The Dragonriders of PernŽ is a trademark, Registered U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, of Anne McCaffrey. This is a recorded session, generated by Harper's Tale MOO on Sunday 28th November, 1999, for the benefit of members unable to attend. Logged by Pyrene.
A Wintry Dip
[Late into Search now... questionnaires were back in and we knew that Co were making their final decisions. Nerves? Yes. In abundance. And just to rub it in, SearchCo decided to have a meeting halfway through this log. Granted I was Stand-Only so didn't have to worry for myself, but I was already worried for the other candidates.]
"Tiri's got a cold," D'renn gives Shaela the good news, advancing a little further into the barracks and finally deigning to look at Pyrene. "Yes?"
"Fresh air.." Shaela ponders that thought. She just came from the fresh air. "If you want? Did the healer say that was a good idea, Tiri?"
Quara returns to work, the tip of her tongue poking out of her mouth as she concentrates on the robe, which has become a slightly-mangled, but identifiable, robe.
Pyrene folds her arms and draws herself up to her full height--it's a good thing D'renn's short. "What have you been spreading about me?? I was talking to Con before, and he /said/..." Well, she's not saying what he said. D'renn's got to remember that for himself. Tradition of male-female conversations and all.
"Me, talking to C'lan about /you/, Pyrene?" D'renn looks suspiciously blank-faced.
Tiri pouts. She does not have a cold! She has...*mutterwhoppingcoughmutter* She looks up at Shaela and nods. "Sure... THe healer said that I should take the medicine and get rest...but I already did that! Fresh air is good!" She beam and then coughs from talking too much. Her eyes drift over to Pyrene and D'renn. Ooo, gossip...
Pyrene glares back at him, refusing to be fooled by any tricks--including sincerity. "You know full well what you said." She hopes. The alternative is that he's not sure /which/ lie she's referring to... She looks around at the others. "Weren't you going outside?" So friendly.
"Haven't got a clue, Pyrene," D'renn answers glibly. "I mean, I don't get to talk to C'lan /that often, but...."
Gossip that Shaela is oddly uninterested in -- at the moment, she's trying to keep her guard up against Tiri's 'cold'. She does /not/ need one of those right now. "D'renn, what say you?"
Quara's attention, already flickering from the robe, is now drawn like a magnet to the scene beginning to play out between Pyrene and D'renn. She watches with sheer interest, the possibility of fresh gossip too strong a lure to resist, and the robe is forgotten.
D'renn would say he doesn't know what Pyrene's talking about, but a little glimmer of memory causes him to suddenly snort.
Pyrene suddenly picks up her own robe and folds it again, setting it away neatly before she re-engages in battle. And she catches that snort, she does. "Well? Are you going to apologise for it then?" Do some dreams come true after all?
To keep herself from coughing, Tiri sips on her luke-warm klah constantly, breathing through her nose and sending steam up from the mug as she listens. What /did/ D'renn tell C'lan? Ah, yes, the soap opera of the weyr as Pyrene acuses D'renn of dastardly deeds... Last time, on As the Dragon Turns... ;)
"Apologise for /what/, Pyrene?" D'renn's rather exasperated now. "What have I done that you have to make me suffer this way?" That's it, play the pathos card...
D'renn can play a whole hand of pathos cards, it's not going to coax any sympathy cards out of her. "You /know/ what you said to him, and I'm certainly not going to repeat it here. There are children about." And she doesn't want the brats to get hold of this, candidate ones or no.
[Bad Pyrene, starting a pose with somebody else's name and forgetting to
include her own!]
Quara gleefully absorbs every nuance of phrasing and posture, her mind spinning theory after theory as new 'evidence' reveals itself, gossipmonger truly happy.
"In that case, I can't answer any of your accusations, Pyrene," D'renn replies with a whole heaping of dignity added for flavour. "Does anyone want to come for a ride out of the Weyr?" he glances around at the other Candidates.
Tiri silently scowls at D'renn. /She's/ not a child! Well, err, technically speaking... Maybe mentally... Oh, forget it... Tiri listens impatiently, waiting for some sort of secret to be revealed... Then she can go tell the people in the Living Caverns and then /everybody/ will know! Mwhahaha!
Pyrene clenches her fists at sides and jerks her head in a nod, still glaring. "Fine... we can talk about this outside then." She'll just have to get D'renn out of earshot of everybody else. "And you can leave Kolen behind..."
Tiri puts down her klah. "Go outta the weyr? I'm there!" Of course, Tiri hasn't yet realized that the 'ride' will be on a dragon. Not only is she more than a little afraid of them, she gets airsick. Joy.
Quara is hardly a child... Why, she's older than Pyrene is! Not by much, but... At the mention of a ride, she shakes her head miserably. "I've gotta finish my robe," is her mournful response. Apparently, she's procrastinated far too much already.
"Did you say something, Pyrene?" D'renn asks her, extra sweetener piled on this time.
Lylia has connected.
Lylia wakes up.
Shaela slips back out to the caverns.
Oh look Shaela went - evidently scared of Tiri's cold. "Well, who's coming out for a trip?" D'renn asks again, ignoring Pyrene once more, since she didn't answer. "Get warm jackets...."
Huh? Wha? Lylia's not awake, and as she peers over her pillow at the scary Weyrlingmaster, all she can think of is that she'll end up in the lake. "Wha...?"
Pyrene throws her warm jacket, still scowling darker than between. And ignoring D'renn. For now.
D'renn pauses. And scowls. "Trydanth says we can't go for a ride just now. He wants me." *grumble*
Pyrene drops back down on her cot again, as if throwing the jacket at the weyrlingmaster exhausted her. "Coward." she comments. "Don't think I'll forget either."
"Forget /what/, Pyrene?" Poor exasperated - slightly red-faced - D'renn. But never mind... with another scowl he's running from the barracks, muttering something about "Sharding green..."
D'renn slips back out to the caverns.
[Gap of some time while the other candidates disconnected, but Gekoki
logged on. Quality, not quantity, right?]
Pyrene finally stows away her robe, shaking her finger at the attendant lizards. "And don't you dare try playing hide-and-seek in that one." They give her assorted unrepentant looks and cheek rubs, and the candidate sighs. "I /need/ a break... out of the weyr... or at least as far as is permissible." She looks around the barracks for co-fugitives.
Gekoki pricks her finger on her needle once again, giving it another characteristic spot along the seam. If she's going to bleed, she might as well make her robe pretty with it... But she's eager enough to stash the half-finished white robe away as Pyrene suggests a change of pace. It's been work, robes, egg-touching, work, perhaps a prank, with no rest at all. "Oh, well, where would that be, Pyrene?" She's none too familiar with the area outside the bowls and the living caverns.
Pyrene beams delightedly as she gets a volunteer. "Oh, I know a place. It's /technically/ within the borders of the weyr, but you won't find many there at this time of turn... got any swimming things? Might want them. I tend to just use my smalls myself..." She does get out two towels though, winking at the girl. Early spring in the reaches, perfect time to go swimming, no?
Gekoki hadn't thought she'd need swimming things when she came to High Reaches. Not like she was wearing them or anything, when she came. She still can't see any reason to have swimming things. Technically spring or no, winters chill seems to take delight in lingering for the first couple of weeks. "Unh, all I've got're mine too," she says uncertainly. Pyrene doesn't realy mean to swim in the lake, right? But she mentioned outside the Weyr... Where could it be?
Pyrene beams innocently at the girl, knowing from previous experience with visitors exactly what she's thinking. "Oh, good..." she trills, scooping her thick jacket from the floor where it fell earlier. "Wrap up warm then, you know how cold it gets..." Following her own advice, she heads out, a couple of lizzen in tow.
[To the central bowl!]
Central Bowl
Seven spindles brush the clouds -- quite literally -- overhead, a jagged, spired cotillion grey-stoned majesty. The bowl from here is expansively large, extending a full half mile in both directions, and although sometimes a bit of a stretch, most of the hubs of activity can be easily observed. Hard-packed ground shows the common pathways, all of them meandering about the craggy bunch of boulders that form a centerpiece: carven, hand-worn and foothold-full, it gives a bit of centerpoint to the otherwise vast emptiness of the area.
To the north lie the hatching grounds and leadership weyrs, while the lows of herdbeasts mark the feeding pens to the northeast. A flurry of ever-present activity marks the living caverns to the west, and another time-traveled path the ground weyrs just adjacent to the southwest. Southeast, a glint of blue shows the lake, glittering and cold.
It is a spring afternoon. The afternoon sunlight casts lazy shadows over the ground, which is still damp from the morning's fog. The shadows in and around the mountains are cool, where the sun's rays can't reach. Where the sun touches, though, the air is warm, with a hint of the scent of budding plants and growing things on the wind.
Clinging to footholds in the boulder-mound are Zhaneel, Kynance, Yum-Yum, Sassinak, Aria Moon, Infinity, Mosfet, Pix, Tiramisu, and Oisin.
Brown Sevareth, green Zaqith, and green Yshanth are here.
You see a wagonmaster, TumbleWeed, Emerald, ***Hatching Rules (l Rules)***, and Wagon Two here.
Sorana and Alfi are here.
Obvious exits:
Pens Northern Bowl Caverns Ground Weyrs Lakeside
Alfi waves to the Candidates with a weak smile. "No rugs, right?"
Gekoki giggles. Rugs? That's yesterday's news. "No rugs," she assures Alfi.
Sorana smiles as the two Candidates walk in. "Hello, Pyrene," she pauses, "hello," is said to Gekoki.
Alfi sighs. "Good. I need nothing else to try my nerves at the moment."
Out into the brisk air, no rugs today but towels! "Afternoon?" Pyrene waves brightly at the other two girls. "Geko and I are just taking a break from candidacy and going for a swim, want to join us?" Seeing how warm the weather is and all...
Alfi looks behind her. "I will if I can escape."
Sorana smiles, and glances around. "Well, I guess...it's kinda damp..."
Pyrene nods, casting a quick glance around at dragons... no riders, no blues. Safe. "C'mon then..." and she heads off, thankfully not lake-wards but to the ground weyrs.
Gekoki shrugs, and follows Pyrene, still befuddled.
[And Sorana tagged along...]
Open sky is exchanged for protecting stone.
Ground Weyrs
Once a mere overhang in the bowl wall, this arched stone enclave was deepened in aeons past by who-knows-what to provide shelter for injured dragons and their mates. Craggy walls loom high to dwarf rider and dragon alike, sloping back from the weather-open entrance to a low opening into the infirmary itself. Stacked under rock-shaded cover are low supply chests of sturdy timber, flanked with long tables. Other openings are shaded by wherhide curtains, leading to smaller, private caverns for the dragonhealers' patients.
It is a spring afternoon. The afternoon sunlight casts lazy shadows over the ground, which is still damp from the morning's fog. The shadows in and around the mountains are cool, where the sun's rays can't reach. Where the sun touches, though, the air is warm, with a hint of the scent of budding plants and growing things on the wind.
Green Siulth is here.
You see Tesarre here.
You notice Saoirse asleep here.
Obvious exits:
Bowl Inner Ground Weyr Infirmary
Pyrene pokes around the eastern wall for a bit... "I know that key's here somewhe--aha!" She scoops it up and waves it to the followers, "This way..."
Sorana follows curiously....
Finding the key, you slip it into the rusted lock and push open the corrugated iron grate.
Gekoki arrives from the ground weyrs, closing the heavy grate behind them.
You begin, then, heading up up up that endless flight of stairs and tunnels, passages and rooms. Up out of the very Weyr itself.
Lower Alpine Meadows
The hills are alive, with the sound of water: water gurgles merrily down through the scrub-forest and continues west, towards the weyr. And the spit and bubble of thermal-pools beckons with a coy flicker of steam and the promise of hot-water. A small waterfall splashes off to the east, where the trail rises higher towards the distant glacier.
It is a spring afternoon. The afternoon sunlight casts lazy shadows over the ground, which is still damp from the morning's fog. The shadows in and around the mountains are cool, where the sun's rays can't reach. Where the sun touches, though, the air is warm, with a hint of the scent of budding plants and growing things on the wind.
On the perch is Cynic.
Obvious exits:
Meadows Volcanic Pool Back to the Weyr
Sorana arrives suddenly, stepping out from behind some rocks.
Sorana raises her eyebrows. "Oh! I didn't even know about this..." She gazes 'round in childish delight.
Gekoki arrives suddenly, stepping out from behind some rocks.
Pyrene shivers slightly and raises surprised brows at Sorana... "You didn't? I'd have thought the brats would have shown you by now... But isn't it pretty. And now we can swim." What? Cold? Windy? C'mon, be brave. And bracing herself, she does indeed divest herself of coat and outer garments, shivering furiously.
Sorana follows Pyrene's example, and shakes her head, black hair flying. "Nooo...they hadn't. Swim?" she looks around. "Ohh..."
Gekoki still seems to be under the impression that Pyrene, dear sweet Pyrene, has broken under the pressures of Candidacy, no matter how her nanny-ing skills prepared her. With the utmost hesitation, she starts pulling off layers. And layers. And layers. As her teeth begin chattering, she gets out in a quavery voice, "And the point of this was?"
Pyrene turns to Gekoki, trembling to the point that Tremayne takes off in disgust, and grins through her own chattering teeth. "To relax!" And without further ado she jumps into the pool.
The water flows around you...
Volcanic Pool
Somewhere in the depths of the mountains heat boils and burns towards the surface of the earth; rock bubbles, stone melts, lava flows. Here, barely on the surface, some faint reflection of those fires warm these pooled waters. One is hot -- almost too hot -- one just right, and one as icy cold as the snow that oftens surrounds them. The contrast of ice and steam set one's skin -- or hide -- tingling.
It is a spring afternoon. The afternoon sunlight casts lazy shadows over the ground, which is still damp from the morning's fog. The shadows in and around the mountains are cool, where the sun's rays can't reach. Where the sun touches, though, the air is warm, with a hint of the scent of budding plants and growing things on the wind.
To the south, you see two people.
Obvious exits:
Stream
Warm, warmer, warmest; this retreat soothes the soul.
Sorana slips into the warmth of the heated water.
Sorana relaxes..."Oooo, Py, this is warm..."
Gekoki slips into the warmth of the heated water.
Pyrene just finds some water-smoothed rocks to drape herself over and ahhhhs. "That is /so/ much better..." she murmurs, sinking as low as she can underwater. Her exposed face is reddened from the cold, but the relaxation granted to her other limbs easily compensates.
Sorana splashes a bit, then ducks under the water, coming up sputtering a bit. "Wow, I haven't swam in a long time..."
Gekoki's eyes widen in surprise, and she almost scrambles right back out. She hadn't expected it to be so /hot/! But the crust of snow wreathing the pool gives her reason to stay. Her voice still quivering, she tries finding a comfortable position - remarkable easy to do - and says, "This /is/ much nicer than robes or chores..."
Pyrene giggles, fingers playing with Kernow as the gold revels in the water /and/ heat. "It's been a long time since I've done this--turns since I've not had to watch that the brats don't drown while I'm at it...." How are you two?
Miny slips into the warmth of the heated water.
Miny waves. "Hi everyone." She looks around. Never been here before. Hot. Or cool?
Sorana turns her wet head as another person slips in. "Hello," she remarks, luxeriating in the far-from-tepid water. "I'm fine, Py, just a little excited about the eggs." She frowns a bit. "I haven't seen a Hatching since I left Telgar...the Senior Queen had just laid, at that point.."
Pyrene yawns in the water, belatedly remembering to wind her plaited hair into a bun on top of her head. It's not fun getting out with soaked hair. "You've not seen a hatching until you've seen a Reaches hatching," she declares to Sorana with more than a dash of patriotism.
Miny looks around some more.
Gekoki might just have to make sure that Pyrene works even here. Pushing away from the sides, she half-heartedly swims a couple of strokes into the middle before splashing back to the side, where it really isn't as hot, hard as that is to believe. Raising a rosy hand out of the water to peer at her appendage, she looks down at the blurry image of body, reddened as much if not more - she can't tell. "Well, I'm excited about the Hatching too... Except, I'll have to say goodbye to most of the others Standing, dragon or no..." She sighs and dips her head under the water.
Sorana grins a bit and raises her eyebrows, asking, "Really? How so?"
Miny looks around some more and says, "I've never seen a Reachees hatching. Why are they special?" She hangs her legs into the water.
Pyrene keep at least a quarter of an eye on Geko then. She does look like she can swim after all. "Oh, our hatchings are the best. I've seen a couple of others and they just aren't as interesting." Mainly because Pyrene doesn't know the candidates there, but still... "And this is Chayath's first... which is exciting... wonder what her kids'll look like." She glances at Geko for that comments and nods softly. "It's odd after hatchings, always... a lot quieter..."
Because of Geko, of course. But wait, that's not quite right - she hasn't been to every single one of them. This one will be extra special then... "Well, I'm sure her kids will have horns, and be ugly, and be all blues, except for the browns that Py picked out for some of us. That's how first clutches always are," she nods her head definitively, woudln't she know about this sort of thing? Her eyes twinkle before she ducks herself again, coming up with a face that's red as a redfruit...
Sorana goes home.
Miny glances at Pyrene. "A lot quieter? Like, less pranks and stuff? Hope so. Either way, if the candies are quieter, then I'll be happier." She looks at Geko, hearing what she said. "Really? I don't think dragons are ever ugly."
Pyrene half chokes at that, and flicks water at Gekoki. "Hey! What do you know anyway, miss holdbred!" she scolds teasingly. "But yes, there will be browns... there'd better be." She chuckles wryly at Miny's comment, pushing herself out to experiment with the currents in the pool. "Dragons are ugly when they hatch. They're all squashed up from being the egg adn they're covered with goop." Sad, but true.
Miny nods at Py. "Of course the hatchlings are ugly, but after, they're not ugly at all!"
Gekoki twitches, sending heated ripples in all directions. That's exactly why she should know everything about dragons - she's holdbred. And she listens to the Teaching Songs. A Harper wouldn't lie to her, right?
