them with you, of course. Especially tastes/sensations he thinks you might really enjoy, or anything that gets a
reaction from you, particularly when it isn't entirely appropriate to the
occasion.
» Tarin, dear… « is always a warning. As in,
» This is firestone. « (Tarin: *choke* *hack* *puff*)
Amazing how he can transmit the taste of the stone to /you/. But then, he
/knows/ you, inside and out, all your quirks and flaws, all your hopes and
dreams down to the most secret of desires.
Ryuth might have made have made a good mobster, of the kind
popularized in movies. He's very Weyr-loyal, a true charmer, but he's
attractive due to delight in life rather than any grand physical
ornamentation (thank goodness, since he's rather blunt, bug-eyed, and
currently quite clumsy-looking); his confidence isn't because he's the
biggest dragon, or the quickest, or the most handsome — it's because his
faith in /you/ is unshakeable. Beneath that currently wrinkled hide lies a
hard pit of affectionate delight in that which is His, as he is yours, and
though he isn't beyond arguing with you about everything and anything,
nothing can shake the knowledge that this is /right/, this is good. It's not
even questioned. Of course he's right. He is. He knows this.
And so may it be.

Credits:
Name: Sh'lin
Egg: Ariana
Dragon: Arien and K'lora
Inspiration: Arien and K'lora, with Ariana-suggestions

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