The Golden Zenith (D'seus)

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This is not my weyr. The thought blearily skittered through Suynie's mind as she peeked open one eye, only to be blinded by the bright sunlight pouring in through the broken shutter that was closed over the window in the small weyr. Raising one hand to shield her eyes, Suynie pushed up to her elbows, and nearly squeaked as a draft of cold air swept over her body. And I'm naked. Was her next discovery. Clutching the sheet up higher over her body, Suynie glanced around the weyr and realized that she as in the flight room.

Rhiannoth had risen just at sunrise and judging by the sun now it was probably along midday. Just the thought of lunch made Suynie's stomach rumble in hunger. She'd missed breakfast, after all, and judging by the weak, and slightly achy feeling of her body, she and-- she looked over to see who was with her- D'seus had worked up an appetite.

Flashes of the flight began filtering back to Suynie as she came fully awake. Rhiannoth in the air teasing the males, and then finally deciding that the strong, and experienced Zorometh was going to be her mate. Well, out of all of the possible bronzeriders that she could have woken up with, Suynie was pleased that it was D'seus. Thank Faranth it wasn't A'lez, his bronze hadn't even participated.

Suynie also had the feeling that things would have been extremely awkward if Or'yn had won, not that he wasn't nice, but she'd heard through the grapevine that he and Marlaey had eyes for each other.

D'seus was one of those bronzerider that women often talked about when they were together. Suynie had heard lots of things about the bronzerider, particularly, that he never had trouble finding someone to warm his furs if he wanted. Now Suynie could see why. She shook her head as her thoughts revisited the flight.

Unsure of exactly what sort of protocol others usually followed, Suynie decided that she would start getting dressed, after all, she couldn't stay in this flight weyr all day and she wanted to get some lunch while the midday food was still fresh.

Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, Suynie left the sheet behind as she gathered her clothing and then sat back down on the edge of the bed and began dressing.

[HG]

Something is moving. The first thought that came to mind was he hadn’t been with anyone in the last few nights. He had the boys this weekend so he had abstained from allowing females over in case their Foster parents needed him to take them sooner. Which then begged the question, why was something moving on his bed? Apparently the flight had worn him out enough that he was not clear headed when he began to wake. Images popped into his head and he realized, Zorometh had actually won Rhiannoth’s Flight. Thank Faranth. What would the Weyr do without someone they knew and trusted helping lead the weyr. That was his first thought but it did not mean he felt nothing about the young woman and her dragon. They would be treated well because after all, D’seus knew how to be a good partner in more ways than the one he was known for.

He wiped the sleep out of his eyes and blinked them slowly. Then he stretched languorously before sitting up in the bed. He made no move to cover his well-muscled chest. He felt his stomach rumble and repressed a groan. Faranth’s Egg he was hungry! Zorometh was sleeping, curled around his Queen. He would not wake for a long while. Flights took more out of the dragons than the people sometimes. D’seus was a good enough mannered person not to watch her dress. Instead he went to get his clothes, as quietly as she had. There would be time to talk over food.

As he sat back down on the opposite side of the bed he opened conversation, “You hungry? Cause I can tell you I wouldn’t be full if I ate an entire herdbeast.” Well…maybe a whole herdbeast. He was feeling a bit confident about them, they could at the very least get along when it came to the Weyr and what direction they wanted it to go in. Now the romantic aspect of things, he was not going to push anything on her. She was younger, much younger than he was and she might have interests in someone else. If things developed there, he wouldn’t mind either. Queenriders were his weakness. They almost demanded attention and even when they didn’t one could not help but think about them constantly. He had only been in love with Goldriders. Greenriders, caverns women, they were for flings. He was more like a Bronze dragon than he would like to admit in that moment.

Once he had finished dressing he asked, “Mind if I escort you to lunch?” He was not going to push his presence on her either. Sometimes women were not happy with whom had won their flight and left in a hurry to get away from the winner. They needed to analyze their situation and get a grasp on what had happened. He won enough flights to know that. He did not know Suynie well enough to know how she felt about the outcome. His boots were on and despite not bathing right after a heated flight, he did not smell too bad. After lunch though, bathing would be in order. He had to look the epitome of a Bronzerider. The Weyr viewed him as such and he had to live up to it now that he was Weyrsecond.

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Suynie hadn't even considered that she would definitely need a bath until she went to run her fingers through her hair. Gross. Oily hair was never attractive, so the goldrider pulled it into a quick braid over her shoulder before finishing the last button on her tunic. Standing, she ran her palms over her thighs, which felt soft since she was wearing a pair of her riding leathers. She stole glances at D'seus as he dressed, admiring the physique that he had to show off. So glad D'seus won. She thought to herself as she took a quick glance around the flight room to make sure that she wasn't missing anything.

"Lunch sounds great, actually." Suynie conceded, happy that the man offered. The last thing Suynie wanted to do after her first flight was go eat in the Dining Cavern by herself, at least if D'seus went things would be less awkward. Regardless of what they'd felt about each other before, Zorometh catching Rhiannoth bound them together in a partnership when it came to the Weyr.

Because of D'seus's reputation with women, Suynie had to remind herself not to get too far ahead of herself where the man was concerned. Being glad that he had won her flight, and showing a mild interest in him was one thing, but letting herself get infatuated was another. She didn't need some bronzerider stringing her along and breaking her heart. Ever since Impressing Suynie had always sworn that she wouldn't let something like that happen to her. Women who fawned after men were weak.

[HG]

There were moments like this when D'seus felt a bit out of place in the grand scheme of the world. He should be Weyrleader. Suynie should be Weyrwoman. Now they had to come in second to the snarky Queenrider, Sakorai and that asshole J'ldaem. He didn't have many nice things to say about the Bronzerider. Understatement of the Turn! He was going to hate every waking moment.

Working under him was going to be so difficult. If only he were young and foolish! Then he could disappear when needed the most to avoid the dreaded discussions between the four of them. He hoped Emera was better at dealing with the pair of them than he was going to be. Once again he was making the mistake of over thinking what might happen in the future. There were plenty of things that had happened that were working in his favor.

For one, he was now Weyrsecond. On top of this Suynie had accepted his offer for lunch which meant she was amenable to them getting along and working together at the very least. Which honestly was all he would ask of her. Out of the others, he supposed he was the best choice for the Weyr, he could handle all the tasks that lay before them.

Where J'ldaem and Sakorai were not readily accepted by the Weyr, Suynie and himself would be the mortar holding the place together. He walked around to her side of the bed and was happy to see she was ready to get out of the somewhat small flight room. It was not small in that it had room for a bed but compared to his Weyr it was. Just like he hated to sit still long, he didn't like small rooms. The enclosed feeling bothered him.

Now he held out his right hand for her to take or not as she chose. D'seus was full of surprises as usual although he did not really know why it was so surprising to people. They all seemed to think women liked him because of how he looked more than anything. Often leaving people to forget his natural charm and consideration for other people.

The silence should have been more awkward than it was. Somehow they managed not to try to talk about silly things that were of no importance to either of them. Chit chat in and of itself was not horrible but in moments like this made things feel incredibly off. His stomach rumbled lightly again. Sighing he thought to himself, time for the walk of fame. Yes, he used fame instead of shame. Winning a Gold flight made one quite prestigious and it wasn't at all shameful to find himself in bed with a beautiful woman.

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Suynie smiled at the hand that D'seus offered and slipped her smaller, left hand into his. Perfect fit. She noted as they left the weyr and headed for the Dining Cavern. As she walked beside of D'seus Suynie had to remind herself that she was his peer. Even though the bronzerider was ten Turns her senior and had even been Weyrleader, she still rode a Gold, and since she'd been trained for the position that Sakorai had taken from her with the bringing forward of her tiny Queen, it inevitably thrust Suynie and D'seus into a partnership. While protocol gave Sakorai and J'ldaem the authority, there were still those in the Weyr that looked first to Suynie and D'seus for guidance.

Stepping in to the Dining Cavern, Suynie could feel as heads turned to survey the latest pair in the Weyr. Chin up, and shoulders straight, Suynie walked confidently beside D'seus. Even though she'd been absent from Refuge for a Turn, this was her home, this was where she belonged, and now Rhiannoth had proven to the people that had doubted whether or not she would rise. Rhiannoth's flight had been a glorious display of power and strength, and Suynie knew with certainty that Rhiannoth and Zorometh would create a clutch that would awe the Weyr.

"I don't know why I was so nervous, I don't think anyone noticed us coming in at all." Suynie spoke in a dry, sarcastic tone, her lips lifted into a little smile. Even as they moved towards the Head table it was easy to feel the laser-like stares that were trained on them. The people of the Weyr would be gratified to know that D'seus and Suynie could and would work together for the strength and preservation of the Weyr. Presenting a united front was incredibly important.

[HG]

It was nice, holding a woman’s hand again. Lately his trysts had been brief and there had been little to no time spent on the finer things. D’seus He laughed a light amused laugh. “Oh don’t let them fool you Suynie. Give them a few minutes and you will see the rumor mill running at its finest.” D’seus led the Queenrider to the Head Table. They needn’t get their own food since the drudges would be jumping all over each other for the chance to bring the pair some food. He let go of her hand to pull the seat at the center of the table out for her then slid it under as she sat down. Within a moment he was sitting next to her. The drudges would be along any moment, he figured.

And in fact, two were there a second after the thought crossed his mind. He asked for a fair amount of food, seeing as he was very hungry. D’seus was good about eating healthy though and ordered mostly vegetables, a small amount of roast herdbeast and a baked tuber. And as usual, he drank water. He tended to not drink klah much and preferred to drink water throughout the day. When he was done asking for food, he turned his attention back to Suynie.

“So have you figured out who is watching yet?” He had been through this before. People were trying not to be obvious. Not that it was a big deal to him but it was kind of fun, figuring out who was watching, who was talking about them. By tonight the whole Weyr would know some version of this story. Each story was a little more skewed than the last until eventually the story would be mostly untrue. Ahh gossip. The Weyr ran on it at times. His son was bound to have a very interesting, if wrong version of how the flight went.

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Suynie ordered for herself a hearty helping of the roasted wherry tips that she was so fond of, and as usual, she wrinkled her nose when the drudge asked if she wanted any greens. The goldrider's plate rarely, if ever, had anything green on it. Instead, Suynie asked for a tuber and a thick cut of bread. Once the drudge was gone, she scanned her eyes out across the room full of people, who were trying to go about their business, and yet at the same time watch the couple at the head table.

As her eyes scanned slowly around the room, two identical faces peered back at her- Zaylee and Vaylee. It was no surprise to her that the twins were looking, and unabashedly, Zaylee even sent her a wink and a thumbs up.

Smiling, Suynie shook her head at the blonde across the room before answering D'seus's question, "Well I just caught the twins looking, although they didn't seem to mind me knowing. Zaylee even gave me a thumbs up."

The drudge returned at that moment, setting the plates down in front of Suynie and D'seus. Quickly following that was a cup of water for the bronzerider and a chilled cup of fruit juice for Suynie. The aroma wafting up from the wherry was enough to make her quit worrying about who was watching and concentrate on her plate.

[HG]

“Oh if the twins are watching then rest assured, the Weyr is watching. Hope that doesn’t bother you cause you’ll be stuck with that sort of stalking the rest of your life.” Queenriders were always the talk of the Weyr…that is when Bronzeriders were not. Women and men alike loved gossip in all its forms. The good, the bad, the ugly, the odd, everything that made a good story was made into a good story.

The Bronzerider stopped talking for a few minutes to eat and drink though he barely put a dent in it before he was thinking about the near future and how they were going to handle events. He hoped she was as prepared as he was for what was to come. It was time to ask her some more personal questions. Not because he was curious but because he needed to know in order for them to proceed in their current working relationship.

“Do you feel like Refuge is your home now? I mean now that you are going to be stuck as Junior instead of Senior? Or does that matter much to you? ” He paused, “For the record, I am not interrogating you. I’m just figuring out your political views. We need to be on the same page when it comes to dealing with the Weyr and with our superiors.” As much as he wanted to throw J’ldaem off a cliff, he needed to remember what he became a dragonrider for and that even people he didn’t like were needed to preserve Pern.

His own opinions aside, he really wanted to hear what she had to say. He knew it sounded very much like he was interrogating her. He also knew that she was rather practical in nature. This would make things much easier on the pair of them later. He knew that more than anything. Romanticism was not the way to figure out how to lead with another person. He had already learned that. Love could easily cloud ones judgment. This practical approach would work best. They needed to discuss things that were going to affect them. Learning her opinions would only help him to support her decisions in the future.

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Suynie wasn't surprised by the question, but she did want to take care to answer it correctly. It wasn't that Suynie was going to try and buck rank and authority, after all, Issarith had risen before Rhiannoth, fair and square, except for the part where Sakorai and Issarith didn't belong in their time. According to all of their traditions and the ingrained social caste of the dragons, that made Sakorai and Jl'daem the Weyrleaders, whether Suynie and D'seus liked it or not.

"When I first came back from Haven," she twirled her fork through her fingers idly while she spoke, "this didn't really feel like home any more. Of course, the lack of welcome from the Weyrleader at the time, and his over arrogant and inexcusable behavior to a Queenrider, made me want to run back to Haven." There was no reason to lie about it now. A'lez had been far outside of his rank the day he'd told Suynie that he didn't have time to come to her office when she asked to meet him. She had been the Acting Senior Weyrwoman, and at the end of the day, the Weyrwoman, rider of the Queen dragon, governed the Weyr. A Senior Queen would be Senior Queen until she died, but a Weyrleader was interchangeable and men came and went from the position.

"After that first sevenday though I began to settle in to my position, and I was making good work of going through past records left behind from Raelwyn which were very informative to be honest. When Sakorai and Issarith first showed up I still didn't think that there was a chance that they would become the Senior pair. I feel as though ever since impressing Rhiannoth I've been trained towards being the Senior Weyrwoman, and now that it's not to be so I'm struggling to find my place in the hierarchy. Sakorai knows nothing about how Refuge works, and in my opinion, she doesn't want to know."

Suynie shrugged a little as she looked up and once again noticed several pairs of eyes on her and D'seus, "A part of me wants to see her fail, but that would mean the failure of the Weyr, which I do not want to see. So I guess that means as her Junior Weyrwoman I'll help out in whatever way I can." It was a long answer to a simple question but Suynie felt that she needed to explain her feelings to D'seus, perhaps the only person in the Weyr that would understand what she was going through.

[HG]

A slight chuckle escaped D'seus at the mention of her treatment by A'lez. She obviously did not know the Bronzerider that well. He was not arrogant but more aloof than anything. D'seus knew himself to be more open and charming and perhaps that was why he had won Raelwyn over the other man. Even if they both loved her. It had to be hard on the other man to know that the woman you were in love with loved someone else. D'seus had not been exactly thrilled with the news that Raelwyn would be transferring to Haven permanently and Suynie would be coming back to REfuge in her stead. However when one considered what was best for Pern there was no doubt they had made the right decision. Haven needed the most help and leadership.

He listened as actively as possible. "I know almost exactly how you feel. As do most Bronzeriders I'm sure. We all train for the day we'll be leader of the Weyr and then when that day does come to have it taken from you the next time a Gold flies is hard. I know, I've been there. Its been longer for me since I was leader but I do maintain my position of Wingleader which helps me stay sane." He paused and added, "I don't know much about the Weyrwoman to be honest. It seems she enjoys the company of J'ldaem which to me is a red flag. I do not care for the man since he almost killed Zorometh with his carelessness. He has more arrogance than any other Bronzerider here, myself included and I have the feeling he would rather have a title than actually work for it. There are big changes coming for the Weyr. My fears are being realized from the moment Issarith showed herself." His concern was clear on his face.

"We have to do more than help." D'seus amended her statement. "The Weyr will look to us and our actions to see how they should act toward the leadership. We are unfortunately in a position where if we don't act like we believe everything that Sakorai and J'ldaem do is the right thing, we will be causing the Weyr to break apart more. Most of the Weyr doesn't trust Sakorai and unfortunately J'ldaem has made his enemies here as well. We will have to hold the place together. J'ldaem and Sakorai will need us more here at the beginning. Once the Weyr trusts them and their clutch hatches people will feel better. Weyr morale will raise and we won't have to pretend to be happy about every thing they choose to do." It was clear he thought a lot about the subject.

"To do this we have to be on the same page. I think for the time being, we should appear at meetings and social events together. The Weyr needs to see stability." He was afraid that if the pair of them did not appear united on all fronts then people would not trust them either. D'seus was capable of being the perfect gentleman when the situation required it. This was one of those times. "I think having a meeting with the Leadership of the Weyr soon would be a good idea. Before the Queen's start getting egg heavy." He had some concerns he wanted to get out in the open with the other two present.

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Hearing D'seus's thoughts on the current Weyrleaders and the future of the Weyr made Suynie immensely grateful that Zorometh had flown Rhiannoth. There was no way she and A'lez could have cooperated, and the other bronzeriders had been young and inexperienced when it came to real leadership. Suynie had heard before that sometimes the queen would choose the bronze who had the most favor in the Weyr, and it made Suynie wonder if that wasn't what had happened this time.

"I agree, we should put on a united front." Suynie commented on the man's observation concerning them showing up to events together. "I'll do whatever it takes for Refuge."

At the mention of having a Weyrleadership meeting, Suynie's stomach twisted into knots. Suynie had yet to see much of the new Weyrleader, but if the rivalry ran as deep between him and D'seus as Weyr Gossip speculated, then the meetings could be quite an affair.

"What do you plan on saying at the meeting?" She asked, curious to know how D'seus was going to proceed with being directly under J'ldaem's authority.

[HG]

She agreed with him on everything which he had never thought to hear from a woman, ever. Then again it was likely Suynie was trusting his judgment due to the fact he knew the Weyr better than almost anyone and certainly better than the Weyr Leadership. It helped knowing she supported his idea they should be united. Now they could focus on what they were concerned about as far as the Weyr was concerned. The Weyrleader and Weyrsecond were responsible for the Wings, training the Weyrlings and anything that had to do with security or fighting. So obviously his line of thought ran toward protecting the Weyr from the Holdless.

“The Queens flew really close together. It’s the perfect opportunity for the Holdless to attack when Issarith is on the Sands with a Clutch and Rhiannoth too egg heavy to Between anywhere. We have to consider new protections for the Hatching Caverns as well as the rest of the Weyr. We also need to discuss Northern Candidates and how we will be handling them from now on. We also need to discuss the likelihood of future food shortages. With so many dragonets growing at one time, I think there will be a real danger of not having enough food for the young dragons to grow properly. “ He had many many things on his mind and this was only the tip of the iceberg.

There was so much to do and he did not want to waste another moment of their time not doing anything! D’seus was not one for sitting still long. “After lunch and a much needed shower, I will head to the Records Room to do some research before Shadow Wing has drills. “ He had failed to mention to her that he was a workaholic. One didn’t become a Wingleader or Weyrleader without studying and working a great deal. He spent many late nights reading records only to find dawn approaching. Zorometh was never happy when he did this. Even wise leaders needed sleep and he was not yet so very wise as his dragon.

Thinking of the Bronze, he caught the large dragon’s feeling of happy contentment as he slept next to his Queen. Well at least Zorometh would be satisfied for a while and he wouldn’t be in and out of green flights. Leave that to dragons who had not won Gold Flights recently. D’seus decided it was better not to think about how happy the Bronze was as it continued to distract him from his meal. The food, while delicious if one took the time to actually taste it, was gone quickly. He was a fast eater when he had a lot on his mind, like right now.

“It will be a busy day and I’m afraid I will not be able to join you for dinner tonight. I have Hinuk and Thoran.” He said in explanation. D’seus was not going to let her think he didn’t want to have dinner with her. Of course he was assuming she knew the same gossip most of the Weyr did. His eldest child was a hellion and it had come to the Headwoman’s attention the boy needed time with his father and had required D’seus to keep the boy with him a couple of nights a week. Hinuk’s time with him was having a good influence on the boy and his best friend Thoran. D’seus intended to see them stand at one or both Hatchings, depending on the results of the first one. They seemed to have matured lately into more than just boys with a knack for breaking the rules. They were becoming responsible for their actions and had firelizards to care for to boot.

“Perhaps tomorrow we can meet up?”

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Hinuk and Thoran.. ah yes, D'seus' son and his weyrbrat friend. Suynie had nearly forgotten that the man had a child. Not that it was an oddity, dragonriders often had children, and several of them produced from mating flights. It was a common event in the Weyr and needed, in Suynie's opinion, as it gave the Weyr natural Candidates that were born and raised around dragons. Even though Suynie herself had been a Holdbred child, she could see the benefits of having a childhood in the Weyr. It gave one a certain awareness of the surroundings and of dragons.

The mention of dinner made Suynie wave her hand in dismissal, "Don't worry about it, I'll probably just grab something and eat it in my weyr. A little privacy," she looked pointedly at some of the staring people in the Dining Cavern, "is nice at times." Besides that, if Suynie was going to be any help to Sakorai as a Junior Weyrwoman she needed to be truly studied and well-versed on the Weyr. Even though she'd been preparing for this since she Impressed, Suynie's holdbred education hadn't included all of the delicacies of Weyr etiquette and history. Therefore whenever Suynie had an opportunity to get her hands on an hold hide that held a teaching ballad or some history she usually read it with fervor.

Pushing away her finished plate, Suynie gave D'seus a smile, "Have fun with the boys tonight. I'll see you tomorrow?" She asked, unsure of what the man had planned for the next day. Having never worked with J'ldaem and being questionable on Sakorai's work ethic, Suynie wasn't sure how soon D'seus could manage to pull together a meeting between the four of them.

[HG]

Suynie was understanding about his situation which was what he had hoped for. He was probably becoming even more popular among the women of the Weyr because of the interest he was paying to his children. There were few rider parents that spent any time with their children. Foster parents were just as good at raising them. The system seemed to work as it promoted a sense of the Weyr being ones family rather than just the people one called their parents. He was flattered by the attention, perhaps more than he should be. D'seus was not one to be modest though. He was just as arrogant as the man he was now working for. Faranth keep him from saying anything stupid. The last thing he needed to do was push J'ldaem further away. With that in mind he realized he was going to have to talk to the boys about what being Weyrsecond meant and what that meant as far as his time was concerned.

She made a good point. They all needed time away from the gossip of the Weyr. Part of the reason the rankers had bigger weyrs was perhaps the need to isolate themselves even more than the other riders. He took a last sip of his water and placed the cup down. There was so much to do and keep up with and he needed a good wash before he met with his wing. After all, he had to look presentable. D'seus stood up after she proposed meeting up the following day. "Tomorrow." He promised. D'seus would make time for the Queenrider even if it meant pushing some of his work for later on. He would be remiss to say it was because they working partners. Sure he wanted to be certain that he kept a good relationship with the woman. However, he would not pass up the opportunity for more than that and he already saw that he might be able to pursue such an opportunity.

Smiling kindly at the woman, he turned and walked out of the Dining Cavern. Time to clean up and get some work done before the day was over.