To Ride the Wind {Open Search!}

[kira]

Even in this season, the weather was horribly warm. Luckily, the wind was whooshing through her thick hair as it bounced along behind her. Meri let out a laugh of delight and rose up in the saddle, urging Gossamer faster. The colt was just reaching two turns and was fast and agile as a flitter, and she loved taking him for his mid-morning runs. It was sad to think that the first foal she had helped to birth would be gone soon, likely sold at the next Turnover celebrations. But that was the way of things at their Hold and there was nothing for it.

Finishing up the run, she trotted him over to the fencepost she'd left Nyri on before the run. She'd doubted the kitten would enjoy the gallop as much as she did. He'd been content, though, to curl up on top of the post and go instantly back to sleep, earning a giggle from the girl. Nudging him lightly, the little head peeked up sleepily and yawned at her. She gently picked him off his restplace to perch in front of her on the saddle. Where he naturally curled back up between her and the saddle horn, falling back asleep.

Goss knew the way back to the stable from there, so she took a moment to admire the clear blue skies. There were some clouds nearby that could mean rain, but the sky above was perfect. A little frown creased her brows when she noticed something up there, though. What was it? A dragon, maybe? She'd forgotten when they'd last asked for tithes, so it was possible...

Shrugging, she finished riding Goss to his stall before unsaddling and brushing him thoroughly. She was sticky with sweat and her hair had started to curl again in the close heat. She was more than ready to get out of the riding pants she'd donned and back into an airy skirt, but a quick scrub would be needed first.

Settling her tack back where it belonged, she headed out of the stables and back toward the main house of the Hold.


((Calling Searchriders~! :D))

[Marnark]

Alyrath banked on the wind, bespeckled dark green hide glimmering under a fresh coat of oil that was making her look damp despite not being in the least bit wet. Much akin to the runner being ridden around down below, the green was just out for a spin, traveling away from the Weyr and just in general having fun, her rider along for the ride. For the most part the dragon paid no attention at all to what was going on beneath her, just having fun in the open air. However, something dragged her attention downward as the girl and runner below made their way sedately back to their barn.

Mine?

Yes? Toyi answered, almost dreamily, staring up at the blue infinity that was the sky overhead, blotted by the occasional cloud that could be seen to be either growing or shrinking.

I think ... I think I found something?

Toyi straightened in her seat, leaning forward and placing gloved hands on the ridge before her. What would that be love?

That girl down there.

There are girls all over the place, love.

Oh, I know. But this one tastes like she should be at the Weyr, not way out here. Alyrath answered.

Toyi paused to think a moment. You're not a Searcher, Aly.

I know. But still.

Toyi heaved a sigh. We're not equipped to bring anyone back with us.

I know. But still!

Toyi laughed lightly. Alright. Let's go see.

Silent as a ghost on the wind, Alyrath turned and started a slow circling descent. There were runners in the area - she didn't want to terrify them out of their wits. So it was in comparative silence the flying predator made her way down to the ground, backwinging to a landing that kicked up leaves to fly and swirl in all directions in maddening winddevils.

Toyi unsnapped her tethers, and slid down the mottled green's shoulder to land with a light bounce on her feet. There, they waited a moment. When the girl reemerged to walk away toward some other structure, Alyrath let out a soft croon that the girl was sure to hear.

[kira]

The kitten nestled on her shoulder had stopped his contented purring the moment she'd walked out of the barn. Frowning in confusion, Merielle raised a hand to calm the tiny beast. "Nyri? What's wrong, little one?" He was generally a fearless sort, so feeling his hackles raised like that made her worry. Which was likely the only reason she missed seeing the giant creature nearby.

There was no ignoring that sound though, as she heard a lovely crooning sound nearby. She quickly redirected her attention, and smiled brightly. There was a dragon! She'd heard plenty about them, and had caught glimses from a distance, but she'd never seen one so close! Meri stopped and scanned around for a moment, sure that the rider must be close by since the dragon hadn't been there when she'd entered the barn. ...Then again, she had spent awhile brushing Gossamer... Oh, but she was in luck! With a shy smile, she rerouted herself to walking toward the greenrider and dragon.

...But how close should she get? Not wanting to get too close as to seem rude, but knowing her voice wasn't usually very loud...she settled on about fifteen feet away.

"Ah...h-hello," she called out to them, a friendly smile on her lips. The rider looked happy, so it couldn't be anything bad, right? "D-did you need to speak to my f-father?" She winced internally. Why else would a rider be here, dimglow? "I c-can get him f-for you, if you like. Or, um, y-you're welcome inside, lady r-rider. I-I don't think your green will f-fit," she said as she nodded to Alyrath. She had to seal her lips in a smile to keep a giggle from escaping. She likely shouldn't laugh at her own lame jokes in front of a rider, after all.

Nyri just kneaded her shoulder uncertainly, half hiding under part of her hair.

[Marnark]

The stutter was making her hard to understand. But Toyi paid close attention to the girl anyway, to make sure she got what she was saying down pat. Some of it was unclear... but Toyi figured she had the gist of it. Well enough to answer her anyway. Soft spoken herself, Toyi took the liberty of walking over toward where the girl had stopped, so timidly.

"Good afternoon, miss. It's not your father I'm here to see, but you. Alyrath saw you riding along, from up there, and talked me into dropping by to see you." she said. "But sure ... I'd love a mug of tea of you've got some." She offered the girl a brilliant smile. "I'd love to talk to you ... and maybe afterward your father."

Alyrath, realizing this wasn't going to be a quick question, settled in to wait. Setting her stomach to the ground, she reached out before her with her forelegs, digging talons into the soil in a relaxed fashion. Hey, lounging in the shade was almost as much fun as sunning!

[kira]

Meri blinked. The rider wanted to speak to her? Well, maybe she was just flying around bored and had seen her riding along. That made sense. But she seemed friendly, even if she looked only a little bit older than...

Anyway, she had invited, so she shouldn't be rude. "Oh, um, th-this way, then." She motioned off to a side of the main house, where the kitchens were, and starting walking that way hoping the rider would follow. Even if there were no cooks around, she knew her way around enough to make tea.

She grinned in amusement when the dragon stretched out just like a feline. It was almost cute, in a vastly oversized way. Nudging Nyri, she tried to get him to go over there...but he was a stubborn little feline and ignored her efforts. "Your d-dragon's name is Alyrath? ...W-will you tell her I think it's pretty?" She ducked her head shyly, uncertain if that was overstepping any bounds. But it was a compliment? "I'm Merielle."

[Marnark]

"Lead on." Toyi answered with a gracious smile. As the girl turned and walked toward the kitchens end of the house, Toyi followed her, undoing the fastenings on her flight jacket and pulling the warm garment open. Here in a minute she would probably have to shed it entirely, given the warmth and humidity of the day. Toyi walked in silence. Not only her step was quiet, but she didn't hardly sound like to breathe. Though she most assuredly was walking and breathing.

Toyi ducked through the entranceway to the kitchen as she followed Merielle in, but apparently had no answer for the girl. She acted like she'd never heard the girl. Toyi paused there in the door way a moment, before shrugging the jacket off the rest of the way as she looked around the hold's kitchen. A faint smile touched her lips, but yet she still stayed silent, before her gaze flicked back over to where Merielle was standing. "You have a big family?" she asked, entirely oblivious to the question and statement Merielle had posed.

[kira]

((Work is killer for me Sat-Mon, so I apologize if it's a little...off?))


Merielle chanced a glance at Toyi when she received no reply. Maybe it had overstepped some sort of bound for her to ask...or maybe it was so common that the Rider thought a response was unwarranted? But the woman hadn't said anything when Meri had introduced herself, which made her squirm a bit. Wouldn't that usually prompt someone to give their own name? Slightly confused, Meri set about making the tea. There was a kettle almost always on the fire, so the task was quickly accomplished.

Meri smiled a little when asked about her family. Luckily for Toyi, she had been taught that you should look at people when you speak to them. Nodding, she turned her face toward the other woman, though her eyes kept mostly to the cups and kettle so she wouldn't mispour. "Yes. I'm the youngest of s-seven. A-and some of the wranglers keep house here, so s-some of them are like m-more family." She was fond of most of her siblings, and looked up to most of the wranglers her father had allowed to board with them. They were good men - and a couple women - and hard workers, and had taught her quite a bit growing up.

"And you?" she inquired curiously as she set the tea down along with some sweetener, her head cocked to the side slightly. "Do you have a large family?" She'd heard a lot of Weyrfolk didn't keep much to families, but some others had gaggles of siblings and relatives to speak of. Sitting across from Toyi, she blew gently on her tea before chancing a sip.

[Marnark]

Toyi smiled brightly, her face lighting up with the expression, delighted to be given some tea. "Thank you!" She said, the pleasure showing clearly in her tone even though her volume was still oddly very softspoken. She applied just a little of the sweetener to her tea, and gave it a good stir before letting it rest as she waited for it to dissolve and mix. In the meantime she watched the girl with what could have been termed almost a rude level of intensity. It was clear she was paying attention to what she was seeing, and not looking but not seeing. She watched the girl's face as she spoke, always smiling that slight, relaxed smile of hers.

"It sounds so wonderful." Toyi said softly and almost wistfully. "No, I don't have any family. I ... I don't know who my parents were. I was raised by a very nice lady, though." Before she, too, had vanished into the folds of time. Though she had died, instead of having left. After that, she had just hacked life out on her own, best as any weyrbrat could. "I sort of wish I'd had a nice family, though. I bet it's so nice."

Toyi looked around a little bit again, noting that there didn't seem to be anyone else about. "Will your family be about soon?" She asked, before realizing there was something else she didn't know. "And what is your name? I bet it's pretty, to match you." she complimented, watching the girl intently again.

If she had realized that the information had already been volunteered once already, Toyi would have been very very embarrassed ... and thinking that the girl probably thought she was a very twisted cookie indeed. But ignorance was bliss sometimes, and Toyi did not know these things. It wouldn't be the first time it happened to her though.

[kira]

Meri smiled at the thanks, and offered a quiet, "You're welcome," in return. While she was used to most of the people around her being either loudspoken or having a firm voice, she was softspoken herself. Thus, it wasn't too odd when Toyi was just as quiet. Actually, it made her relax a little, unconsciously releasing the worry that she'd have to struggle to speak to someone with a much firmer voice than her own. She could do it, of course, but she tended to stutter more. The stare was a bit intense, but Meri just focused on adding some of the sweetener to her own cup now that her guest had been served.

Family... "It...can be. My elder brother Satell and his wife Zaneera are w-wonderful." She smiled at their mention. "They, um, sort of raised me, I guess. I'm not as...c-close to the others, really." She fidgeted a little with her mug, attempting to not think about Tamecia right now. "My brother Ciaset is f-fun sometimes, but...he likes to t-tease." She shrugged, not really sure what else to say. If Toyi had had family, then maybe they could have swapped some stories; but if she told some of the good stories it might just make Toyi think she was missing out. She already sounded a bit wistful. And telling bad stories was out of the question.

Luckily, she was saved from that with the next question. "Ah, y-yes, everyone tends to f-float back in around this time. Lunch won't be for awhile, b-but people like to get a quick bite of bread or ch-cheese and cleanup, usually." Which reminded her of her own still slightly-damp clothes and the fact that she would certainly begin to smell soon. She probably already smelled like runner, at least. She made a face at her clothes, then grinned at Toyi.

Her name? But she'd- ...Pretty? Meri blushed and ducked her head for a moment, somewhat flustered. "Oh, I-I-I'm not, r-really." She fidgeted for a moment, and then remembered the question. "I-I'm Merielle. W-what's your name? It's probably a lot more interesting," she said with a small laugh, not really thinking that it was so much deprecating as true. "Y-your dragon is Alyrath, you said before? It's very pretty. S-so is she, too."

Perhaps she'd just been too quiet and the Rider hadn't heard her before? Or, oh! Sometimes the wind got really loud when she rode fast, but dragons were even faster, so maybe she'd just had her hearing a bit dampened by all that noise. A corner of Meri's mind went off on wondering if that could damage a person's ears, and if Riders used anything to plug their ears...but she managed to drag it back before she got too off-track.

Luck was with them, though. The clomp of footsteps was heard in the hall, and a few moments later her father and favorite sibling were heading into the kitchen. Meri scrambled to her feet and muttered out an introduction between them. Setamer and Satell gave Toyi a warm welcome to their family's humble RunnerHold. They made a bit of smalltalk as Meri brought a few hunks of bread and cheese over for them all to share, then inquired as to what brought a Rider to these parts.

The whole while, Satell's eyes were flicking between Toyi and Meri, the cogs in his mind turning thoughtfully.

[Marnark]

Toyi smiled and nodded, before pausing to watch as everyone else came stomping into the house in a flurry of activity. She didn't seem the least bit bothered by it ... there was a lot of such activity that always went on at the Weyr. There were people everywhere, all doing something or going somewhere.

"Merielle." Toyi repeated, with a slight nod. "Pretty indeed!" She stood up to greet the family properly, smiling. "I am Toyi, and my dragon out yonder is Alyrath." She introduced. She waited a moment, even though it was pointless to wait for everyone to be paying attention. "Alyrath has flown Search this day." Her gaze flicked from each person, and then back to Merielle. "For you, dear girl." she said, gently. "You do not have to come with us, but I thought I would offer it to you. Especially seeing as how we do suddenly have a rather unprecedented large clutch hardening on the sands as we speak." For the first time in turns and turns. It was a blessing, if a difficult one to stand up to. They didn't have enough candidates for that many eggs!

Patiently and silently, Toyi waited for an answer ... for Merielle, from her family, from anyone in general. Her gaze flicked quickly from person to person, to see what their reaction might be to that golden nugget of news. For there was even a golden egg on the sands ... Merielle stood a solid chance at being the Weyr's newest Jr. Queenrider! Toyi was not sure if news of that shiny egg had reached this far out yet, but it didn't really matter to her. She didn't want to influence the decision to be made by that. The girl needed to be prepared to impress anything ... up to and including green. For with that many eggs on the sands, and so few candidates ... it was almost certain that she would impress something from this new clutch.

[kira]

Those that filed by, either to help in the kitchen or just passing through to grab something before returning to their tasks, glanced curiously at the newcomer. When they saw the knots that declared her a rider, many of them gave her a nod or tipped their hats. Respect for the riders that would protect them from Pern's greatest menace was taken seriously in this Hold, and none would show her an ounce of disrespect.

Meri felt her cheeks tint a little again at the compliment to her name. She wasn't quite used to many compliments from anyone other than her eldest brother and his wife. She wouldn't argue, though - the other woman was entitled to her opinion. And, well, Meri rather liked her name anyway. She nodded her head when Toyi introduced herself - an interesting name indeed! - as her father and brother mirrored the move.

Ahh, she was out on Search. That made sense for why she would be in the area. Just about everyone had some cousin's uncle's sister-in-law's best friend's lover's son who lived in the Weyr (or someone similar), so rumors about the clutch had spread like wildfire. She was probably going to ask about seeing some of the younger stablehands and- ...Wait, what? Meri blinked, her mind trying to process Toyi's words in any other way than what she said, but still coming back to that same conclusion. She had been Searched? Shock was worn plainly on her face, her mouth working soundlessly as she tried to formulate some sort of response.

Satell, however, had grinned as soon as the words had been spoken. This would be perfect for his sister...if they could word it correctly. She'd been a bit more withdrawn since the...incident...with Tamecia, doubting herself and her worth more than ever. What was needed was to make her feel like she'd be helping, and that they weren't trying to send her away (if anything, he'd keep his precious baby sister here always, but that was perhaps a little unfair). He'd have to speak carefully...

"We've heard of the clutch, and have wished fair winds upon it. I would certainly hope you to have enough candidates. We'll need every little one there when the Old Enemy finally returns," he said with just a touch of grimness at that thought. "Just how many eggs are there? Rumor tends to run wilder than any runner, and we've been hearing some ridiculous numbers." He grinned. There couldn't honestly be that many eggs. But enough to make Meri ask to go on her own? ...He hoped so.

((Apolgies for so much of the NPC, but it's sorta the nudge she'd need. >.>))

[Marnark]

Toyi smiled slightly as she watched the realization of what was happening sank in for the young lass. It really was a stroke of blind luck that Toyi just happened to see that someone else was talking, allowing her to shift her attention enough to the man as he spoke. Her smile dimmed for just a moment, but then broadened again with a nod. "Word of the clutch has spread like wildfire in a dry forest, indeed." She agreed. "It is a wonderful and long sought for event! But I am not so sure your rumors are quite so exaggerated as they might seem. Our lovely Queen has outdone herself with a massive, unprecedented clutch as ever graced the hot sands." She shrugged once, and glanced over at Merielle again before returning her attention to him. "I have not personally counted the hardening eggs, but if I recall correctly, there are about thirty five of them."

She swirled her drink in the cup for a bit, before offering a small smile to Merielle again. "You don't have to go with me if you don't want to. Please don't feel cornered. I am merely making the offer to you. It is yours to accept or decline as you see fit, for whatever reasons you see fit to think. I will not question them." The only problem with what Toyi was saying was the volume. She wasn't speaking up at all, still talking as if there wasn't a room full of people walking around and doing stuff. One might assume that coming from a large place like a Weyr, she was used to the rattle and clatter of a crowd.