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 Monday, November 6th 2000 for the benefit of members unable to attend. Logged by Pyrene.
Waiting to Rise
Sardrinth's & Thesy's Weyr
The short, sheltering passage into the weyr leads directly to Sardrinth's couch, seemingly intended for a slightly larger dragon, which takes up about one third of this rather spacious cavern. A heavy woolen curtain, woven in warm rust and gold and cool green, which partitions off the blue dragon's couch from the rest of the weyr is currently held back to one side by a thick straw-colored rope. The basalt-veined, grey granite walls have been softened with tapestries, woven in geometric patterns of deep wine, soft rose, sunny yellow interspersed with cool greens and blues. The floor is likewise softened by a thick woven rug designed with a simple floral pattern in faded reds and creams. A huge, newly upholstered sofa and pair of wing-back chairs are set companionably near a huge fireplace which dominates one wall of the weyr. The intricately carved mantel is decorated with small pots of dried flowers and herbs which waft subtle scents throughout the living quarters. Next to the fireplace, off to one side is a large writing desk of dark, well polished mahogeny with a freestanding bookcase nearby containing shelves for the numerous hides and niches for a multitude of scrolls. Off to one side is a large alcove, curtained off from the public area, is a bed large enough for three people. The bed is neatly made and piled high with soft, wherry-down pillows and bedfurs covering the rush-sack. A clothes-press, set to either side with a matching chest for a rider's gear at the foot, complete the sleeping areas decor. A small archway near Sardrinth's couch shows the way to a luxurious bathing pool, set deep into the granite floor with a small ledge running around the top for relaxing. The ledge is strewn with cushions and a small shelf holds all the bathing accoutrements one could possibly need.
Suddenly you think of a summer's day at the sea as the faint fragrance of dried flowers and herbs, a starry blue hide adding the crispy scent of the ocean, refreshingly mingled with a touch of ripe lemon, wafts towards you.
On the ledge, you see Peorth, Sardrinth, Cadgwith, and Alymath.
Nestled in a corner of the sofa is Nocturno.
You see Thesy's Carving and Isthy here.
You notice R'gis asleep here.
Thesy is here.
Obvious exits:
Ledge
Lis ambles aimlessly in from the Sardrinth's Ledge.
Pyrene calls nervously down the tunnel as she heads in, "Thesy? You got a moment?" It's only then that she notices Lis following her. Oh... darn. "Thesy? not interrupting are we?" She fidgets, here now.
Thesy puts Isthy back into her crib and turns to the entrance, laughing, "Not at all, just don't be too loud. Rage is still asleep." From flying early morning fall and not what Lis might think.
Lis strolls in with the self-satisfied strut of someone entirely too full of themselves. Or other people - but that's technically confidential. "Oh, Pyrene. Didn't know we were making a party of visiting Thesy." Lis /does/ think what she's assuming, and just gives the aforementioned bluerider a lopsided grin. "Quiet, you," the greenrider murmurs to a rustling green on the ledge. "I'm not flying unless I have to."
Pyrene starts at Lis' choice of words, then her eyes fall on the prominent bulge in the greenrider's waistline and she relaxes into an eye-roll. "I wasn't planning to shout the weyr down, Thes," she points out acerbically. "Just wanted a quiet, professional, /private/ consultation." Is it that likely Lis will take the hint?
No, it's -not- likely, but that won't keep Pyrene from seeking advice anyway, no? "I didn't expect you to actually shout, she says and points to the couch and the chairs, "Have a seat and can I get you anything?" Lis is given a curious sideglance and her daughter a last checking one, but the girl's already more than half asleep.
"I can be quiet and professional... and I'll try not to listen," Lis offers valiantly, though she can't keep from sounding put-out at Pyrene's heavily dropped hint. "I'm fine," comments the greenrider Thesy-wards, whether she was being asked or not. Blue-clad, she fluffs out her skirt as she plops down. Yes, it's that material D'renn got her for her Turnday, long ago.
Pyrene takes a chair then, perching primly. "It was about Cadge really..." she adds, shooting a no-comments glance at Lis. Fidgeting, she hesitates. "I mean, she's fine and all... far as I can tell."
Thesy leans against the mantlepiece, hands tucked into her trouser's pockets, and tips her head at the seemingly uncomfortable goldrider, "Well, but something -is- worrying you, no? Are you sure you don't want anything?" Anything to make her more relaxed and give Lis something to keep her mouth shut, just in case.
Lis could deal very well with creampuffs. They're one of the best things to occupy her mouth. Meanwhile, the greenrider just shifts her foot and re-crosses her legs.
"Juice or wine would be nice!" Even nervous, Pyrene is ever-opportunistic. "She looks alright to you though, doesn't she? Cadge I mean," she adds incoherently. "It's just... well... she's still... Oh... What age range is it /normal/ for a gold to rise for the first time?" And another no-comment glare goes to Lis.
Thesy should have known ... a pregnant Lis and creampuffs never have been far apart. "All right, I'll be back in a moment and we talk about -that- then." Walking over to the service shaft, giving her orders and returning to her guests take her only a few minutes. "Well ... usually golds rise for the first time between 18 and 24 months, although some rise earlier and others need more time to mature enough ..."
"I'd think you'd be /happy/ Cadge hasn't risen yet, Pyrene," Lis comments from her seat, making a little satisfied noise as Thesy orders some creampuffs. "Flights are so much trouble sometimes." It's a very heart-felt sentiment; if only she could keep that satisfied grin from tugging at her lips.
Pyrene does her maths quickly. "But she's two and a half, Thes! I swear I've not fed her firestone... she's eating well and everything is going fine. She's just /not/ rising." Pyrene may not want to spawn herself, but neither does she want people muttering about her dragon being sterile or in anyway abnormal. "You seem to enjoy them," she snipes at Lis. Apparently her sense of humour is not fully charged today.
Thesy says, "Oh, my ..." the bluerider looks a bit stunned and a faint blush colours her cheeks, "Two and a half ..." The rattle of the arriving refreshments gives her a little time to regain her composure. Setting down a small tray with juice and wine, klah and a heaped plate of creampuffs, she settles in one of the chairs, "Help yourselves, please? Well ... that -is- rather late, even for a late bloomer. I'm sure you didn't feed her firestone. And she is really fine, apart from this?""
At least it's an improvent over muttering about Cadge's beauty (or lack thereof). Lis sinks a bit lower in her chair, cowering as she's so plainly read. "So I enjoy them a /little/." Just like Alymath enjoys males a /little/. Stretching forward in her chair, she snags a creampuff and munches complacently.
Pyrene picks at a cream-puff and nods gloomily to Thesy's question. "Oh, she's perfect. Her hide's gorgeous, her strength is up, she eats well, but not too often, she's happy and contented.... it's just /that/. That thing that is sort of the whole point of golds." Pyrene /would/ get the deficient dragon. Not that she would give a fig if Cadge's wings dropped off, but sooner or later, people are going to start talking.
"Hmmm ...," Thesy gets herself some juice, her reeling thoughts almost showing on her face, "I have to admit that I can't remember a gold that didn't rise for the first time for such a long time. But I suppose this -is- possible? What exactly is worrying you, Pyrene?" Leaning back in her chair, the bluerider regards her friend a little worried. "That something -is- wrong with her? Or that people will whisper behind your
back?"
"Both..." explains Pyrene ruefully. "I don't want anything to be wrong with her... Would you want Sardrinth to suddenly stop chasing in flights? And well, people snipe enough as it is about the way she looks. It's their own silliness... she's not /conventionally/ pretty, but..." that's part of her charm? "I just don't want people saying that she's not a proper dragon. Everyone knows that the Weyr relies on golds to keep its strength up." She sighs unhappily, and gives herself over to her cream puff.
Thesy remains quiet for a few minutes after Pyrene's explanation, an odd smile tugging at the corners of her mouth and her answer comes rather softly, " I do understand, Pyr. Really, I do." The crimson returns to her face. She has had her fair share of people sniping, no? "Believe it or not, Sardrinth hasn't chased a green since he flew Peorth. Those two are simply inseparable." Not that she is terribly unhappy about this but people -have- started to talk about it and the fact that Telynth isn't seen very often when he and his rider aren't on duty. "Anyway, I wouldn't worry ... yet. If she refuses to raise within the next six months, we should talk to Catia."
Pyrene sighs and glances to the ledge, where the gold is slumbering oblivious to both her rider's concerns and her current cramped conditions. "I'm worn down. Every time I feel a bit antsy I wonder if I'm going proddy. And I'm taking green-stuff like it's going out of fashion--/that/ couldn't have any effect on a dragon, could it?" Alymath and Lis are something of a case /for/ that argument.
Thesy chuckles and shakes her head, amused by the goldrider's conclusions, "I'm fairly sure that this isn't the reason. Or a lot of golds and greens would never rise for a flight, no?" And Alymath and Lis aren't quite the rule, no? "You really should stop worrying, there's no point in getting so upset about it. Cadge is one of the largest golds here at the 'reaches, I think only Tiareth is larger than her. Maybe all your fretting about this is holding her back?" She shrugs, not really knowing what to say to comfort Pyrene, "Talk to Nuff, she might have better advice?"
Pyrene eyes Thesy in some disbelief. "You're actually referring me to /Nuff/ for advice?" she asks, her humour returning. "And I try not to fret to the extent that she's aware of it. She's happy as she is." Her eyes glow happily, and she smiles at Thesy with more sincerity. "How're you, anyway? Keeping well?"
Thesy simply raises a brow, "I know ... but if she could help you, I think it would be worth it, no?" With some relief the bluerider notices Pyrene's humour and good mood returning, and her smile's a genuine one as she replies, "Well, then I think you just need to wait. Thank you, I'm doing fine." She chuckles, her eyes sparkling, "Have I told you that Rage has put a commission to the smiths for ... rings?"
Pyrene ohhs. "That's nice of him--wait, you're getting 'fasted?" There speaks the holder in Pyrene. "Or officially 'mated at least..."
"Yes ... we will." Thesy smiles and curls up in her chair, pulling her legs up, "As soon as Isolt will deliver the rings. Rage wants it to be something 'offical' but I have no idea what he has in mind exactly. He so enjoys to surprise me."
Pyrene grins gently at her old friend before reluctantly getting up. "I must go... I'll leave you to watch Rage and Isthy sleep." There, she didn't even wince as she mentioned Isthy. "I think I'll go cosset Cadge a bit..." Who needs a Rage when you can have that sea-thrown gold to love?
