Settlers of Xian Weyr

Glitter let out a threatened hiss, but retreated further within the Greenrider's long hair, which made Dagmar let out a little giggle. She looked about herself and saw that the room was filling, and so she faced Alea with a smile, "Alright, this is where I leave you. Nice to meet you, good luck...and I'm sure you'll do just fine here." With those warm words, the Greenrider inclined her head towards Aislyn, V'sin, H'skal and Craiss in a gesture of farewell. The blonde, slender woman then gracefully extricated herself from the crowd and headed in the direction of the Kitchens.

My dear, I am headed for the Kitchens now, and I will let you know just as soon as I find out which weyr is ours, so you can get out of that dreadful rain. Dagmar spoke.

I don't mind the rain so much, she said, as long as the company is good.

And the company was good indeed. The Green Marlith watched, amused, as the Purple dragon tried to curl in on herself to avoid the rain. Her eyes whirred blue and green as she watched the gentlemanly Bronze attempt to shield the neurotic Purple from the shower. The Green stood in the rain, unbothered by the shower. Rather, she knew that the rain made her hide glow, and as flirtatious as she was, she wanted to make sure she looked as good as possible when she was talking with a male dragon.

Me and Dagmar-Mine come from High Reaches. There were a lot of dragons there to talk to. There are not as many here, which is why they moved us, I guess. But I miss having so many to talk with. Marlith chattered in her friendly manner, Where do you and yours come from?

***

Suddenly, the rain let up and Lianath was feeling drier. She perked up before realizing that it was because a Bronze had protected her with his wing, which was a rather intimate gesture for a male dragon that was not her Weyrmate.

Hello, she responded a little timidly. Unlike the bold, brazen Oakley that stood in the entrance of the caverns, she did not have a large, outgoing personality. The slender Purple seemed to be perking up a little now that she was out of the rain.

Alea’s smile was tight when Dagmar told her that someone here at Xian would help her replace any broken essential things, “It is not the essential things I am worried about,” she began rooting around the carrisak and blinked back more tears as she brought out a lovely seashell necklace her mother had given her before she died. Many of the shells were chipped and a few were broken in help, “it is the irreplaceable things…” she managed a brave smile, “well…I am going to be a dragonrider aren’t I?” her voice shook, “one day I will have my soulmate take me to my mother’s family’s seahold and repair this necklace,” she drew a deep breath, “right…” she murmured almost to herself, “…I must go forward!”


“A choice of bunks?” she mused, “That is certainly a step up for me…” she thought of trying to find a space in the hallway at Telgar


She followed Dagmar to the left in the barricks, her eyes taking everything in, “I suppose I will take this bunk,” she chose the one right by the door, “I got use to being in the middle of everything going on at home and I think I would miss it,” she placed her carrisak beside the bed as Defender bounded into the middle of the bed.


Alea looked up and regarded the newcomers with interested emerald eyes, “Hello Craiss, I am Alea,” she noticed the other girl’s feline, “I hope your pet is all right with canines. Each of my brothers and sisters had some sort of pet, so my Defender is used to felines, flits, porcines, runners and even a baby wherry,” she leaned over and rubbed her enthusiastic pet’s ears.


She turned to Dagmar, “Thank you so much for helping me to find my way Greenrider. Is there anything else we should be doing before the welcome feast?”

=============
“A musician, eh?” Ala’n replied with a smile, “Be still my heart! I always did want to find a woman who could reach into my soul with sound. Until I see you then fair one!”


Ala’n whistled to Rayneth who obligingly lifted her wing to cover him with her wing. She walked him over to the weyr entrance so that he did not get too wet.


Rayeth chuckled at Lianath’s question ><Actually my rider does not flirt at all. He is just trying to show me that he can find his own romance. I…er…got him into a bit of trouble with my matchmaking at our last weyr.><

--Alea, Ala’n and Rayeth

Dagmar shook her head lightly at the interested Candidates, "I would recommend putting on a dress, perhaps. I hear it is to be quite the occasion, complete with singing. I hear there is a list of chores posted in the common area of the barracks here, so make sure to check it frequently to make sure you know what your assigned chores are. I'm sure you won't be here long before there's a Candidate lesson, as well, so keep alert for memos in that regard. Now, if you ladies will excuse me, I had best figure out what weyr Marlith and I have been assigned to, and get ready for the feast myself. Good luck to you. I know you will all do just fine." With that last warming vote of confidence, the Greenrider ducked her head in goodbye to the girls assembled there and exited the Candidate barracks. She had a trace of a wistful smile on her lovely lips as she left. She could remember those days before she had Impressed her Marlith.

Everything at the Weyr had been an adventure, and she had made a few friends who had approached her first, of course. They had chores, yes, but most of the time even doing those was dreaming of the possibilities...thinking of what it would be like to be a dragonrider. Now that she was one, she wouldn't trade her lifestyle for all of Pern. Glitter cheeped happily when they were about in the hallways of the Weyr, and disentangled herself from the long, golden waves of her feeder person. Now that she was away from the dreaded feline, she was quite content to be visible again. Indeed, the vain little thing liked the attention she always seemed to get--her red-gold hide going well with the lovely Greenrider's looks.

In fact, that was why Glitter had Impressed Dagmar to begin with. She had been so heartbreakingly beautiful, on the inside and out, that the little Gold's decision to take the meatroll from her hand rather than the dozens of other hands had been an easy one. And Glitter never regretted it. Her feeder took wonderful care of her, and was always glad to have the Queen perched on her shoulder. And she got plenty of attention on the slender shoulder of such a looker. Of the two, one would be hard-pressed to choose which was more beautiful.

Dagmar stepped into the Dining Hall and looked at the lists posted there, running a slender finger down the rows until she reached her name: Greenrider Dagmar, Green Marlith. They were assigned a weyr on the upper levels, which was good, because the Greenrider liked to sit on the high ledge with her legs dangling down at her old Weyr. Little did she know, a lot of the weyrs had been assigned after many careful days and nights on the part of the Weyrleaders and the Headwoman putting their heads together and researching what kind of weyrs each rider had preferred based on past selection at their previous Weyrs. The Greenrider seemed to think it a happy coincidence.

Marlith, my dear, our weyr is on the topmost level, three over from the right, when you get ready to head in that direction. And my love, will you do me a favor and tell me if that poor Purplerider and her Purple dragon are on welcoming committee in this deluge? Dagmar connected with the mind of her Bonded in the most tender way, as always.

Okay. And yes, she is, returned the emerald-hued Green.

Would you bespeak her Purple and tell her that I see on the list that Purplerider Oakley and her Lianath have been assigned the weyr that is on top level as well, eighth from the left?

Of course, Mine, the Green reassured her Mine before returning her attentions to the stately Bronze that sat not too far from where she herself was, sinuous neck inclined as if enjoying the warm rain that fell and beaded on her well-oiled hide. Marlith could tell that her Dagmar was now safely headed in the direction of their new weyr, and so she privately bespoke Lianath, who perked up even more at the news.

Oakley-Mine. I know where our ledge is, so I'm going to go there now, and carry our things there. The Purple said happily. She turned her head to look at the Bronze who had helped keep her dry and said,Thank you for your assistance. I head to my weyr now. This was said before the full expanse of her rather impressive wingspan was spread out, and she launched effortlessly into the air. She found the aforementioned ledge and settled herself down with a gusty sigh of contentment.

Oakley was one of the only humans remaining in the whole Weyrbowl now, wondering how long she would be out here before it was evident that all of the people where there. She pulled out her ever-present gitar and strummed lightly as she waited for more riders, dragons and Candidates to arrive, feeling like right now was the calm in the metaphorical storm. Not the literal one...as the rain still continued to lash through the air in great sheets.

I am sure you and yours were a boon to Telgar purred the sinuous Green flirtatiously. Privately, she bespoke the Greenrider who had just arrived in their new quarters, You should make an effort to meet a Bronzerider by the name of H'skal tonight. His Bronze is simply delightful.

Craiss looked down at her boots after Dagmar left the room and noted the impressive mud splashes that patterned the leather all the way up onto her trousers. "What do you think, Alea?" She asked with a laugh, taking a seat on her bed and pulling the shoes off. "I'm pretty sure I heard someone say that Mud was fashionable this season. I could head outside and roll around a bit for good measure."

Free of the soiled shoes, she shimmied out of her pants and then dug through the larger bag beneath her bed. After a minute or two, she resurfaced with a long, airy turquoise & coral blue dress. It was clearly designed for hot, windy weather - much the fashion for holders by the sea, who never knew if they should expect sun or storms when they took to the beach for a party. Craiss ditched her shirt and then pulled the dress on over her head, exposing her lean, muscular arms to the open air. She was glad that Xian was supposed to be hot; it was an easier transition than heading north would've been. Once clothed, she sat back down and began pulling a comb through her thick, wet brown curls.

With her own preparation mostly complete, she noticed that Alea was just sitting on the cot with an instrument. Craiss considered for a moment before asking curiously. "You're a musician? Have you played long?" She did wonder why the girl wasn't changing for the Feast, but figured it would be rude. Maybe she was nervous!

*

Out in the Weyrbowl, Conleth turned his massive head to blink slowly at Lianath, his eyes swirling languidly. ~I aim to please.~ Came his amused reply. Once she departed, he folded his wings over his back and walked away from the entrance to rejoin Marlith. ~Tell me of High Reaches. We visited once, but it was only for a short time on Weyr business. A shame we didn't bump into you and your Bonded then!~

It was later in the day when the deep greens of the jungle parted to reveal a broadly built man with striking silver hair leading a pack runner by a rope. Carrisaks were attached to the runner’s back and a green flit sat solemnly on the man’s shoulder. The travelers were met in the weyrbowl by a bronze dragon who landed moments after they emerged from the jungle. Any observer could tell from the calm demeanor of the runner that the dragon and land travelers were acquainted.


<<Well met Chosen!>> Nymanth said lowering his head for an eye scratch <<So this is our new home!>>


“Yes,” K’ron agreed with a sad smile, “a new home. A new start for both of us!”


<<So…what next?>> his soulmate asked


“Well, I doubt the Welcoming Committee would still be at work,” K’ron murmured, “and I must settle Faster here. So I will find the stables. Why don’t you and Arbolan find our new weyr? I am sure you are eager to make the acquaintance of the WeyrQueen…”


<<Not really…>> Nymanth replied in the tired voice that he used of late <<…not yet. It is too soon.>>


“It has been two seasons, my friend,” K’ron patted Nymanth’s side comfortingly, “we must move on. Is that not why we are here? And even so, it will not cost you much to bespeak the WeyrQueen and ask her where our quarters are.”


<<Very well>> Nymanth replied <<I will do as you ask. You will join us there later? I hear the sounds of a party.>>


K’ron winced. Celebrations were painful to him now, had been for the past two seasons. Two seasons without her. He closed his silver eyes and imagined her barely reaching his shoulder in her golden ball gown or the blue bathing suit when he first realized how much he loved her. Faranth how his heart ached with emptiness!


His voice was a bare whisper, “I have no heart for parties. I will just stop by the kitchens for a mug of klah to warm me up and then join you.”


<<As you wish!>> Nymanth replied as he cried out softly to the green flit and lifted into the sky


K’ron sighed, the knickered softly to his runner and headed for the door of the weyr to check on the location of the stables.

--K’ron and Nymanth

OOC: looking for rider and dragon to bring them out of their doldrums. K'ron is meant for heavy romantic stories.

((Sure..a good male friend will help too<G>))