Golden Praise (tag: Enlightened Sky Weyrlings)

[Lady Smara]

T’mak had heard both B’hari and H’nuk as they spoke their comments about Therion and he instantly wished he could have disappeared back into the candidate barracks. Even now, that they had gotten dragons, did they have to continue to be part of that ‘brat pack’ and cause trouble? Worse yet… was he still going to fall victom to their pranks and take the blame?

“Hey… You shouldn’t say things like that about a Queen…” He said softly so that only the nearby group, including Therion, could hear. “She’s a Queen…”he added, as if that simple fact should have explained everything. His face, however, paled as the Weyrwoman herself stepped through the crowd to the new Weyrlings.

Sakorai had been on her way to congratulate the newest of the gold riders within the Weyr. To be honest, she had actually found the young woman not only slightly annoying… but likable as well. She had a head on her that was quick witted and the girl was not afraid to lash out with her tongue. Speaking of tongue lashings, she seemed to be in the middle of a spat with the two newest bronze riders. At this the Weyrwoman frowned as she stepped up.

“I would say congratulations are in order, but when children are not old enough to realize this is a time for celebration and not a time for childish cutdowns, I’m afraid the children may not be welcome at the feast at all. Do I need to have K’vett remove your permission to even attend this hatching feast or will you shut your mouths and behave like civilized adults so that everyone may enjoy tonight? I’m afraid T’mak, the smallest of all of you and worst looking, is the only one with any reason in his head.”

It was clear by the Weyrwoman’s glare at the two weyrbrats as to which she was referring to as Children. “Should you think a second time that ANY queen is nothing more than a glorified egg producer, I will have Issarith ground your bronzes until you are old and grey. Don’t think she can’t with the rest of the queen’s backing her. Do you dare to tempt me young H’nuk? Young B’hari?”

Giving them a moment to argue with the Weyrwoman herself, she would have been surprised if they proved so stupid. Just because they rode bronze did not mean they had any right to the title dragonrider yet. They were still Weyrlings and their dragons would still be in awe of a full grown queen. For sharding sakes, even the full grown bronzes were still in awe of their queens. When it came to mental strength, none could surpass. These young weyrbrats had better remember that and learn it quick or they would not graduate until they were 30. Sakorai would personally see to that. A rude remark on any queen was a rude remark onto Issarith and she would not stand for it.

Turning to Therion, she gave the young woman a smile. “Now, I wish to properly congradulate you on impressing to a very fine and healthy queen. Do wish Kiiroth my best and should ANYONE give you any problems, let me know. I’ll deal with them personally.” As she said this last statement, her eyes glanced back in the direction of the young Weyrlings. Ah, she really needed to raise the bar on age limit for candidates it seemed… With the North now supplying candidates as well, it would become very doable.

[wolflover1458]

Therion was more than ready to deal with whatever H'nuk might have to dish out at her. He might be a child now, but she had been one once, and she knew how these kinds of games went. She'd done it as a child herself. Not very much, because she was busy enough learning and flaunting her intelligence, which had never left much time for playing around with the other, more substandard children. Still, she was quick enough to handle some so much younger than she.

It appeared, however, that H'nuk was not the only one ready to play this game, because the boy beside him soon joined in. So she was the one with the big ego now, was she? That just showed how utterly immature they could be. Of course, they might just be jealous that they were completely ineligible for Impressing the most coveted of dragonkind. And, it seemed that all young boys joined together. Strength didn't always come in numbers though. She would just have to word-thrash both of them, it seemed.

Unfortunately, the other boy had timed his retort to right when she didn't have any time to respond before they were paraded in and announced to the Weyr. Her mind was hardly on the long list of new Weyrlings (none of whom were important other than Therion herself), but rather on returning the favor to these She knew exactly what she was going to say, though, and had opened her mouth to lash back at him when Sakorai approached the new Weyrlings.

Sakorai might have meant to help Therion get out of the trouble she was in, but Therion was probably as annoyed as H'nuk and B'hari that Sakorai had shown up. She didn't mind seeing the two boys being corrected in public, or being embarrassed to any degree, but she did mind as though it now looked as though she had needed the Weyrwoman's help to get out of a mess she had been perfectly capable of dealing with herself. Now she wouldn't have the chance to prove to these two boys that she was more than a match for the both of them, and for anyone else they wanted to enlist in their game. Now she was going to have to wait for another day, and those two would probably think she would have been unable to handle them herself had Sakorai not shown up.

She wanted to show her displeasure to the Weyrwoman as well, but then she turned to her and gave her the first of the compliments that she had been waiting for. Therion was as unable to resist a well-deserved compliment as she desired to prove that she was capable of handling things herself. She was, after all, a Goldrider now.

So it was with some annoyance coupled with pleasure that she responded to Sakorai. "Thank you, Weyrwoman, although I believe that I shall be able to take care of myself. Of course, if anything very troublesome should arise," she looked back at the two boys when she spoke. She could take care of them herself, but even they should be intelligent enough to want to avoid the wrath of the (current) Senior Weyrwoman. "I shall be sure to inform you of it immediately."

She didn't want to deal with children right now anyways. They just needed to grow up and realize that they couldn't even be here if it weren't for dragons like Kiiroth. Of course, young boys rarely understood that. Once they were older, though, they would change. Therion was quite looking forward to that. Tonight, however, was a night for her and her alone. She could deal with them at a later time.

[♥Rizu-Chan♥]

H’nuk of Imhoth
Enlightened Sky Bronze Weyrling

Now this was exactly why H’nuk had little to no love for Goldriders. They were all so haughty and commanding, believing to apparently have it all within their right or something. It didn’t help that all dragons placed Golds in pedestals, but the boy couldn’t really blame them; after all without Golds dragon kin would simply go extinct. But they were unable to flame, unable to fight thread properly as the other colors were. Their only real task was clutching more and more eggs until their riders expired.

It was ludicrous that just because they could birth dragons they had to be revered like Queens. After all, Greens were not only much more numerous, but they could fight thread; and what a spectacle in the air they could be. Really, any color was much more deserving of such a high rank than Gold dragons. At least all the others actually were born able to accomplish the task they were born to do.

It was these reasons once more why the boy had never agreed to Weyrwoman keeping their permanent status as leaders of the Weyr. What did they know about thread and fighting? Any Bronzerider was probably much better equipped, and some of the older ones carried Thread fighting experience with them as well, than any of these women.

As the Weyrwoman approached them shortly after their little presentation parade H’nuk was only barely able to hide the sneer tempting to creep into his features as she begun to rant towards them; the faintest f glares shot in the leader’s direction at her comment about T’mak. Just because he wasn’t as well dressed, or tall, as some of the others meant he was lesser or something – there was no need for the woman to even mention such things. As for his opinion about Golds H’nuk wouldn’t fight it; T’ran as well was rather protecting of those silly egg machines as well – they just didn’t understood what he saw it was all.

Everyone was entitled to their opinion after all, even if it seemed like the current Senior Weyrwoman seemed to have a problem with it.

”Why of course not, Senior Weyrwoman. I wouldn’t dream to tempt you.”

That hag from the past could go crawl up her Issarith’s butthole for all he cared, honestly. Still, as the woman finally turned towards Therion the new bronze weyrling couldn’t help but smirk smugly towards the newest Queenrider behind the Weyrwoman’s back, sticking his tongue out in her direction. Poor little Queenrider, she wasn’t even allowed to fight her own verbal battles it seemed. His attention turning towards B’hari and T’mak he was quick to get the boys to follow him and mingle with the rest of the Brat Pack; he was sure T’ran must be somewhere around by now with Seirsha as well and maybe some of the other members.

”Come on, it’s been a while since we’ve been able to hang out with the rest of the Pack, and we need to formally introduce our new family member. Right, T’mak?”

He gave a wink in the direction of the other boy, before starting the weaving and dodging of other people as he signaled the others to a corner in the Hall, close by the food tables but actually free from the crowd of the many riders and their wine glasses.

[♥Rizu-Chan♥]

T’ran of Philibith
Fierce Fire Brown Weyrling

Once more T’ran found himself in the Hatching Feast, though this time as a guest and not the main center of attention by the rest of the Weyr. He was just as excited after all; not only had H’nuk impressed a fine bronze, but B’hari as well. And T’mak, the newest addition to their Pack, had also impressed a fine brown along with them. So far all the impressions had been magnificent, T’ran couldn’t wait for the rest of the Brat Pack members to become older and see what they would all impress as well.

Though regardless of their results he was sure H’nuk would always be delighted and proud; the blond did have a soft spot for the members of his pack after all.

Arriving just as the Weyrlings begin to file into the hall T’ran scanned the crowd for familiar faces; quickly heading in the direction of Seirsha as he spotted her. His attire matched H’nuk’s well, their only difference being T’ran’s emerald shaded shirt compared to H’nuk’s scarlet colored one.

”Seirsha!”

It had felt like forever since he had seen any of the other members of the pack, aside from H’nuk that was, and the boy couldn’t help but greet their third in command with a tight hug as he finally reached her. There was little else that could be said, however, for soon he had caught site of Sakorai apparently addressing H’nuk and B’hari, as well as Therion. The look in H’nuk’s face, while well hidden to almost everyone else, told T’ran all he needed to know and the dark skinned lad couldn’t help but smirk as he pointed it out to Seirsha.

”Not even a full day of impressing and they’re already getting in trouble; that’s our leader and B’hari for ya.”

As H’nuk finally gave the signal to meet at some other are T’ran grinned and nodded in confirmation, grabbing Seirsha’s hand without much of a thought to lead her as well. They had known one another since a very young age – to him Seirsha was as much of a family as H’nuk was to T’ran as well. The fact she was starting to grow more, and change, hadn’t seemed to register in either of the boy’s minds as of yet.

She was still the same old and awesome Seirsha they had always known.

[Inadua]

T'gir swept through the door with a curteous bow of his head in acknowledgement of Weyrwoman Sakorai as he passed, following Kaelitza in.
The brownrider had dressed apropriately in a suit of glossy charcoal coloured threads, the entire left lapel embellished by studs of glinting metalwork at an angle down his breast. Well-kept shoes with stylishly upturned, squared off toe and other normal accoutrements completed the ensemble.

Moments earlier, he'd lingered behind the group of new Weyrlings as they were each introduced, and couldn't help but overhear the conversations that took place amoungst them.
T'gir hated to hear such a spiteful young thing Impressed a Gold. If nothing else, for Therion's sake, T'gir hoped that the young Goldrider only felt a fleeting desire to proove herself to the world, and once that was done, she could mature into a rider who could stand proudly and possess her great title with a pureness of heart. It would be a burden for the entire Weyr to bear if she could not improve her attitude. The weyr would be a most lonely place for her. But perhaps that was no different than she lived now. Is that how she truly wanted to be?
Impressing a Queen placed one in a position of loneliness even without having an offensive disposition. How cold would be her bed, even on the eve of a mating flight? How distant would her daring Bronzes be, turning their backs on her to favour other queens? He for one, never desired serving under such a Weyrwoman. Such a fate could only make every day life more difficult.
Nevertheless, T'gir was the type to do his duty first and regard his own feelings later. But that did not diminish the fact that he wished there were a way to make her look in the mirror and realize her own ugliness in such a moment...and then make changes in her heart. Such a person was easily despised; it was much harder to love. Such was always the case. But sometimes a little show of genuine concern could warm a bitter, lonely person's heart in such a welcome way...Would her visage of strength and Queen-like courage evaporate under such a heat?

T'gir wondered if it was so. But he knew first hand, long before Therion ever stood on the sands or dared to touch a golden egg of opportunity, that one did not stand in high authority without the support of those around you. Even if that person landed a Queen hatchling in their lap fortuitously. Even the Holds of the North and the Cotholds of the South were struggling with that reality.

T'gir really didn't think the whole situation was made any better by Sakorai's approval of the brat's snotty behaviour. In fact, he was in complete disagreement when it came to her over-sanctimonious approach of the entire matter. The weyrs were in too much need of every dragon they had, to suspend dragons left and right for the minor details of offending the quaint sensibilities of a weyrling -no matter the dragon's colour. Even if she were full grown and a Sr. Weyrwoman, all Weyrwomen should be tutored to have sense enough to be a little more controlling of their mind, mouth, and heart.


Composing himself in that usual manner of what could easily be misconstrued as disaffected airs, T'gir made his way to the wine table where many now congregated -at least temporarily.
He took his first drink, nodding again in greeting, but this time to the Bluerider J'ngi whom he couldn't possibly fail to recognize in such a ostentatious suit. Voicing himself quietly, he let his childhood friend know he'd be seated somewhere out of the way for a while -at least until he got enough wine in him.

The brownrider ended up situating himself in a chair in some far corner of the room. After a moment, he heard J'ngi's footsteps follow after him.
Good. The two of them would get to sit and visit for a while over drinks before T'gir decided to give Suynie and D'seus congratulations; and before the dancing started. J'ngi would disappear after that.
T'gir mused over the possibility of finding himself a dance partner t'nite as well.

[HG]

The Weyrsecond took his duty to the Weyr quite seriously even if tonight he would rather put aside all the formalities. He made sure to appreciate every comment and congratulation made to him but very few would stick out in his mind later. J'ngi's congratulations were quick and exaggerated and he thoroughly enjoyed the man's word usage. Although his response to his Wingsecond was a bit more lengthy than the normal dismissal and thank you. "T'shiro. We are honored. Thank you for your thoughts and wishes. Enjoy yourself tonight. " Which was D'seus saying the man really needed to let loose for a while. He was strung tighter than a puppet.

Hand in hand, he and Suynie made their way to the Head Table. Once seated everyone in the Weyrhall paid full attention to Weyrling Master’s Assistant K’vett and the new riders he presented. At H’nuk’s name, D’seus cheered loudly but so did over half the Weyr. The most cheered of course was Therion.

Goldriders gained instant fame at the Weyr which might be part of the allure of Impressing one to someone like the young Goldrider. He knew Suynie and Sakorai were not seeking attention in that way most of the time and from what little he saw of Elynth’s Marlaey, he would guess she disliked the constant attention of the Weyr more than any of the other Goldriders.

When all twenty four new riders were announced, he turned his attention to Suynie, “Now, is there anything I can get for you tonight?” It was the first Hatching Feast where the Junior Weyrwoman was being honored. Tonight she could have whatever she wanted, except early dismissal from the Hall. Which might just be what the pair of them truly wanted. For now though they would have to remain somewhere where people could congratulate them. Maybe starting with something to eat and drink would be a good idea.

Later he would have Zorometh bespeak Imhoth and Philibith about having a play-date slash father-son time. Zorometh would not hold it against the brown that he was his competition’s get. The brown had turned out well despite having such small parents. He really should focus for once on the now. D’seus scanned the room watching the Weyrfolk and Dragonriders mingle. Nights like these made Pern worth saving.

This night needed to get a move on she thought as she looked at the people around her. She did not see a single person she wanted to talk to. None of the pack had managed to appear yet so she really was alone, yet again. These boys needed to stop leaving her behind! Seirsha was soon joined by T’ran from whom she received a tight hug. She hugged him back because it had been a long time since she had seen him. Taking a peak in the direction T’ran was looking in, Seirsha had to agree. H’nuk was pissed.

“Starting off with a bang.” She smiled, “I guess it’s time to convert our pranks to ones that would work in a Barracks. Although B’hari and H’nuk are probably not entirely in the wrong if Therion was involved.” She had never much cared for the Gold Candidate, but then who really did. Still she was a Goldrider and that accorded her more respect than people really wanted to give her but she would get that respect all the same. The system of hierarchy would not work so well if people were not constantly making sure that it did.

Feeling the tug on her arm she darted off with T’ran. Meeting H’nuk and B’hari sounded like a good idea. At least he was treating her normal even if her true brothers had begun to tease her for becoming a real girl. Being one of the Pack meant her gender was pretty much ignored. H’nuk was not fond of many girls and she would hate for the fact that she was becoming more of one daily to impact their friendship negatively.

Actually she felt she had already lost some of the friendship between all those Impressed to dragons. They would no longer have time for her pranks and ideas. Dragonriders had dragons to worry themselves about on top of Training and chores. Oh how she envied them that. Not for the last time, Seirsha wondered what they were going to do now. She could not run the pack by herself.

While she was not entirely incapable of appreciating being looked over more than once by a man, she was kind of put off that the man had no intention of saying a word to her. Vaylee was not irritated by it but it was rather off putting. Maybe he was more into men? She made a mental shrug and finished her first glass of wine. Well if that was what he was into, she wouldn't bother, though he himself was not hard on the eyes.

Then picking up another, glass she finished it just as quickly as before, zeroing in on the man who had caught her eye earlier. If she was made another way perhaps Bronzeriders would not attract her so but seeing as she was who she was, there could be no man better for her on a night like this one than a Bronzerider. T'shiro was hanging out with Shadow Wing members instead of coming to find beautiful women like her. Oh, this was going to be all too easy. Smiling at J'ngi in a sly, cat-like way, she set her used glass on the table.

Yes, tonight she could almost outdo a Queenrider. For people who didn't worship Queenriders she probably did. Vaylee was already tall in flat shoes, standing at a natural 5'11'' so she had thought to wear wedges instead of full on heels. There were plenty of handsome men on her way to her target but she had eyes for one man in the room at that particular time. If he didn't see her coming it was because he was oblivious to her which actually only made the game more fun for her.

"Pardon me, T'shiro." She paused, waiting for him to acknowledge her presence before continuing. "Would you dance with me?" She was bold because with some men, men who seemed to be unsure of how to approach women, it paid to be so. She was not going to sit back and let fate tell her how to live her life. Vaylee was going to make her own future happen, the way she wanted it to happen.

[Lady Smara]

Hearing the Weyrwoman made T’mak even more aware of the patch he was fiddling with on his shirt and he blushed deeply, dropping his hands behind his back and making a point of keeping them there as he looked to the ground. It was the way H’nuk replied to the Weyrwoman, a slight crawl to his voice that had the new brownrider’s head snapping up, his eyes wide and his jaw fallen open in pure horror. She was an adult. She was a RANKING adult. More over, she was THE ranking adult. There were none above her except the Weyrleader himself – and he could be easily ousted by another in the next flight while she remained a constant power.

There might not be a physical blow coming toward T’mak, but he suddenly had that same feeling that he wished he could just sink into the stone beneath their shoes and just disappear from existence the way wood did as it was consumed by the hearth.

Seeing H’nuk wave at him to follow, the new brownrider found himself swallowing painfully and almost looking for an escape. As much as he had found happiness in the way the boy let him shadow him during lessons, the way he had come to check on him during the last feast and even when T’mak had shown affection toward the boy with a hug at the hatching… T’mak was suddenly very unsure if following H’nuk now was the wisest idea.

He doesn’t respect the Weyrwoman… His pranks had slowed when there was the threat of S’nuo not letting him stand, or perhaps a threat from his own father after the flitters and the stampede… but what will keep him from returning to those pranks in Weyrlinghood? He had a dragon that nobody could take away.

A candlemark ago he would have been overflowing with joy that he was making friends and that they wanted to introduce him to other friends of theirs. But suddenly T’mak was not so sure that he wanted to be looped into the group as a ‘member’. That would mean he had to take part in the pranks. That would mean he’d have to support what they were doing and believing.

How many times was he the one who took the fall for them? How many times had other weyrbrats been angry at the Brat Pack and, watching T’mak take the fall for them, assumed that T’mak was already part of them? He knew he’d taken more than one beating for them already. He’d also taken more than one beating for simply standing up for smaller children. But was there a point in standing up for his peers who often deserved what they should have had coming?

When H’nuk turned to wink at T’mak, what he found was an empty space. The young brownrider had gone and not to follow H’nuk. It was easy, for the boy so use to being over looked to slip between the adults to one of the many doors that lead to the lower caverns. From there it was a short walk to the bowl as the boy made his way back to his Rusath.

The barracks were empty and for that T’mak was glad. Kicking off his boots, he wiped away tears of uncertainty. What was he doing? Who was he kidding? He wasn’t suppose to be a dragonrider. He wasn’t suppose to be anybody. Looking at Rusath’s sleeping form, made the tears burn hotter.

Rusath thought he was suppose to be somebody. But who?

Pulling off the patched shirt, he threw it angrily at the wall where the cloth silently crumpled to the floor. Grabbing the blanket from the bunk assigned to him, he pulled it off the bed and wrapped it around his shoulders before carefully climbing into the stone couch with his brown.

Did they see you, rider mine?
“Yes. They saw me. They introduced our names to the Weyr.”
Good. Why are your eyes leaking?
“I am upset. Please go back to sleep.”
Will you sleep?
“Yeah, I’ll sleep. Right here by you, Rusath. I’m not going anywhere the rest of the night.”

The brown was content with this and when T’mak laid on his side next to him, the brown moved so that his head was resting on the boys narrow hip before slipping quickly to much needed sleep that a growing dragon needed. Mercy was kind, and with the weight and warmth of the little dragon, T’mak managed after a time to let himself slip into sleep as well, the noise and music of the hatching feast echoing softly across the bowl.

[Inadua]

His back'd been to Vaylee. He was laughing and enjoying the intimate jokes shared amoungst wingmates as the woman approached; but the slow of his wingmate's banter caused him to caution a fertive glance over his shoulder.

"Pardon me, T'shiro."

While T'shiro's head alone turned in an effort to regard the Greenrider with his full attention, he barely adjusted his posture to turn himself from the group to address her, when she asked a dance of him.

"Would you dance with me?"

Though the smile of laughter had left him, his expression was no more serious; his oddly coloured hazel eyes still danced with good humour as they blinked in a quick assessment of her figure, noting that she was as tall, if not a little taller than he -and just curvy enough where a woman should be.
The Bronzerider assumed his eyes had wandered where she wanted them to. He could respect a woman who knew what she wanted and had enough wit about her to speak out, but he was not about to give a woman the upper hand. If she was at all observative, his present posture (not having exactly opened his stance to her when she approached) was probably a bit indicative of that.

"I was just on my way to have have a drink. If you would accompany me for that and a bite to eat, I will gladly join you in dancing after."

T'shiro's eyes measured the response in her own first, before turning about to offer her his arm. If she accepted the offer, he would lead her to the banquet tables where they could first fill their plates with food. Food and drink was just the means by which he would entice her to sit and talk a bit. He wasn't really in the mood for dancing just yet...Ok, well, he was rarely in the mood for dancing, because he wasn't great at it -wasn't too terrible either. Nevertheless...

T'gir sat back in a chair next to J'ngi, crossing his legs above the knee as he swirled a sweet red wine in a wide-mouthed glass to aeriate it before taking an appreciative sip. Cloudy gray eyes peered over its rim to people-watch, seeing who would naturally gravitate to whom...and whom he should approach about a dance later.

"J'ngi. You'd better get started or T'shiro's going to beat you to your quota of dance partners...for the first time ever. He's got the jump on you. Rather... looks like she got the jump on him."

He dared to crack a smile over that, shifting his gaze to the Bluerider seated by him.

J'ngi grinned, watching Vaylee's approach of T'shiro with waning interest...because his friend was right; he'd have to make up a little bit of time to catch up with him.

[hbk]

Suynie applauded politely for each new Weyrling, although she was admittedly the most excited about Therion, but she managed to smile, at least, while she applauded for H'nuk- solely because his father was D'seus. B'hari was an enjoyable little Weyrling, Suynie thought, but she hoped he got out from the influence of some of the other children, he really had the potential to be an exceptional bronzerider once he matured.

Once the introductions were over, Suynie sat back in her chair with a sigh. She couldn't believe that months of waiting were finally at an end. Watching the Weyrlings be introduced was bittersweet and already she was counting down the days until Rhiannoth flew again- although she was not ready to think about the concept of someone other than Zorometh flying her queen.

"This is your night to celebrate as well," Suynie said to D'seus, "the drudges will take care of us." She said this even as she eyed one of the kitchen workers approaching the Head Table to see what the pair would be having that evening. Hopefully after eating, a little wine, and a few more congratulations around the Weyr, she and D'seus could slip off to somewhere private.

"I'll have red wine, some of the roast wherry and some tubers please." Suynie said to the drudge who stood at the table.

K'vett could immediately tell that D'isk was nervous, and it slightly amused him. He'd seen that the man was plenty comfortable around J'zen, so he wondered why his presence seemed to causes the greenrider to clam up. Nevertheless, K'vett was determined to get to know the tall greenrider.

"Good evening, D'isk." The bluerider responded in turn to the greenrider's greeting. "I believe that you owe me a dance." He grinned, even as people began falling into the step of a familiar dance on the floor behind him.

In K'vett's mind, dancing was just a way to get closer to someone that you were interested in. This way K'vett had an excuse to be near D'isk, and give him an opportunity to get to know the other man better.

Marle entered in to the festivities just before K'vett began announcing the new Weyrlings. His dark blue eyes scanned over the group of youngsters with interest. He was just as skeptical as everyone else that the bronze dragons had chosen two young riders, but, he surmised as well that Impressing young gave them more time to connect and mature with their dragons. Such a connection to prove to make them even better dragonriders than the older Candidates who Impressed.

Raising his glass of white wine in toast when the last Weyrling was announced, the man surveyed the crowd, looking for someone to spend the evening with that would be fun. Dressed all in black, as usual, the blonde stood out from among some of the more gaily dressed individuals at the Hatching Feast. His bronze firelizard- Tracker, was buzzing about somewhere, intermittently sending him images of Precious, a gold firelizard whom the bronze was keeping a close eye on. Word was that the little queen could rise at any time.

The first person that caught his eye was Zaylee... or was that Vaylee? He could never keep the twins seperate but either one always promised an interesting night. He could easily say that they were two of the most enjoyable people to be around in the Weyr. Not tonight though. He thought as he continued to mingle through the crowd.

A red dress caught his attention, and he wasn't surprised when he found the owner of it to be Kaelitza. The woman was, obviously, attractive, and he loved seeing her in something besides Shield attire. There was nothing wrong with a woman in combat, shards, Marle loved seeing them spar, but he always enjoyed seeing the more feminine side of them as well.

Just because she was his partner in the DragonShield didn't mean that they couldn't spend an enjoyable evening together.

"Evenin' Kae." He said as he came up behind her.

[hbk]

K'mar was excited to be attending his first event as a Bronze Weyrling. He remembered the night that he was announced to the Weyr, only a month or so back, and already he felt as if it had been so much longer. He and Tsevoth's bond grew stronger each day, and K'mar knew that they would be a force to be reckoned with when his bronze finally reached full maturity. Granted, Tsevoth was still the most headstrong creature he'd ever met and more often than not K'mar had to scold him for his attitude towards other dragons. It's not that he didn't like other dragons, but Tsevoth, as a bronze, felt entitled to a certain amount of respect and authority.

Once the introductions of the new Weyrlings were made, K'mar approached Therion. Being one of the people that had come from the North, he still never very little about some of the people in the Weyr, at least, he didn't have enough familiarity with them to know their "reputations". As one of the oldest Weyrlings, from either group, K'mar hoped that the two newest bronze Weyrlings would learn to control their tongues as they matured.

"Congratulations on your Kiiroth, Therion, she is beautiful." K'mar gave a polite bow to the newest goldrider. He wasn't eager to believe the things he'd heard boys like H'nuk and B'hari saying about Therion.

[wolflover1458]

Therion was rather glad when the two childish Bronze Weyrlings she was stuck with snuck off to go do whatever immature thing it was that kids their age did. She didn't really care what they were up to, as long as they stayed away from her and didn't completely ruin the night for her. She still intended to get all of the attention she was deserving of. The best part was that she shouldn't even to move to accomplish that. They should all be lining up to congratulate her soon enough.

See? Here came the first one now. She didn't recognize him automatically, and she intending to just give him her abrupt thanks (she couldn't possibly prolong her thanks to everyone all night, or she'd run out of voice) when she got a glimmer of remembrance of something and looked back at him. He was one of the Weyrlings from Issarith's clutch, wasn't he? And sad and disappointing as that clutch had been, there had been a Bronze in it, yes? She hadn't bothered to keep tabs on any of the other Weyrlings (none of them had been important anyhow), but it was always worth the time to remember who had a Bronze, and she was relatively certain that this was that Bronze Weyrling. Which made sense, of course. There was no Gold Weyrling from his own dragon's clutch for him to talk too, and she doubted there were too many people who really wanted to get to know Marlaey, of all people (how utterly boring).

So he might as well talk to her. Therion didn't have a Bronze Weyrling from her dragon's clutch that she could bother getting to know, so she might as well get to know this one. So instead of the abrupt answer she had been preparing, she tried for something a bit more regal. "Thank you," she replied with a smile. "You're... K'mar, aren't you?" She was relatively certain she was right about this one. Bronzers were, after all, the only people worth the time of keeping track of, but she might as well do it.

[Yuu Kanduet]

B'hari

As the Weyrleader spoke, B'hari was overcome with an uncharacteristic desire to sneer at the old woman. No one threatened him, and no one threatened his friends. Was this woman so prideful that she would willingly create a vacuum in Weyr structure just so that she could lord her position over them? The Weyrleader was no better than a child, and B'hari would know seeing as he was a child.

Instead of snapping at Sakorai though, B'hari cast his eyes towards the ground and shuffled his feet as if he were embarrassed and upset. He thought about sniffling and letting his eyes water for added effect, but decided against it. The haughty Goldrider wasn't worth any real effort on his part, and he didn't want Therion to think he was actually upset.

It was just stupid that these Goldriders could threaten other riders just because no one would risk there dragon's happiness to do anything about it. Did Sakorai even care that ordering a Bronze permanently to ground would force it to live a miserable and half-hearted life. He would waste away and so would the rider. Goldriders didn't care about people; they just cared about power. Therion and Sakorai had just proven that well enough, and B'hari hated them for it. Golds themselves were not the problem. It was their riders that were the problem.

Following H'nuk and T'mak after their names had been called, and they had been paraded into the Weyrhall, B'hari watched as the Brownrider slipped away. This caused B'hari to frown. Did the boy not wish for the camaraderie and friendship that H'nuk was offering on behalf of both himself as well as B'hari and T'ran?

Although he had watched T'mak depart, B'hari said nothing of it to H'nuk. It was apparent that T'mak still didn't have what it took to be one of them, and B'hari wasn't sure if he ever would. Perhaps B'hari should talk to him later and let T'mak know exactly what it meant to be something besides wherry fodder. For now, B'hari would let the other boy do what he wanted without meddling, because it was the last un-meddled moment T'mak would have for a while.

D'isk shifted nervously from one foot to the other. He still had no idea how to dance and was quite certain that trying would only cause him to embarrass himself. Still, K'vett had promised to teach him, and D'isk wanted that very much. There was something exciting about the prospect of dancing with someone you liked. It seemed almost intimate.

Of course, thinking that only made D'isk blush, and even though his face was a nice shade of pink, the Greenrider still attempted to reply with a straight face.

"I was actually hoping you'd still be interested in, you know, teaching me."

Now that he'd come out and said it, D'isk immediately wished he could take the words back. He couldn't do this. Something was going to go wrong, and he was going to make a fool of himself. K'vett was going to think that D'isk was young and foolish and not worth his time. D'isk needed to leave.

"But you know, it's not important. You've got other things to do, I'm sure. So I'm just going to go away now."

Without waiting for a reply, D'isk fled to the nearest table and threw himself in a chair so that he could bury his face in his hands and pretend he didn't exist. Graceful exits weren't really D'isk's forte, but he felt as if that jumble of garbage he had just said was bad, even for him. Shards! He had messed that up.

[Yuu Kanduet]

Yylyevya

Social gathering weren't really Yylyevya's thing. She had never had real reason to visit them before her position in the guard and even less once she was on duty. In fact, Yylyevya was the kind of person who was always volunteering to take people's places whenever a Feast or Gathering rolled around. It wasn't as if she didn't enjoy them. She did. It was just that parties sometimes started getting boring after the first hour or so.

The only reason she came to such things now was because her Weyrmate had enjoyed such things. Yylyevya had grown accustomed to having Netera dragging her to them, and it almost felt wrong not attending them now. Besides, her comrades sometimes attended, so it was never a total loss. Already Yylyevya could see two of her fellow Shield members standing together across the hall.

Marle and Kaelitza looked so nice in their fancy clothes, and Yylyevya looked down at her simple worksman leathers and boots. The only semi-nice thing she was wearing was a silvery-white blouse that had a v-neck and was tucked into her pants. It wasn't really party attire, but Yylyevya didn't look good in pretty things like dresses and skirts.

Since the two seemed occupied, Yylyevya let her eyes continue on their path around the gathering of people as she sat quietly and comfortably at a table by herself. There was a wine glass or two in front of her, and she sipped them slowly so that she wouldn't be forced to go get refills to soon.

After leaving D'isk to his own devices, J'zen had headed to the food table to grab some sweetmeats and sweet-rolls to help balance out his wine intake. It really wouldn't be very fun for him if he got drunk this early on in the evening. The was so much more potential in the feast then a simple night of wine induced stupor. No, there were people out there to speak with, riders with which to mingle, and music that begged one to dance to it.

It was an evening with potential indeed, and that's why J'zen was making his way through the festivities with polite conversations and brief dances with a variety of people he didn't know in search of someone to spend the majority of his evening with. He could see D'isk shuffling nervously in front of a handsome enough Bluerider, and J'zen couldn't help thinking, Good for you.

If only there was a nice Greenrider for him to court as well.

[♥Rizu-Chan♥]

Kaelitza
Dragonshield Member

She had remembered seeing the faint familiar dark coppery shade of a certain flitter at some point during the Feast, though Kaelitza had not bothered long enough to really find the pesky creature; she was already far too used to his hide and had no interest of attracting the little creature over to her. While many of the Shieldmembers constantly mentioned to her that she should get a firelizard of her own at some point, and though she could see their usefulness, Kaelitza simply refused every time a chance was available. She would not state why either, especially considering they were practically miniature dragons and the woman seemed to revere those so much.

She just mentioned she had her hands tied with Kulah already every time.

As the Weyrlings were finally presented, and shortly after a toast was made in their honor, the shielder raised her wine glass along with the other members of the Weyr in congratulations; once more bringing the cool glass back between red tinted lips to take another savoring sip of her favored Southern wine. With faint amusement she watched the current Senior Weyrwoman go towards the newest Goldrider and the two very young Bronzeriders of this clutch; apparently scolding the boys before eventually moving on.

It really was a curious thing to see kids so young in dragons, especially bronze ones. Still the woman figured the boys must have something worth the title; dragons were never wrong after all.

Though that was H’nuk and one of his many friends...

”Marle, darling, we really need to work more on that stealth of yours still. I could hear you coming from a mile away.”

It was no ruse either, the woman was already so used to her partner’s way of walking after so many turns that she could pinpoint him in a room with ease; his heavy steps, while certainly never wasted, still needing much improvement. Then again he couldn’t be perfect, just as she couldn’t be either; where she excelled at the stealth he lacked (by her standards, by shield standards the man could still move like a shadow in a room) Marle had always had a natural talent for tracking in the field. A skill Kaelitza still struggled with sometimes, even with his guidance.

Turning her face angle around to finally regard the man, giving him a coy smile and a wink in greetings, Kaelitza finally addressed him directly this time around.

” I must say, I will get you to wear something a bit more... vibrant one of these days. Though dark and handsome certainly fits your looks.”

Sure, the man might be quite a few turns older than her, by Faranth he almost doubled her in age, but Marle certainly didn’t look it at all. He’d always been handsome, ever since Kaelitza could remember in all honestly, and the fact he had approached her this evening certainly placed the brunette in good spirits.

So what if she liked older men?

[hbk]

K'mar was pleased that Therion knew his name, and surprised if he were honest, because not many people knew him since he'd been at the Weyr such a short time. He really wasn't sure why people treated Therion the way they did, if anything, now that she was Impressed to Kiiroth she should receive the same amount of respect as the other goldriders. Even though he was Holdbred it still seemed logical to K'mar that queenriders demanded a certain level of honor. Queens were the Mothers of the Weyr, without their genetic power the Weyr wouldn't have a single dragon to its name. While Queens could not flame, they certainly were a working part of the flying Wings with their flamethrowers. Not as agile, or as fast as a green dragon, but a gold dragon's mental capacities far outweighed the intellectual levels of any other color in the Weyr.

"That's right, I Impressed Tsevoth at Issarith's hatching." His smile was easy-going, characteristic of his fisherman background.

Noticing that there were others edging forward to congratulate the Gold Weyrling, K'mar ducked his head politely to Therion, "It was a pleasure meeting you. I won't hold you up farther. I know people are anxious to get to see you."

K'vett was bewildered when D'isk suddenly excused himself from their conversation and retreated to a table. Not ready to give up yet, the bluerider followed D'isk and took a seat across from the man, "You know, I'm really not that busy. I would love to teach you to dance. Come on," the harpers began to strike up a slower song, "this one is perfect for you to learn. It's easy, I swear." The bluerider held his hand out towards D'isk, waiting for the man to accept it.

The bluerider mused that he had never met a greenrider as insecure as D'isk, and something about that made K'vett want to get to know him even more.

Marle smirked at being heard by Kaelitza. Even in a room full of people she was always able to pick him out before he could approach her. Although Marle held more experience over Kaelitza, she was the perfect person to be his partner in the Shield. Where he excelled in long-range weapons and tracking, Kaelitza had perfected the art of close-combat. It didn't even chagrin Marle that Kaelitza had saved his butt on more than one occassion, because he'd certainly looked out for her as well.

At the mention of his clothing, the man smiled, "Black is a classic. Besides, why change what works?" He winked even as he extended his hand.

Harpers were already playing in the background, "Shall we?"

Over his thirty-seven Turns of life, Marle had danced with many a woman, but none complimented him the way Kaelitza did. Perhaps it was their training in stealth, but Marle found gliding around the dance floor with Kaelitza particularly enjoyable.