Brand New Day [Reky]

Sam had slept in. On a rest day, that was exactly what she planned to do. No urge to wake with Rukbat came over her and she slept soundly through the rays of light that poked into the weyr. Though Naireth had a small itch and longed for oiling, disturbing Samael was the last thing on her mind. She felt an inexplicable pride in letting Hers sleep on contented, liked she was protecting the woman in an abstract way. The beastly creature lounged on her stone couch, staring blankly out at the morning-lit Dalibor Weyr. She had very little interest in the small specks down below and the flutter of dragon wings, but it gave her something to do while she monitored Samael's sleeping mind.

She noticed Unath approaching in a detached way at first; when the young tan was close enough, Naireth tensed suddenly, realizing only a few moments ahead of time that the incoming dragon was, in fact, an intruder and was about to ruin her Samael's good sleep. Usually, she found herself a rather mild dragon, but today her teeth were bared in an irritated snarl. Q'sis dropped down and barked, disruptive and unwelcome, and Naireth's eyes widened and fixed him with an intense stare. She snorted.

Samael, however, had heard the call and stirred in bed. Naireth's head snapped nervously to look into Sam's room, eyes just as wide but full now of concern and confusion, rather than the eery blankness that had been dished out to Q'sis. SamaelMine. You were having a good sleep, she observed worriedly.

Samael pulled her ragdoll self into some semblance of uprightness; rubbed at her blurry eyes. Who is it, Naireth?

Unath's, she explained, a surprising venom in her voice. Samael's consciousness lit up, though, and she got out of bed with a hastiness that made her head float and fill with stars. Naireth was taken aback by her human's enthusiasm; she had thought that the man's arrival would ruin her plans to sleep in. Instead, Samael was happy. Naireth continued to stare into Samael's room, even as Unath flopped over beneath her. She didn't even notice the playful weyrling enough to give her any sort of attention. Samael was pulling at her disheveled hair and pressing the wrinkles out of her bedclothes with her palms. Eventually, she came out to see Q'sis, mildly presentable.

Her short-cropped hair was a flat mix of helmet hair and combed bedhead and she smelled earthy of herself and her bedfurs. She had just woken up and it was to be expected and not remedied so quickly. She wore a smile, though, and was not ashamed of her casual nature. She spotted the flowers about the smaller package and laughed lightly. "Getting fancy?" she said, and then belatedly, "Good morning."

Naireth was still on edge. With Samael now in plain sight, the dragon had turned her stare back to the foreign man. Samael glanced, briefly, at the stranger of a tan that was beside her. What's your problem? she asked. Naireth lacked the ability to explain herself, so silence prompted a more assertive measure from the woman. Stop staring.

Yes, SamaelMine. Naireth looked away.

"So," Sam smiled. "What brings you and the breakfast here? How are you?"

Q'sis' dragonward words fell on deaf ears. Naireth had given it a split second of attention at the beginning of her name, but the absence of the end of it turned her brain off of the subject. She didn't respond to the nickname. She didn't even realize that it was her to which he was referring. It was just as well; she had no wish to hear from him, even if Samael seemed happy. Samael had been sleeping and he had woken her. The offense would not be forgiven - not that day, at least. A suspicious glance followed Samael and Q'sis into the smaller room. Sam felt the beast's eyes on her and looked over her shoulder to see the dragon lay a head on a healthy glow of forelegs. Calm down, she said, and Naireth did.

As Q'sis went about setting food on the low dresser - a fine table substitute - Samael scavenged for a proper place to sit. She was fine with simply sitting cross-legged on the bed, but she didn't trust her ability to keep food off of the covers, and she had a self-conscious urge to act well in Q'sis' company. She produced a chair from underneath a suffocating draping of flight gear and a stool disguised as a nightstand was cleared and brought over. She left the proper chair to Q'sis and perched on the stool. It tipped a little before settling on its shortest leg. She remembered why she used it as a beside table instead.

"Just as well," she said. "It's a little early for wine for me, anyway." She preferred something sweet for breakfast. Wine was too heavy a taste for starting the day. Ending it, of course, was a different matter. As he pulled more food from his bags, Samael found herself getting excited. She enjoyed their meals. They always came with a good assortment of food - Q'sis was good about that - and often a good conversation. "Faranth, you brought the whole kitchen with you," she smirked, transplanting her plate closer to her.

She liked food quite a lot - something Q'sis undoubtedly had figured out by now. She took a little more bacon to fill the spare emptiness of her plate. She started first with the meats, planning to move through to the sweeter and more dessertlike foods as she went on. Klah was gulped greedily to warm herself to the cold spring morning. The silence her eating produced was apologized for with brief but wide smiles in Q'sis' direction, reminding him that she wasn't entirely swallowed up by what she was swallowing.

"So you're just alright? Not 'good' or 'great' or anything?" she asked suddenly, dredging up the old topic. She had been wondering. He always seemed too confident or indifferent. He could do with a little more energy, she thought. Some 'oomph.' "What was your question?"

As Q'sis remained absent in his trip to the curious garbage disposal, Samael sat quite full and still in her chair. She contemplated, briefly, pulling on a proper pair of clothes, but by the time she had thought of what to wear, she figured it was too late to change in time for the other rider's re-arrival. She hooked her feet around the stool's single rung and waited idly instead, stretching a little sleep residue out of her lazy muscles. She wondered, with very little effort, what he could possibly want to ask her about, but decided she had better just wait.

It was strange to find him silent for such a pregnant pause upon his return. The hand over hers was comforting coupled with the smile, but still the quietness irked her. You're just making me nervous, she thought violently. It can't possibly that important. Her mind leapt to fantastical and worrying conclusions, as a girl's mind was prone to do, and a thin relief washed over her when he finally came out with it. It wasn't that bad, then - but Q'sis was worried, and it was a strange emotion on the man. Samael's empathy kicked in full force.

"I... Well." She took a moment to organize her scattered thoughts: memories of her first time between, clouded by the ease of the act in the present day. "I know a lot of people were pretty confident and I was scared glowless. They all had faith in their dragons and here I was with a Tan. Loto gave me this awful frightened look." A dry laugh. "At least Naireth does exactly what I tell her. Thinking of the image, though... that's critical. Think of it in both your heads, you know? Focus on it the entire time. Force it on your dragon. I can tell Naireth to hold an image, now, and she's so obedient that she'll do it no matter what, but not in the beginning. I hold it, too, just to be safe. Even when we're between, that's all I think of. There isn't anything to see between, anyway.

"And jumping between is in their instinct. They know how to do it. It's sort of like... well, how do wherries know how to migrate? They just do. They can't explain it, but they know how, and if you can explain, sort of, how the word between relates to how they know it from instinct, then they get it. I bet even Unath would. And Mith... Mith even has firelizards with her - that might even help in making the connection.

"Once they know, you can just tell them to go between, or even just send them the feeling of being between. Cold, empty, nothing to feel - you know. As long as you hold that image, you're fine. Don't think of anything else. Don't get scared that you're between. I mean, everyone's been there on the back of someone else's dragon anyway, and they've come back out, right? So just... don't let Unath get scared. I know Naireth wanted to. She was afraid she'd lose me, because she couldn't feel me, but I didn't even let her think. Just the image. That's it."

She gave a nonchalant shrug. "If Unath doesn't get it, maybe... Maybe Naireth could help. Well," she glanced at the tense creature in the atrium, "Usually she'd help if I told her to. I could tell her to send Unath the feeling she gets when she goes between, because Faranth knows it's hard to explain with words. I bet that would help."

She leaned against the wall nearest her stool perch. Dragonriding was tricky business. So much that was second nature to her now had been nearly impossible when she and Naireth were younger. It all worked itself out fine in the end. She, at least, was living proof that Tans were capable of everything the other dragons were. Loto and Mabiath would have been, too -- it wasn't Mabiath's incompetence that had ended their lives.

"Don't do it until you're ready," she urged. "Even if it's the day of the class, if you're not sure... just tell whoever's teaching. They'll get it. You've got to at least feel it in your gut that you'll be alright. I bet that's why some people disappear... They just didn't trust themselves or their dragon. I mean, it's alright to be scared, but at least be the gutsy sort of scared. Like when you're diving off a cliff into the ocean." Samael hoped it had helped. She felt Naireth bristle at the urgent concern in her voice, but forced the Tan to relax. The dragon hadn't at all been this bad the night before. It seemed she had woken up on the wrong side of the bed.

The blankness of Q'sis' face was a spectacle in itself. Only briefly did her frown, face drawn tight, and otherwise was a slate comprised purely of listening. Samael often found herself effeminately wide-eyed and feeling all too blonde when she listened to others, drinking in the words they spoke and the timbre of their voice like a starstruck child. Q'sis, however, was stoic. Composed. She was glad to hear that he had faith in himself and Unath, at least, and was mildly startled by the conviction he had. That was Q'sis, though - he did not think poorly of himself.

"Then you should be fine," she threw in. It would be hard to get it wrong unless he disregarded his teachings entirely, which she knew he wouldn't. He was too fierce to slip up and forget the image anyway. There was, of course, a great deal of animalistic instinct contained within the daft minds of the Tans. She had known that since the day Naireth first hatched, coming between her future human and a fresh-born Gold. Unath and Mith had not came into the world so confidently, and had wandered through it even less so. She wondered if Q'sis had better let up on Unath and let her work her own body for once, but it was not her place to know, spectate or intervene.

Samael followed the man's eyes to her hulking dragon. She was aware of the itch - Naireth was pressing it on her ever so slightly, not having been told to stay entirely behaved - but the hide she saw did not speak of discomfort. If anything, it spoke of unnatural health, and coupled with the irritability had Samael uncomfortable. "About, yes," she said. Four Turns. "I... honestly wasn't trying to think much of it, but..." The signs, however early, screamed out the obvious. Naireth was uneasy under the eyes of the two humans and let out a snappish growl. "It has to happen sometime, I guess."

The woman looked to Q'sis; stood with his help. "For what? For her to Rise? I mean, it's not that big a deal, really..." By which she meant she wasn't afraid of the general outcome of a Flight. She wasn't fond of the upset version of Naireth that was hunched over in the weyr, but hopefully her obedience would carry on throughout her period of unhappiness. It would at least give Samael a break.

The dragon's wide-eyed glare spared Samael out of protective love and burned into the man's back instead. Don't stare, pressed Sam, and Naireth huffed and averted her eyes once more.

The fear of Flights was reserved for those with volatile dragons, in which the fear was really for the safety of the suitors, or for those who were still holed up in a psychological immaturity that rendered them scared of a stranger's touch. Naireth was too subservient to do anything drastic in the brief moments she was in charge when she Rose. Samael suspected she would be more confused than anything, unsure of what to do with her raging lust. That inferred that Naireth would remain mainly her old self, however. Of that there was no guarantee.

Samael, at least, wasn't afraid of a spot of sex. She had encountered enough virgin boys in her day that something Flight-induced would probably be quite the time. If she had to fight the mind of a Naireth from another dimension, she could do it. It would only be temporary anyway.

"There's nothing to be afraid of in the first place," she shrugged, "Except maybe an angry Naireth, but I don't even know if she has it in her." Not to direct her anger at others in the form of violence, at least. Wails of despair had been heard from the creature before, but only when Samael's safety was in jeopardy. She hoped Naireth knew her well enough, though, so know that she would punch a man's lights out if he tried anything without her consent. She wasn't exactly a monstrous dragon, but she wasn't the helpless babe Naireth treated her like.

Naireth raised her head, hearing Q'sis speak her name, and her eyes swam the shade of begrudging acknowledgement. Samael's face cracked into a wide grin at the Tan's indignation and Q'sis' slyness. The dragon was loathe to admit the weyrling had a point and so she did not, but the solid reasons to move stewed in her tiny mind enough that when Samael urged her to, she stood and lumbered to the ledge. Go, Sam had said, a single thought-word saturated with amusement which bothered Naireth. What was she so happy about? The Tan found nothing entertaining about it at all - or about anything, for that matter - but of course, she would never voice her concerns. She simply set herself down in the sun and watched the bustle of the weyr with a cold gaze.

"Well, as long as she's not showing the symptoms for no reason at all, I guess Tans do Rise." There had, of course, been no guarantee. It was not like any other color where such things could be deduced from hundreds of previous generations. Everything about them was a mystery to unfold and Samael got to experience it all first hand. When she had the time, she would document and notable facts about Naireth, just to be official. She felt the knot of irritation growing in her dragon's chest again and told her to calm down. The Tan let out a forceful, growling sigh and the tension receded from their mindlink.

"I wonder how long it'll be now..." There had been examples for the all the other shades of female, and predictably, just an apology for Sam and Loto. Such was life for the pioneer tanrider. "I'd almost like to just get it over with."

She's a good girl, Samael thought fondly. The dragon might have been forty-two feet long to Samael's five-foot-four, but she would forever be Sam's baby, raised with a gentle hand to be the magnificent and regal thing she was now. Even in her agitation - only once every two Turns or so, if Q'sis was to be believed - Naireth earned the majority of Samael's heart to herself. Thankful for Naireth's good behavior in a newly-trying time, Sam sent the beast soothing, warm waves of thought. She felt her black firelizard's presence grow suddenly in the back of her head, a bubble blown only to pop when Naireth bared her fangs and Balto avoided her again. That's why he wasn't here, she realized.

Her eyes lit up at Q'sis' flower-hands. She was jealous of the sight he had seen, wishing her daily errands had landed her in the right place at the right time to notice. Her imagination conjured up the aerial display to compensate, but it was soon replaced with the ghastly, frothing image of Ausk borne from Weyr-wide rumours as to her murderous pastimes. She smirked, though, knowing that the wher's handler was as good and responsible as they came and that Ausk wouldn't at all be allowed to be that bad. There was immense comfort, too, in knowing that Naireth would never be that bad even if Samael relinquished all control.

"A few days isn't that bad," she nodded. She could deal with a few days. She would make a point of gauging Naireth's condition that evening before curling up in bed for the night, to see to what degree she had gotten worse compared to the morning. If it escalated in any logical manner, she could at least guess at when the deed would happen. She would like to squeeze in another good night's sleep if she could, not that she would really have room in her head for annoyance when Naireth did Rise.

She was startled by his news, though. "Early? Really?" Then, "I'll admit Threadfall isn't fun, or easy. I see a lot less of it than the upper-level wings do, too... I like the reassurance, I guess, of having all those other dragons flaming above me. Extra safety is a plus." She liked her life; risking it wasn't her idea of a good time, so the less she had to do of it, the better. "Still, it's not really that bad, because you're not by yourself. You've got your dragon and the rest of your wing with you. It's not like Thread is going to suddenly win over all of Pern. Though," she smirked, "That's assuming all the other weyrs haven't been Searching delinquents. I trust Dalibor, but I can't really speak for the rest of them because I've never been."

"Well, I'm sure whatever they'll decide to do, you and Unath will be more than ready." It was a poorly-veiled compliment. She had faith in Q'sis. Even though she found him a little too sure of himself on occasion, his confidence was not without warrant. A man who could bring a daft dragon such as Unath to full functionality and full potential was not a weak man. Samael considered herself lucky with Naireth - the dragon, where she lacked the love of observation and interest in the surrounding world that the younger tan had, had instead a strong driving force behind her actions and no hesitations towards orders. Samael need only give instructions to her dragon, not babysit her as they were slowly puzzled over and followed through. Naireth felt perfect to her: perfectly matched to the strength she had in her to govern a beast.

Dalibor did not exactly feel perfect, but it felt like home - an entirely different matter. Unlike Q'sis, she had never set her sights specifically on the Weyr. She had never set her sights on anything, really. Moving to Crescent Hold had been a half-hearted stab at a hope to be useful. Being Searched had never been in her plans, and she hadn't even held a passionate belief that she would Impress. The whole journey had been simply serendipitous, eventually having landed her with a new home, a beautiful dragon and the company or friends. "Our Weyr," she smiled lightly, eyes cast idly downward to where she fiddled with the cuff of her sleeve.

Q'sis spoke of the fire and Samael's eyes wandered beneath the fabric to the mess of scar tissue on her arms; the puckered flecks that dotted her palm. It had become a part of her body that she didn't always notice. Like the scar in her shoulder, it was something she only examined when she was admiring her own nude portrait in the reflection on water or a looking glass. She tugged her sleeve down past her wrist.

"You, rude? Never," she smirked devilishly, knowing all too well how Q'sis stuck to his guns and how some weren't so agreeable. It was best, though, to forgive and forget, because he wasn't about to apologize for being himself. "Yalenia, hey? I suppose I should thank her, if you didn't already. I owe her one." She didn't like to think of the worst-case scenario, but as her voice stopped off her mind couldn't help but go there. She was immensely grateful to have gotten out of the fire before anything worse happened.