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 Tuesday, July 13th, 1999, for the benefit of members unable to attend. Logged by Pyrene.
Sirra's Arrival and a Chat with Gideon
[This is really two separate RP sessions that happened in the same evening. Sirra is another person who sadly idled out and disappeared in due course, but I had some lovely RP with her a few times. Gideon here is the first Gideon, i.e. the same character as the present G'deon, but before he was nuked and recreated. The original Gideon was a couple of years older than Pyrene and Sonate was his green lizard]
Living Caverns
The rough-hewn majesty of this cavern far outpaces any delight in the multitudes of curves that form its enclosure. The glabrous grey granite is shot through with translucent obsidian, lending subtly-veined sparkle to the walls and the foot-trodden smoothness of the floor that shows centuries-old placements of the scarred trestle tables; carven hollows give homes for the glow baskets and the coat-pegs that line the walls. No mosaics, no painting, no tiles: just a few well-done tapestries mark the pathway that lead to the kitchen to the north and the inner caverns to the west, and frame the nighthearth's stew and snacks, while a heavier strip of oiled canvas shields the unwary from the wind in the bowl.
Tucked into a glowlit niche are Ghost, Nocturno, Kynance, Mera, Rocu, Cavort, and Poldhu.
You see Tray 'o bubblies, Question Deck, and Sabo here.
Sirra is here.
Obvious exits:
Bowl Kitchens Inner Caverns Crafting Area
Sirra sits drinking a cup of klah and watching the residents curiously.
Pyrene enters with her usual harried expression. Pacing over to a table, she slops some juice into a glass and flops down into a chair in relief. Kids are in bed, day is over... and she can stare at strange faces in the cavern. Such as Sirra's. "Hello?"
Sirra looks over at Pyrene at the greeting and then smiles "Hello.." she says. Eyes twinkling as she studies Pyrene.
Pyrene rests her elbows on the table, glass waving dangerously as she studies Sirra right back. "I don't recognise you," she accuses. "Are you new?"
Sirra grins at that and then nods "Well it's my first visit. I'm from around Ista hold." She then remembers her manners "Ohh I'm Sirra..and Ista's duties to high Reaches."
Sirra's manners remind Pyrene of her own. "I'll pass it on," she replies wryly, before adding, "I'm Pyrene. What brings you from Ista then? Escaping from the heat? I imagine it must be pretty hot down that way about now."
Sirra nods "Ohh yes..though it's about right around here. I just came with my father..he has some business to do here. The watchrider was nice enough to bring us when his shift was over.."
Pyrene grins, "Riders are handy like that, aren't they?" Forget Thread, the real reason riders are here, is to ferry Pyrene around. "So how long are you visiting for then?"
Sirra nods "Yes..when you can catch one. Father just happened to get lucky." she thinks a moment, fingers stroking a strand of her red-gold hair "I think about a sevenday. He said we may as well enjoy it and take a bit of time before returning..and he said sometimes business transactions take a bit."
Pyrene beams proudly, "Well, you'll need the sevenday. There's lots to enjoy around here." Not her original home maybe, but she's terribly loyal nonetheless. "I mean, obviously there's our cookies, although all our food is great... and you should get somebody to show you into the mountains one day, there's some nice meadows and stuff." She breaks off the spiel of tourist information to whet her throat with some redfruit juice, before adding, "Just avoid the kids."
Sirra laughs "Why? Are they that bad?" as she seems to take all this information in. she then cocks her head to the side and says a bit lower then she had before "I was thinking of maybe..well I think it's time for me to find a place or something to do..away from home."
Pyrene is already nodding vigorously to her first question, when she catches that last statement. She narrows her eyes and studies the girl again. "How old are you?"
Sirra shrugs "I have thirteen turns. But it's so crowded at the cothold..I have to share my cot with two other sisters and that's only because the other is still in a cradle."
Sirra smirks "And that not to mention my brothers either.."
Pyrene makes a face, "I can sympathise with you there... If you're thirteen, then I suppose that you won't need to go in the nursery then." She brightens up, ignoring the fact that there are 14 turn olds in the nurseries. She'll get them out someday. "Large family then? Are you the oldest or in the middle?"
Sirra grins "I'm closer to the top..not quite the middle and won't be if I keep having little brothers and sisters..I guess I was the third.."
Pyrene grins, "I'm somewhere in the middle and gravitating to the top the way my parents keep going. Although, they've not had one for a couple of turns... maybe they've finally seen sense." You'd have thought they'd do that after Pyrene, but apparently not.
Sirra nods "sounds like my parents but I've another brother or sister on the way already..the youngest is a turn old."
Pyrene regards her brown lizard for a moment thoughtfully, "Let's see... Trenny was born almost right after I Impressed Ky, so... yes, it must be a good three turns now. Thank Faranth, I'm already an aunt a couple of times over." Suddenly, she remembers the reason for such reminiscing and peers at Sirra agai, "So you're thinking of staying here?"
Hand stops stroking the strand of hair at the question and grey eyes focus more on Pyrene. Sirra's lips start to form a word then stops. She finally answers after a few moments of thought. "Yes I was thinking of it. I always wondered what snow and cold were like..and I'm tired of the hot. I want to get away, I mean I'm sure I'll be able to see my parents sometime..but it'll be nice that they won't be right there. You know?"
Pyrene nods emphatically, "Oh, yes! Parents are at their best when they're not right there." She looks towards the entrance and hmms, smirking. "Don't get many people wanting snow and cold over hot though. Ever seen a Reaches winter?"
Sirra shakes her head and grins "I've never even seen snow. But how bad can it be really..couldn't be much worse then the summers at Ista and the searing heat..where you can't even get cool."
Pyrene blinks at Sirra, "You've never seen snow?" She bites back a giggle, "Oh, I think you should stay then, if only for that. Some of our riders came from Ista you know... apparently some of them took awhile to adjust."
Sirra looks surprised "Really? I wonder why?" Obviously she has no clue just how cold cold can get. "Maybe I will..but what can I do around here? I mean what jobs are open or which tasks need filled."
Pyrene leans back thinking about it, "Not sure... we always welcome cooks of course, and there's guards and stuff. If you stay here long enough, the weyr'll find a use for you, trust me." She makes a face, speaking from all too bitter experience.
Sirra looks surprised "You seem to know..so I'll trust you. Aren't you happy here though?" she asks quietly, sounding a bit unsure of herself for the barest of moments.
Pyrene chuckles, "Oh, well, yes. It's lovely here, just wish I didn't have so much work. Anyway, it's an improvement on home and alwasy interesting." She giggles softly to herself, "Oh yes, always interesting..."
Sirra looks curious once more "Interesting how?" eyes ligting up a bit and highlighting the flecks of green and blue in her eyes. A soft smile starts to curl her lips as the excitement she was feeling earlier returns.
Pyrene laughs, "It's a weyr. You get all sorts of people coming in and out what with hatchings and Search. Plus you get all these insane riders around to make fun of."
Sirra laughs "You get to make fun of riders and they don't get angry?" Her girlish enthusiasm finally coming through. Now you can see once she gets comfortable there will be mischief abounding around the weyr.
Pyrene giggles, "Well, there's an art to getting away with it of course..." One which Pyrene hasn't yet mastered, "To be on the safe side, I'd make fun of them when their dragons /aren't/ around." Experience speaks again.
One finely arched brow arches even further. "Why? The dragons wouldn't actually hurt you would they?" sirra asks as she glances towards the bowl.
Pyrene ahems, "That's true, but it's amazing what they can do without actually /hurting/ you."
Sirra frowns "Like what?" Looking a little nervous again.
Pyrene lifts her hands and starts ticking them off on her fingers, "Well, burying you in snow, drenching you with slush, dropping you in water, waving you about with their tail--and for the more accomplished ones, just staring at you is enough." Oh, yes.
Sirra swallows hard and then nods "So just don't make riders angry when their dragins are awake.." she repeats softly "Don't need a dragon annoyed at me."
Pyrene chuckles, cocking her head at her wickedly. "And avoid proddy riders like the plague. It's not worth it, although sometimes there's good viewing entertainment to be had, if you keep a safe distance and don't draw attention to yourself."
Large eyes widen more at that "Proddy riders? Are they really all that bas as people say?" Seems sirra is rather a bit uneducated in some aspects..but then she's not been to a weyr before.
Pyrene shrugs at her, lips pursing, "I dunno, what have you heard? They're generally difficult though. If not outright dangerous... well, not physically, but they can get scary if you know what I mean?"
Sirra thinks a few moments "I just heard things like..nice ones becoming mean..and shy ones becoming agressive. but whenever I tried to listen they'd all shut up." She frowns then "So is that true?"
Pyrene giggles, "Well, it takes different people different ways..." she explains, eyes dancing, "Some get very, er, affectionate, some get very irritable, some just get extremely hyper. You'll learn who to avoid after a few months. The hard way." She winks.
Sirra wrinkles her nose "Affectionate in what way?" Not sure she like the sound of that and then sighs "Ohh well guess you have to learn sometime who to avoid."
Sirra stands and hides a yawn with a hand. she looks at you apologetically "I'm rather tired..would you mind if I went to bed? I'm sure father's wondering where I'm at."
Pyrene grins. "Oh, you'll figure it out. Night then, enjoy the cot to yourself?" She waves, and winks, before curling up in her chair with a pair of lizards.
Sirra laughs as she reaches the door way "Ohh that will be so nice..no sharing.." as she disappears into the lower caverns.
Sirra steps into the shadows that lead back into the Weyr.
[Later that evening]
Gideon arrives from deeper in the Weyr.
Sabo mews loudly as Gideon walks in the cavern. You'd think he'd had nothing to eat in Turns. Gideon just smiles and drops a meatroll next to the cat and moves on in search of food for himself. He beams as he sees Pyrene and waves quickly.
Gideon notices Sabo rub up against his leg, so Gideon happily takes Sabo into his arms.
Pyrene lifts a sleepy head from where she is curled in her chair with an equally tired pair of lizards. One of them was awake enough to alert her however, "Ky? Wha--oh, Gid. Good to see you... you're up late," she yawns.
Gideon nods, stretching his back slowly. "Aye. I needed to prepare for my next job, so I was up packing. I'm about done now, though, and decided to see if I could find something refreshing." He smiles suddenly. "And seeing as I don't get to talk with you all that often, this is /quite/ refreshing indeed."
Pyrene blushes and giggles wryly, "I'm afraid I'm not particularly refreshed myself right now... maybe if you got me a redfruit juice?" Conversation with Pyrene usually comes with the price of waiting on her. "Where's your next job taking you?"
Gideon grins. "I suppose I could do that," he replies, then slips into the kitchen, returning a few moments later with chilled red fruit juice in one mug, and milk in another as well as a plate of cookies. He hands the mug to Pyrene with a slight bow. "For you, maddam." He sits dramatically in a chair nearby then grins. "I'm not going too far this time, thankfully. Just Fort," he adds, finally answering Pyrene's question.
Pyrene oohs appreciatively as she takes the juice, "I really think you should stay here and stick to serving.... Which part of Fort? Weyr? Hold? seahold? And can I have a cookie?" One of those questions is considerably more important than the others. can you guess which?
"Fort Weyr first; there's still quite a bit of correspondence going back and forth so soon after the Hatching here. After that I'll go to Fort Hold, then back here. A nice short trip for a change," Gideon explains with smile while handing Pyrene the plate of cookies.
Pyrene nods, "I nearly went to Fort Weyr you know," she observes absently, "But 'Reaches was closer. Never did get to Fort--what's it like?" she takes the cookie, forgetting to thank him, and nibbles on it thoughtfully.
Gideon smiles and takes a cookie himself. "Well, first of all, it's older than 'Reaches. You can't always tell, 'cause it's still a Weyr afterall, but parts of it are just a little too worn down. It's also a bit different in the inner structure, though that's not always apparent either. Both Weyrs were partially carved out, but in places at Fort, the cuts just seem more precise at times." Gideon shrugs. "Maybe they just had more time, I don't know."
Pyrene thinks, suddenly looking at the walls of the cavern in a whole new light, "Always forget that somebody had to carve this place out to start with," she murmurs, then shakes her head, "But what about the more important differences? Is the food better there? The kids worse?"
Gideon chuckles softly. "There are definitely /more/ children, though I've never paid too much attention to their behavior. The food, in my opinion, wasn't the greatest. Way too salty, plus, I've never liked fish much, and they serve a lot of it, being so close to the ocean and all."
Gideon releases Sonate, who launches into the air.
Gideon drops Sabo as the feline suddenly decides he's tired of being held and leaps silently from Gideon's arms.
Pyrene icks to herself. "Oh, I'm glad I ended up here then. I hate fish." Not too hot on kids either. Tremayne squawks suddenly as Sabo leaps, never having seen a feline before, and Pyrene looks pained. "Mayne, please, not so close to my ear," she reproaches the bronze who stares accusingly at cat and Gideon.
Sonate chitters softly from her perch, apparently trying to soothe the bronze flit. Instead, she enjoys her own chirping so much that she continues to "sing" to herself, bringing an amused grin from Gideon. "She's still so young," he says softly, then smiles at Pyrene.
Pyrene giggles at the little green. "My boys are fond of her though..." she notes. Indeed Ky's watching her very closely, and so is Tremayne, although the bronze seems to be more confused about what's so interesting. "Good company for you though? On your mountain treks and all."
Gideon nods with a fond smile for the little green... who seems to be a bit brighter than usual, but perhaps it's just the light. "Yes, she's quite a good companion, really. Extremely intelligent." He reaches down to scratch Sabo's back. "This little guy, on the other hand, only likes to travel with me in the winter. He can't stand the rain, but he loves the snow for some reason."
Pyrene chuckles, "I've never had a feline... Never had any pets until I came here and then I got Pol and Wal almost right on top of each other. Since then, they've run me off my feet." Never mind the other two. She hasn't noticed if Sonate's any brighter, otherwise Ky definitely wouldn't be allowed to look. "They're good with watching the kids though. They get on quite well with a few of them too." Beyond her, but there you go.
Gideon nods thoughtfully, but then dismisses whatever thought had come to mind. Instead he takes a long drink from his mug. "Aye, they're quite clever, I'll give 'em that."
Pyrene chuckles and shakes her head, "Mine are as wherryheaded as some of the aunties here." She eyes Tremayne reproachfully, "I always thought bronzes were meant to be smarter." The month old lizard looks back at her innocently.
Gideon shrugs with a smile. "Who knows... perhaps they just enjoy life so much that compared to humans they seem rather silly." Gideon quickly finishes off his milk and sets the mug down on the table with a tray of other used mugs.
Pyrene grins and scritches affectionate muzzles, "Well, they certainly enjoy life, don't you boys?" She takes another cookie, deftly keeping it out of their eager maws and grins at Gideon, "Wish I was a fire lizard sometimes. Seems to be a much easier life."
Gideon smiles, nodding. "Aye, and especially a firelizard with someone to wait on it hand and foot." He grins up at Sonate, some unheard message between them, to which Sonate simply chirps, then flies down from her perch.
Gideon calls to Sonate, who flies over and lands on his shoulder.
Sabo steps into the shadows that lead back into the Weyr.
Pyrene looks ruefully down at hers, "That's about every lizard here then." The two preen smugly, chattering at Sonate.
Gideon grins then stands slowly as Sonate responds with a couple chitters of her own. "Well, I hate to cut this short, but I need to head to bed."
Pyrene nods, waving feebly, "Ditto... g'night."
