For the Benefit of Mr. Kite (Gather!)

[mopsy93]

Carissa was momentarily surprised when a man around her own age said to her, “Hello there. Are you a local, or is this your first Western gather, like it is mine? I haven't been to a gather since I was searched, myself." He was a little taller and skinnier than the average for his age, but besides that did not stand out in a crowd appearance wise. He did, however, have long limbs and big ears as well as pale lightly tanned skin, slightly wavy dark brown hair that was cut short, and narrow green-brown eyes among other features. She was happy that she had somebody to talk to even though she was unfamiliar with this person, without anybody that she knew around it was hard for Carissa to be comfortable especially with such a large crowd.

“No I’m not local, I came from the Weyr,” said Carissa. “I transferred from Igen Weyr less than a sevenday ago so I do not know my way around here really. My name is Carissa, and I am a Dual Candidate at Dalibor Weyr. This is not my first Gather, but it is my first Gather here. What is your name by the way?”

[Digitalis]

Tamren was slightly surprised to learn she was from the Weyr as well; he didn't remember seeing her around before. Not that he necessarily would have; it wasn't like he had the time to meet each new candidate that arrived. It was true he had only been a candidate for less than six months himself, but he had been through Wenth's hatching and had actually stood for a clutch. He felt like a veteran now, and he was no longer a newcomer himself, or so he felt. "Huh, so you're a candidate as well. My name is Tamren, formerly from the Southern Tanning Hall. I'm just a candidate for the dragons, though; I never quite got the appeal of the whers."

The teenager gave a shrug and a quick grin. "Not that I'd hold it against you. I've got my eyes set on a dragon, though. Anyway, how are you liking this Gather? Is it similar to the ones you've been to before?" Tamren was glad for the chance to talk to someone his own age. He wasn't all that outgoing, but he was hardly a loner, either, and he welcomed the chance to make a new friend. Especially a fellow candidate; there was a chance they could end up as weyrlings in the same class, after all.

[mopsy93]

“Nice to meet you Tamren, I have been to a few Gathers but it was usually with my family back in Tillek,” said Carissa giving a small smile glad that she had somebody to talk to. “This is pretty normal as far as basic set up goes, nothing too out of the ordinary at least for now anyway no telling later though. Being a Dual Candidate is rather new for me, before that I was strictly a wher Candidate first at High Reaches Weyr then at Igen Weyr. It did not cross my mind that I could stand for Dragons as well until a Searchrider at Igen Weyr suggested that I could. I’ve already stood for two wher Hatchings in the past but the next Dragon Hatching will be my first one. Talena, my older sister, was luckier I guess she Impressed a Blue wher on her first time standing. The whole reason why I am here was because the old Handler and wher stationed at my family’s Hold died and we needed a replacement so my sister and I volunteered to Impress a new wher.”

Carissa was happier that she and Tamren had something in common in standing to Impress Dragons even though she was from the Northern Continent and he was from the Southern Continent among other differences. Then again many at one time fancied themselves a future Dragonrider though few ever followed through with it making the two of them one of the lucky ones.

[Digitalis]

Tamren returned Carissa's smile with one of his own. It wasn't hard to make it genuine--smiles came easy to him, as did conversation. He gave a nod as she described being searched. "Searchriders have a way of surprising you like that, don't they? I've never been to a wher hatching, myself--well, not a normal one, anyway." The strange events of Wenth's hatching came to the front of his mind. Hopefully that would be the last time wher eggs managed to get mixed in with dragon eggs.

"There was an odd case with a wher hatching during the last hatching, but I'm sure you've heard about that by now." It had been the topic of conversation all over the Weyr after the tan's clutch, and Tamren wouldn't be surprised to hear there were still people talking about it to those who hadn't been there. "Dragon hatchings are really exciting, though, even if they can be...dangerous." He didn't really think she'd mind a bit of danger though; she was a wher candidate as well, after all.

[mopsy93]

“I heard about the Green wher egg in the last Dragon Hatching even though I was still at Igen at that point, Yhisk fancies herself a Dragon oddly enough I heard,” said Carissa. “I’d hate to be in Yhimere’s place right now. Searchriders can surprise you, especially if it is not a formal search like in my case. From what I heard about some of the other Hatchings, Dragon Hatchings is about as dangerous as wher Hatchings, especially when you consider the last double Dragon Hatching. No offense intended if you did not like that I brought it up of course. I am also interested in the Pillies if only out of curiosity, as far as anybody knows they are only native to the Western Continent. Fire Lizards are also of interest to me though I have not had any luck in getting any eggs or been around for a Hatching.”

Many Fire Lizards both wild and tamed could be seen around the Gather though Carissa did not know enough people to tell which had owners and which were just passing through. There were some Pillies in attendance as well though they were few and scattered about not in as great in numbers as the Fire Lizards.

[Boo]

Stuuuupid Callistath, she shouldn’t even be here. The people will all look at her and not at me because of her hide.
Oh shush.
However, underneath the complaints, Rayna could feel concern and strain from the gold. She felt it herself, of course as this would be the first gather they had together without Kalith. Rayna felt tense and worried yet she could only attribute it to the fact that this gather would be at Western Hold. As much time that had passed since she had first met Lord D’lios, she still didn’t like the Lord Holder and would, in fact, be much happier to remain at the Weyr but it was better not to let this particular emotion show through.

The Weyrwoman pulled herself up into the riding straps and along with a couple of other riders, including a purplerider carrying a couple of wherhandlers, took to the skies. In her mind she could hear the excited shouts of a black whose eyes had been covered by a cloth so as to not be harmed by the light.
KISK AM BE FLY!
Apparently he had never quite learned how to control his thoughts in moments of extreme excitement and the shouting did spark a momentary smile on Rayna’s face as they disappeared between leaving the purple behind.

As they burst forth, a brown circled overhead and instantly, Rayna tensed thinking it was Perbiath. She would really rather not having to deal with that particular dragon just yet.
It’s not.
Now that she looked a little closer she recognised the lighter coloured brown dragon as one of Kalith’s last offspring. Deretsoth she thought his name was but she pushed the thought from her mind. They touched down at the same time as two blue dragons, a lighter one and a darker one. From the darker dragon’s back climbed a handler and a blue wher, the handler carrying a few harper instruments. A blackrider was off in the distance herding her pets into a line as an orangerider, Lirone from her own wing spoke with a cyanrider.

There were plenty of Weyrfolk around and some were already setting up their own stalls. Rayna found it admirable that so many had maintained their crafting skills on the side along with what was already required of them. As soon as she had dismounted, she spotted Lord D’lios. Busying herself instead with Couineth’s riding straps she chose, for the moment at least, to forego the moment when she would have to interact with the Lord Holder. She watched as Avalle and O’sho spoke off in the distance and observed a few other riders who were arriving as well as the Weyrfolk they transported. There were some who would be arriving much later having chosen instead to fly their way to the Hold including some of the younger Weyrlings.

[/blockquote]

[Digitalis]

"Huh. Somehow I'm not surprised it's spread all the way to Igen," he said. The last hatching, from what he'd heard, wasn't even Dalibor's most eventful, but it was still...notable. He wasn't particularly close to any of the new weyrlings, though, so hadn't seen much of them or the dragons since the hatching, much less the nocturnal pair. He doubted Yhimere would have agreed with her, though; apparently, some people still thought whers were pretty neat, even if dragons were better.

As Carissa continued speaking about the hatching before that, he shrugged. "Fortunately, that was before I got here; I didn't witness it first-hand myself. Hopefully Callistath's clutch, when she rises, isn't that bad. I'm pretty sure I could handle myself if thigns got violent, though," Tamren said, injecting confidence and self-assuredness into his voice. With his limited experiences of hatchings, he figured he'd be smart and fast enough to get out the way of any angry hatchlings.

Tamren really tried not to let his thoughts about the creepy, overly-large and clingy bugs known as pillies show on his face. He wasn't particularly successful. "Pillies...yeah. Uh, you might want to talk to someone else to learn about those." Sure, he happened to have some of his own, but that didn't mean he liked them. "I'm more of a fire lizard man myself. I just have bad luck with eggs."

[mopsy93]

“Callistath is due to rise soon isn’t she,” said Carissa a worried look crossing her face. “If it was not a Gather held at a major Hold Avalle probably would not be going outside the Weyr like this. That was what I heard anyway, I do not know enough about Dragons to make a definitive answer myself. What I heard also it seems like Kalesk is also due to run around the same time as well, so we might very well have wher and Dragon double clutch again, an expected one this time thankfully. Pillies are not too bad, now if it was Tunnel Snakes it would be a different story, even if the parents are tamed you cannot exactly treat a Tunnel Snake as if it were a feline or similar animal let alone Fire Lizards or Pillies. Pillies have a fairly similar colour hierarchy as Dragons, whers, and Fire Lizards as well though some of the familiar colours are a little different, like Black Pillies being larger and less common than Brown or Blue Pillies. Pink Pillies are still smaller than Blue or Green Pillies though, at least that’s the same as with Dragons and Fire Lizards even though they are nothing alike in other ways.”

[Digitalis]

Tamren nodded and grinned. "She will rise soon, at least that's what I've heard. I can't wait until there's another clutch on the sands. I doubt it'll be during the Gather itself, though. I don't think Avalle would have brought her out here if she was that close." Little did he know, he'd be changing his mind in a few hours. At the moment, however, nothing had occurred to contradict his faith in the Weyr's leadership.

"But pillies, unlike fire lizards, are bugs. And really big ones," he said, fighting a grimace off of his face. He supposed, maybe, that wild pillies had a purpose, eating man-hunting fish and all that, but he couldn't fathom why people willingly bonded them as pets. He still hadn't gotten over the giant-insect thing. In a most-likely-transparent attempt to change the subject away from pillies, he brightened and asked, "So, do you have any plans for after you Impress--dragon or wher? I'm planning on being a wingsecond someday, and probably eventually a wingleader, if I'm lucky. How 'bout you?"

[mopsy93]

“I do not really have any plans beyond getting through wherling or Weyrling training in one piece really,” said Carissa. “I guess that I will play it by ear for now. I would probably be too worried about messing up to be in charge of people beyond myself. Trying to juggle my own personal life with being responsible for others is probably not something I would do willingly on a daily basis. Being responsible for myself, Dragon/wher, and any pets that I get on a regular basis is good enough for me. I will take charge if there is nobody else available to take the lead but it is not a situation that I would actively put myself in. My older sister Talena and brother Issencar would probably be happy with me Impressing either a wher or a Dragon, I cannot definitively say which way my younger siblings would go, and I think that my parents still believe that I only stand for whers. It would be a pretty big shock to my parents if I Impress a Dragon instead of a wher, though they respect Dragonriders too much to be out right against my Impression even if it was a surprise for them.”

[Digitalis]

Hah. He had successfully steered the conversation away from creepy-bugs. "Yeah, I suppose that makes sense, considering you're not even sure you'll be Impressing a dragon or a wher yet," Tamren said with a nod. He conveniently forgot the fact that it was uncertain whether either of them would Impress period, for the moment. It was still a little weird to him that other candidates were nowhere near as ambitious as he was, though.

"Me personally, I like being in charge, and I think I could handle it. It's why I'm pretty much hoping for a bronze or iron, not that a sub-king would be bad, either. Wingseconds and Wingleaders get tons of respect. Anyway, I like to plan ahead, so I've already put a lot of thought into it. I'm glad there's a queen's clutch coming up soon." Wenth's hatching had been an interesting and educational experience, but the highest rank to come from it were the two sub-kings. Callistath's clutch (once she rose) would doubtless have irons or bronzes, and a lot more eggs overall. He didn't really mind waiting longer, but he had a good feeling that he'd Impress a dragon from that clutch.

[mopsy93]

“With an attitude like that, I might very well be seeing you trying to catch a Queen Dragon,” said Carissa giving a little smile and a wink. “Of course even in a Queen’s clutch there will not be many Kings mind you, Kings collectively only make up about four percent of the Dragon population after all. The vast majority of the hatchlings will probably be male and female fighters. Quite frankly I am happy if any Dragon or wher is willing to Impress to me, I do not really care about colour or size. You and me both know that there is a point where it becomes exceedingly unlikely that you will Impress a Dragon, it’s a little older in women but men it is usually around 21 turns I think. Whers do not really care about the age of the handler; they are more like smarter Fire Lizards in that regard, but it is harder to deal with whers on a day to day basis admittedly. Do not get me wrong, I will be happy if I do Impress a wher, even if it is a bit of a pain sometimes to understand the point they are trying to get across. That is especially true with the Fighters and Greys, White whers are smart enough though to make complete sentences even if they are talkative.”