A chat with Maullie

Maullie stretched luxuriously as she came into the realm of consciousness. There was a delicious dream right on the edge of her mind, and she held on as long as possible until it dispersed like so many swirling dust motes through the air. There were still particles, but only the thought of what a good dream remained of it as the Silver weyrling opened her brown eyes.

Good morning, Maullie-Mine, Came the sweet voice that made Maullie's whole face shine with the light of love and joy. Indeed, when suffused with affection for her life mate, the Weyrling's plain face turned quite lovely. But this was not something that the girl was willing to let others see. In public, she was nothing if not professional, strong and responsible. Here, though, she could be swooned by the enormous young beast, and cherish the fact that she got the honor of being Laurith's rider.

There was no greater joy. It would be impossible to explain to one who did not have a dragon of his or her own. Once one's mine melded with that of a fledgling dragon in the miracle of Impression, there was no one in a dragon rider's life that could take the place of the life mate. Sure, there would be friends, brothers, lovers, mothers... But none of them shared your every thought and feeling. You could have secrets from those people. But your dragon shared your most intimate personal thought, and wonder of all wonders, loved you extravagantly no matter what.

Even the most grizzled of Thread-fighting veterans couldn't help but to get all mushy when thinking about that. They tried to hide it, but it was there...that enduring bond that no dragon rider could hide. Each rider held on to that moment of Impression, that one miracle that was fortunate enough to happen to them, and never forgot a single moment of it. They never forgot their dragonet's first words to them, sealing that melding of minds, spirits, of hearts.

Good morning, light of my life, Maullie responded tenderly. She arose from bed if on wings, and before she knew it, found herself placing a hand under that marvelous head, scratching the triangular chin. It was an intimate moment. Indeed, if R'mi bounded into her weyr, as he was wont to do occasionally, even he would sense that the had intruded upon this most loving and tender of moments between rider and dragon.

I sat out on my weyr ledge last night in the rain so that the mud would wash off of my hide, Laurith said, The rain here is nice. It is warm, and feels like the ocean at Southern.

Maullie cast a critical eye over the Silver hide and said, "hmmm. You are looking less muddy. However, I think we'll still bathe you today just to be on the safe side. Then, we'll oil you up and so when the sun finally comes out, you'll be absolutely radiant."

The Weyrling rose from her crouched position and went over to her chest. She had stayed up late into the night a few nights ago trying to get things organized just so. Indeed, she hadn't elected to go to the Feast just so her weyr would be set up to perfection. It wasn't that she intentionally missed out on it. It was just that, before she knew it, it was already quite late, and by the time she went to the Kitchens, she was fairly sure half of the Weyr would be soused, and there would be no good conversation to have. So feeling sleepy already, she had gone to sleep in her new bed.

Now, she felt rather grimy, even though she had taken a bath the night before to warm herself, and so she went into her bathing chambers and fixed herself a bath. She waded into the water, and chose a handful of sweetsand to rub into her skin. She rubbed at her whole body until it was lightly pink from the friction. She rubbed her hair, too, before exiting the bath.

She patted her whole body dry with towels and folded her hair into another before slipping into sturdy wherhide pants and a light linen shirt. She was quite used to the heat. Southern, too, had been warm, but it was a different kind of heat. The heat there had always been diffused by the cool ocean breeze. Here, it was constantly humid. She could see how a lot of the riders would elect to stay inside at the heat of the day to avoid the crushing humidity.

The shirt was a sensible tan, and indeed it made Maullie look even plainer if possible. Ever sensible, she was much more concerned about the functionality of clothing than the look of it. She could rarely be found in a dress or skirts, because she found them highly impractical for her lifestyle. If she had taken a bit more care with her appearance with the applications of makeup and perhaps worn more flattering clothing, she could have possibly passed the threshold of plain into passably pretty. She had just recently thought of this when she was in the company of a certain Bronze Weyrling, but she had felt foolish immediately afterward for thinking on it.

Alright. I am headed to have breakfast and some klah, and then we'll check and see if there is a lesson today. If not, then I'll take you to that river we spied when we were circling overhead the Weyr. Detailing her plans for the day always made the highly organized girl feel better.

Mmm. Okay, the young dragoness responded. Oh, wait, Mine. Someone comes. There was a very formal tone about the Silver's voice, and so Maullie unconsciously straightened her shoulders and stood to her full, but still rather diminutive height. Sure enough, the sound of a knock rang through the air.

She strode across the room to open the door, and she found the Weyrwoman on her doorstep. Had she not been a rather expressionless person, her mouth would have fell askew in surprise.

"Weyrwoman," she said by way of greeting, inclining her head by way of respect. She had yet to meet the other woman's acquaintance, and here she was on her doorstep! Oh, that reminded her. She stepped aside hastily to admit the woman inside, "Please do come in." She motioned to a passing drudge and asked, "Would you mind bringing us some refreshment and food?" The drudge nodded her assent, and fairly sprinted off to do Maullie's bidding at the sight of her Weyrwoman there.

Maullie was especially glad that she had taken the time to tidy her weyr and put everything to rights before receiving such an important guest. She couldn't help but to feel trepidation at the other woman's visit; it was clear by the grim cast of the Goldrider's face that they were about to have a serious chat indeed. Now, Maullie never shied away from responsibility or duty, but she couldn't help but feel as if the reason for Zira's visit was not only to inform her of news to pass on to her Wing. Indeed, if they did have to pass along news to the Rainstorm Weyrlings, they would contact D'von, not her. And the Weyrleader, whom Maullie had not yet met, would be the one to pass on anything they would have need of knowing.

Maullie searched her thoughts to try and figure out what the woman could have need of, that she would come to Maullie's weyr without so much as having breakfast, but she was coming up blank.

Perhaps she is going to tell us that we have an extra special duty, Laurith suggested excitedly in her charming naive fashion. The Silver was more serious than most of her other siblings, but she was still a young dragonet, and that fact was often evident in her speech and actions. The youngling dragon appeared only dignified around her clutch mates, but when it was just she and Maullie, she tended to show her naivety.

It didn't take the Weyrwoman long to get down to business, thankfully, so Maullie didn't have long to speculate. At the news of her new Wing assignment, the Silverrider's face fell. So, all of her hard work as Wingsecond for the past Turn....was all for naught? She would be a part of the Queen's wing now. So, that meant that Laurith would no longer flame?

No, you will do the flaming for me, Laurith said. She sounded as uneasy as Maullie felt.

That doesn't seem right.

I am sure that Quiroth's mine knows best, the Silver said resignedly, though there was disappointment heavy in her voice. She would no longer get to fight alongside her clutch mates. She was being relegated to transportation, rather than carrying out her instinct of flaming like all of the other dragons.

When the woman returned with their requested breakfast, Maullie was glad for the chance to be able to gather her thoughts. She pulled out a chair for Zira, and she herself sat on the bed after taking the proffered klah from the Weyrwoman. She sipped it, still needing a moment for the news to fully sink in. She was not prone to large fits of emotion, but she did feel rather sad and....Laurith felt ineffectual. The Silver was shifting her wings agitatedly from her weyr ledge. The beast came inside the weyr to be closer to her rider during this time. She settled herself down on her couch, her gaze on Maullie.

The tones in her eyes were mostly green, but occasionally yellow entered in, signaling her discomfort. She was looking to her rider for reassurance.

It will be okay, my love. We will figure it out, Maullie said lovingly to her life mate. She waited for the Weyrwoman to eat first, as was custom. The higher ranking rider always ate first, and when she stood, all stood. Maullie was nothing if not proper, and a little old-fashioned in her customs. When Zira began to eat her fruit, Maullie helped herself to some bread, not trusting the fruit on her uneasy stomach. She took a few nibbles, remaining silent as Zira expounded on what her duties would entail.

When she received difficult news, Maullie tended to retreat into herself thoughtfully. There, the Silverrider found her strength. She supposed that she had been allowed to remain in a regular fighting Wing at Southern because the Weyr was so overpopulated that they wanted Laurith to remain infertile. But here, at Xian, they needed more fighting beasts, and so her Silver life mate's clutching abilities were needed.

So, in a way, I will still be doing my duty to the Weyr. Just in a different way, the Silver said, perking up a little. She was never one to remain down for long.

That's right my darling. You are very valuable. The Weyrling agreed.

When her mouth was completely clear, Maullie answered the Weyrwoman's question, "I thank you for delivering this news to me now, and in person. That's very kind of you. I was not expecting it, but I suppose it makes sense for Laurith to be able to clutch. I understand our new role, and I look forward to a new challenge. I am sure we will adjust fine. I suppose my only questions for right now are when will we begin training with the flamethrowers? Also, should I continue Weyrling training? I understand I will not do Wing drills with them any longer."

Her question amounted to 'I know I am to be taken from my friends, but am I to be alienated from them altogether?'