Reunion (JACK!)

[4horseshowgirl4]

She had finally reached the Weaving Hall in the north. Luckily, the journey had been fairly uneventful. It seemed that her old Hall hadn't bothered to look for her (or the stolen runner) very hard. She figured they wouldn't. She had been more trouble than she'd been worth. She was talented enough but no prodigy, that was for sure. She had done just enough work there not to get kicked out. But, here, she had actually bothered to exert effort. She had always thought she'd Impress to one of Alizadehth's babies, and that weaving was just a side thing. But, now Alizadehth was dead, her mother was dead, and her newly-rediscovered father had betrayed his family and meekly joined Dalibor Weyr, the renegades' conquerers. She thought he'd have more of a backbone than that. What about independence, about following what one believes? She never, ever would have thought the strong, proud T'el of Iron Sjueth would have so easily given up.

But, now she wasn't so sure if she would ever be Searched. Certainly Dalibor would never take her. She was the spawn of two renegades. She was lower than the holdless to them. And the other Weyrs? It was uncertain. Two Searchriders had come by from different Weyrs, passing her over both times. It looked like she might be a weaver for life. She'd been unusually quiet at the Hall, staying withdrawn. She didn't want anyone to get close, to find out what had happened to her. She didn't need anyone's pity. So, instead, she'd actually put her nose to the grindstone and done her best to impress her teachers and classmates. The sooner she became a journeywoman, the sooner she could get out of here and figure out what the heck she was going to do with the rest of her life. Revenge on Dalibor was at the top of her list, but how could one girl hurt an entire Weyr?

She still had the stolen runner. Her work was good enough now that she could sell some of it and pay for his board at the Hall. She'd put work into him, too, figuring out how to ride. She was still green and he was still green, but she could usually stay on for an entire ride now. She'd named him Emblem, after one of the few embroidery terms that was suitable for a runner name. He was no dragon, but as non-human friends went, he wasn't bad. At least, he didn't seem to hate her for taking him out of his comfortable barn and embarking on a month-long trek across Pern. Besides, he was snugglier than any dragon could be.

Morning classes were over, and Xela jogged down to the stables. She had time to take Emblem out for a ride before afternoon classes started. She'd skip lunch. She really had no desire to be shoved into a crowded room with the people she usually tried to avoid for an hour, anyways. She much preferred being on horseback in the windy Northern air, pretending to be adragonback. She rather enjoyed retaining an air of mystery.

Emblem pricked his ears when she approached. He nickered hopefully, but she wasn't here to feed him. He nuzzled her empty palms anyway, just to make sure. Xela snorted and rolled her eyes before throwing his tack on him. She scrambled onto him ungracefully (he was not a tall runner but she was an awfully short girl for her age) and squeezed his sides with her calves. He was as eager to get out as she was.

Soon, they were far from the Hall. Xela knew the land around here fairly well by now. She and Emblem trotted over a small set of hills, and Xela grinned. Now, no civilization was in sight-- she and the runner were alone. It was freeing. Emblem tossed his head impatiently and jigged, protesting the tight rein. He knew what was coming. Xela patted him, then leaned forward and threw her reins at him. Emblem happily took off, his quick strides eating up the ground. Xela's hands were wrapped in his mane to avoid falling off, as she had the first several times she'd given him his head. It was a LOT of fun to catch him afterwards. It had taken her, what, an entire candlemark and a half the first time?

She wasn't entirely happy here, but it was better than staying where she had. She had a job, a home, and a runner, and she didn't have to see the sun rising over Dalibor Weyr every morning. What more could she ask for? Life was good enough.

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[jack]

Taken down by Jack. ;3

[4horseshowgirl4]

Focused on sticking on the runner's back as she was, Xela was far too familiar with the sudden sensation of a massive shadow falling over her not to look up. She did so... but there was no dragon in sight. She frowned. No cloud caused that. She attempted to scan the skies for the source of the mysterious shadow, but Emblem refused to be pulled up, obviously not as perturbed by the shadow as Xela had been. She turned her attention back to their gallop. It had probably just been one of the Northern dragons getting some exercise. Weyrs were a dime a dozen up here, after all.

Not a minute later, though, Xela's earlier suspicions were confirmed when an all-too-familiar roar spooked Emblem. He bucked, hard, and Xela was thrown halfway up his neck, trying to wrestle back into control. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sjueth's massive form coming down upon them as swiftly as silver fire. Emblem, too, caught a glimpse of the giant King dragon, but before he could do any more to try and escape (not that there was anything he could have done if Sjueth actually wanted him for lunch), he was nearly knocked to the ground by a set of gargantuan talons. Xela was finally thrown to the ground, though she considered it a small miracle that she'd stayed on as long as she had.

Emblem wasted no time once he was released. He panicked and sprinted around and around the ring Sjueth had made out of his body, searching for any way out. Xela steadfastly refused to make eye contact with the dragon or search his back for a familiar dragonrider; instead, she busied herself with trying to catch Emblem. However, she failed at that quite miserably, while the Ironrider finally showed himself, slipping off of Sjueth's back and snatching up Emblem's reins, halting the little runner in his tracks. The poor thing was quite beside himself.

Xela strode forward and firmly grabbed the reins from her father. She tried to look stubborn by scowling and crossing her arms, but, of course, it's hard to look intimidating and avoid being trampled by a panicked runner who thinks you'd make an excellent shield from the big, scary dragon at the same time. "Well, did you think I was going to stay at a Hall that tithed to the Weyr that killed my mother and made a simple grunt out of my father?" Xela challenged, making eye contact with T'el for the first time and nearly getting knocked over by Emblem at that moment.

"And what do you want? Besides, you know, permanently scarring my runner," Xela said. She was almost as diminutive as she'd been a Turn before but had obviously developed a teenager's mentality. Considering she had been hoping at some point to bring Emblem to a Weyr, she had rather imagined his first encounter with a dragon would not be as terrifying as this. She couldn't say she was exactly happy to see T'el. The only reason she wanted to see a dragonrider was to be Searched, and as an ex-renegade and one who had caused the Weyr more than his fair share of headaches, she wasn't convinced Dalibor would accept any Candidates he Searched.

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[jack]

Taken down by Jack. ;3

[4horseshowgirl4]

Sjueth finally retreated, and poor Emblem finally relaxed. Xela could quite easily see the tension draining from his body. Still, he kept a wary eye on the massive dragon. Xela loosened her grip on the reins and leaned on his shoulder, more confident now that she wasn't going to be trampled. The dark brown runner rested his head on top of Xela's, quite enjoying T'el's soothing ministrations. She listened to T'el speak, and took a few moments to respond. She had to gather her thoughts first. "His name's Emblem," she said to break the silence. "I stole him from the Western Weaverhall to get here." She smiled a little bit for the first time since Sjueth had pounced on the poor runner. Most parents would disapprove of such an activity, but she was fairly confident T'el would feel a bit of pride that she'd managed such a journey on her own. Wasn't that what he'd taught her-- self-sufficiency? Independence? How to fend for herself?

She was still irritated at T'el, and absolutely furious at Dalibor, but she didn't want to be angry with her father. Having him Search her was a dream of hers. Besides, he was family. Not just family in that he happened to be related to her (her mother came to mind), but family in that he cared for her and tried to teach her how to be a better person. But, even still, she was too stubborn to let herself give in too quickly. She didn't come all the way to the Northern Continent just to be led away like some obedient ovine!

"It couldn't have been 'join or die!'" she finally protested, albeit far quieter than she had. "There are still renegades-- I met two of them on my way out! And one of them was Alizadehth's hatchling!" She paused, stepping away from Emblem and crossing her arms unhappily. "It just feels too much like giving up!" she said, resignedly. There. She finally said what was bothering her so much. She hated having to just sit there and take it. But, again, what could she even do now? One four-foot-nothing girl and a little runner against an entire Weyr? She'd get her revenge somehow. Somehow, she'd teach Dalibor that they couldn't just... do that to people and dragons!

She paused again, pretending to be debating something with herself, even though her decision had really been made the second Sjueth flew overhead. Finally, she slumped again and smiled at T'el. "I'm sorry. You know I much prefer you alive. And thank you." She stepped forward, dragging Emblem with her (she didn't trust him to stick around if she dropped the reins-- if she were him, she'd want to get out of this place as quick as possible, too!), and she wrapped her arms around T'el in a hug. She really had missed him. "Shall we go? I'd much rather be a Candidate than a Weaver. Besides," she said, her mouth twitching as she struggled not to laugh, "I think I need to meet my new stepmom."

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[jack]

Taken down by Jack. ;3