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 in May, 1999, for the benefit of members unable to attend. Logged by Pyrene.
On the Beach with Taliesin
Beach
Ancient dunes have been flattened by the endless parade of people and dragons that tramp northwest across the bowl, leaving a mere skiff of sand here along lake's beaten edge. Footprints litter the curve of beach, some left turns ago and caught frozen in the heavy clay earth near the water's edge. As the sun sets, shadows invade, creeping like fingers across the gently sloping ground and darkening the distant ledges on the far side of the lake.
To the north, dust rises from the redolent pens while the flattened disc of the main bowl is just a step to the northwest.
It is an autumn before dawn.
To the north, you see Zaqith.
Darting here and there are Brieze and Tiramisu.
Bronze Hinoth is here.
You see Question Deck and Tidepool of Bubbles here.
Taliesin is here.
Obvious exits:
Stables Feeding Pens Central Bowl Lake
Pyrene wanders across to the beach, yawning slightly and hugging herself. Alerted by Gunwalloe's sudden chittering from her shoulder, she pauses and peers through the gloom, "Somebody there?"
A rock suddenly moves, and stands, the thing turning to her, before it's easily identifiable as a man, and then a voice follows it, "Taliesin here...who is that?" Slipping towards the person slowly, Tal tilts his head sideways.
Pyrene jumps. It's far too early for moving rocks. "Pyrene," she calls, once back in her skin, "What are /you/ doing /here/ at /this/ time of night?" You could well ask her the same question, but she got in there first.
"I've been out here all night, haven't really been able to sleep tonight..." Reaching her, Taliesin bows down and takes her hand, kissing it soflty and smiling. "How're you doing Pyrene?"
Pyrene blushes, always easily won over by chivalry. Wal chirrs jealously but is quieted by simple expedient of a hand wrapped around his snout. "I was asleep, and then one of the babes had a bad dream or something," she grimaces. "Anyway, I couldn't get back to sleep after that, so I decided to come for a wander. I thought you were a candidate now, anyway? Don't they keep you busy enough with chores to get you tired?"
"Yesterday was an easy day...I'm on midder duty, and there was hardly anything." Tal smiles and gestures her over to where he's sitting, in a bit of a dip in the sand, with a blanket in it. The sky clear, and the view the stars.
Pyrene settles gratefully down onto the blanket, pulling a red-eyed Wal into her lap so that she can make sure she's got a good grip on him. "Thanks... midden duty?" She blinks, and makes a face. "You call /that/ an easy day." Sniffing slightly nervously, she tries to surreptitiously edge away from him--not too easy when you're sitting.
Laughter at that, and Taliesin shakes his head and reaches around her shoulder, scooting her back close, but not too close. Wouldn't want to scare her. "I don't smell bad, already took a bath.."
It's probably Taliesin who needs to worry. Pyrene spends a good part of her days changing babies, and she doesn't always have time for a bath. But she relaxes a little, shooing the squirming lizard from her lap and into the water. Chewing the end of her stringy plait, she wonders, "So if midden duty is OK, what /do/ you count as bad?"
"Spending the night hanging upside down from the only tree in a field during a lightning storm?" Taliesin leans over and winks to her, and then stretches a bit in his sitting position, eyes going to the stars again, watching them queitly.
Pyrene blinks and shoots him a quick look. "I'm sure that's not expected of you." Reasonably sure anyway. "I mean, what chores do you have to do that's worse than midden duty?" Go on, make her feel better about her life. Sour grapes are good for the soul... or at least good for her peace of mind.
"Cleaning the stables. That's horrible..and I hate peeling tubers too. I /hate/ tubers..." Shifting onto his side so that he can smile at her as they speak, Taliesin shrugs a bit. "I can cook anything else, just not peel tubers."
Pyrene can safely say that she never goes into the stables. She sees enough muck in the nurseries and has no experience with runners and such. She leans back and nods, "I've peeled tubers before, now I usually get the kids to do it if they need help in the kitchens... not that it's always a good idea to give them knives." A wicked smile flits across her face and she stretches forwards, peering at the soapsuds lapping the shore with idle curiosity. "Glad to hear you can cook... not all candidates can."
