Checking In (Open)

[4horseshowgirl4]

B'nyur and Oveth soared over the Western Continent, making the short journey from Crescent Hold, where they had stayed the night, to Dalibor Weyr. B'nyur sat aboard Oveth's back easily, the dragon's dark blues wings flapping regularly behind him. His possessions and healer's tools were strapped to the dragon in front of him. B'nyur, too, was strapped in tightly. His early years of riding almost daily had taught him good balance, but he didn't want to chance a fall from this height.

Oveth, too, was moving easily. His eyes were whirling a rather lighter blue than they usually were from excitement. His muscles were getting tired, but it was a good tired that came from moderate exertion, not a complete exhaustion. I am happy, Mine, he said simply, as he usually did, and this pretty much summed up B'nyur's feelings at the moment, too. His healing work left him with little time alone with his dragon, and he suddenly realized how much he missed that time.

Finally, they came upon a landmark that could only be Dalibor Weyr. Oveth and B'nyur circled around the Weyr, looking for an apt place to land. The Weyrbowl was fairly obvious to find, but B'nyur was looking for the infirmary. He would need to find a weyr for himself near there, anyway. Besides, the infirmary and the surrounding areas were usually run by the Headwoman, and it was probably her that would know where B'nyur and Oveth would need to make their lodgings. Did Dalibor even have a Headwoman yet? B'nyur wasn't sure. Who would run the weyr assignments, then? It woud probably be either the Weyrwoman herself or one of the senior Kingriders.

Oveth circled, tightly spiraling down. His right wing was nearly tucked into his side, while his left wing was still fully extended. As they swiftly descended, B'nyur braced himself for his dragon's less-than-graceful landings. He was not disappointed; Oveth touched ground with a large thud that would have bounced B'nyur off of his back had not the dragonrider been strapped in. Don't fall, Mine, Oveth told B'nyur, clearly forgetting the fact that the riding harness made it virtually impossible for B'nyur to fall. {I won't, don't worry, dear Oveth.}

B'nyur quickly undid the straps and slid the short distance from his dragon's back to the ground, his knees bending to absorb the shock. Oveth sat clumsily on his haunches while B'nyur entered the Weyr, as he didn't know how much room was inside for a dragon. B'nyur quickly went inside, leaving Oveth to doze in the faint winter mid-afternoon sun.

Have you found anybody, Mine? Oveth said, concerned even though B'nyur had only been out of Oveth's line of sight for a few seconds. {Oveth, don't worry about me. I'll find somebody quickly enough. Somebody has to be watching out for the new transfers.} I have to worry about you. You are my Mine. I am your Yours. Oveth said, awkwardly getting to his feet to poke his head inside the Weyr. I see Mine! Oveth exclaimed, seeming delighted by the fact. Can Oveth come in? B'nyur sighed. {Fine, Oveth. But if you get stuck, don't get mad!} I promise!

B'nyur walked cautiously into the underbelly of the Weyr. Thankfully, these lower caverns were fairly large, and Oveth was able to walk behind B'nyur, trying to imitate his quiet steps. However, Oveth was not exactly good at being quiet. *THUD* *THUD* *THUD* B'nyur chuckled good-naturedly. Well, at least Oveth would attract some people.

B'nyur found the infirmary quite easily. It was nice and spacious, as he expected, with plenty of room for both human patients and dragon ones. Oveth rumbled happily when he saw the familiar place. B'nyur and Oveth were at the human's entrance, and Oveth quickly backtracked to enter through the other way. While B'nyur was browsing through the Healer's texts they had here, Oveth had settled himself in his usual spot in the corner, purring happily.

[Admin]

You say yes, I say no,
You say stop and I say go go go, oh no,
You say goodbye and I say hello.

Fajra was busy working, which was typically what she was doing most of the time. As she looked over pieces of parchment in the record room, her dragon was lounging, half asleep, in her weyr within sight of her. On top of a stack of papers, Afzal was curled up and sleeping as well. Hair pushed back out of her face, she hardly noticed their presence as she was engrossed in her writing and reading. Finishing recording something, she sorted a few papers into different piles after glancing at them and then became busy reading over another paper that was full of a neat, tight scrawl.

A dark blue dragon spiraling down into the bowl did catch Kalith's attention though. She raised her head to watch him, trying to place a name to the dragon. After a few moments of not being able too, she roused Afzal to question him with pictures to see if he recognized the blue. The bronze firelizard took flight and came to peer closely at the dragon for a few moments, but finally relented that he did not recognize him with a chirrup. New transfer, Mine; she informed her rider. The young Weyrwoman raised her head, expression not betraying any surprise, and hurried to join her dragon and pet on the ledge of their weyr.

B'nyur and Oveth; Fajra recalled easily after a moment. He's a dragonhealer; she told her dragon, who flicked her tail as a way of showing that she didn't particularly care. Ignoring her bored dragon, she looked down at herself to make sure that she was presentable. She was wearing her riding gear, so she was fine once she gave her hair a couple of brushes with her fingers. Done with that, she headed for the stairs that led to the ground of the bowl far below the ledge. Behind her, Kalith got up with a sigh and Afzal hurriedly darted away from the rising Queen to follow her.

By the time she was halfway down the steps, her dragon was in the air and waiting a little ways below, hovering just just above the round. Stepping out onto one of her suspended claws, Fajra scrambled up onto her back without any trouble. As soon as she was settled, they were off, soaring across the weyrbowl towards the infirmary where the Queen had tracked the new pair too. Though not interested in doing a meet and greet with the latest arrivals, she was more than happy to be out and about with her rider, who spent far to much time busy working on this or that.

Kalith landed just outside the dragon's entrance to the infirmary, pausing long enough to let Fajra dismount and start forward and then stalked in after her. "Hello and welcome to Dalibor. I'm Sr. Weyrwoman Fajra and this is Sr. Queen Kalith;" she curtly introduced the both of them to B'nyur, managing a pleasant smile for the dragonhealer. It was easy enough to feel cheerfully towards him; she didn't particularly care about him as a person but the Weyr had been in dire need of a dragonhealer. So, she was feeling inclined to be very nice to him and make sure he got settled.

Her dragoness, on the other hand, was fixing the blue with an interesting look, which was mainly do to the fact she was slightly put off by the fact that he was purring. That was what felines did, and felines were worse than pesky firelizards like Afzal, who had landed on his bonded's shoulder and chirruped a greeting of his own. Hello? The word sounded almost like a question as she said it to Oveth; she already had the feeling that he was a strange one. Why had her rider had to go and drag her out of her nice nap for this? She was feeling less and less hopeful.

I say high, you say low,
You say why and I say I don't know, oh no,
You say goodbye and I say hello.

[4horseshowgirl4]

B'nyurMine! Dragon! Oveth said, alerting B'nyur to the new arrivals. B'nyur carefully closed the old text through which he was leafing and placed it back in its proper position on the shelf. The infirmary looked little used, which meant that B'nyur would have plenty of time to browse through all the material. Oveth, too, stood up to greet the new pair, straightening his knees, which, in this dimmer light, were quite apparent that they were a slightly lighter shade than the rest of his navy body.

"Weyrwoman," B'nyur said, bowing as deeply as his spine would let him. He turned and also bowed to Kalith, shooting Oveth a quick order to do the same. The dragon nodded his head respectfully. His eyes were a yellow, confused color. What was this dragon? From her massive size and regal manner, it was rather obvious that she was a Queen, but Oveth had never seen a copper-colored dragon in his life. He couldn't help but stare, regarding Kalith as she was regarding him.

{Oveth, I told you about how Dalibor has differently-colored dragons. Don't you remember me telling you that Kalith was a Copper Queen, rather than a Gold one?} Uh... not really, Mine. I'm sorry. Oveth looked flustered. But isn't copper green, like ichor it colors? B'nyur was rather surprised that Oveth remembered this rather obscure healing fact. {Yes, it can be, Oveth. I'll explain it later; the Weyrwoman must be thinking we're rather rude for having our own little conversation at the moment.} Oveth didn't reply, but turned back to Kalith.

Hello, Ka...Kalith! Oveth answered Kalith with none of her trepidation. He didn't really know what to say after that. What was one supposed to say to a Queen? So, Oveth said nothing. He would leave the Queen-conversing to the Kings. Instead, he contented himself to listen to B'nyur.

"Thank you," B'nyur said. "I won't take much of your time. Where will Oveth and I be residing?" B'nyur's clipped words were breezier than Fajra's clipped tone. He was rather happier to meet the Weyrwoman than she was him. She didn't seem very happy at the moment, but B'nyur hoped that he could at least win her respect through his work. He was experienced enough to stay out of her way. "Are there any other Healers here?" B'nyur assumed not, or the Healers that were here were extremely neat people.

[Admin]

Shadow walks faster than you
You don't really know what to do
Do you think that you're not alone?

Fajra actually relaxed when he politely replied to her introduction to her with 'Weyrwoman' and bowed to both her and her dragon as deeply as he could seemingly as he could. Seeing that he seemed to be unperturbed by her but respectfully just made her feel comfortable enough to not be so on edge. It wasn't the most sensible thing, that stiff talk and formalities made her more comfortable, but she was much better with such things than real chatter. She smiled pleasantly back at him and tucked her hands together behind her back which threw her shoulders back and made her body all the straighter.

So, where are you and Yours from? The blue had been staring at her, but she hadn't minded; she liked been seen and watched. It made her want to preen and show off just how amazing she was. Because of that, and the oddities of him, she was curious about Oveth now. Also, she was trying to help her rider with this entire affair. It was her job, just like the Weyrwoman's, to play the part of diplomat and negotiator when it was necessary. She understood just how important a dragonhealer was to the Weyr.

When he asked where they would be staying, she quickly ran over what she knew of the new transfers. Where had she assigned this pair too? On the southern side of the Weyr; that was where most of fighters were. Somewhere near here, the infirmary, would make sense, so it would have to be . . . "You and Oveth will be residing up on the southeast side of the bowl, lowest level of caves. It's very close to here;" she told him after only the slightest pause to gather those thoughts. "Kalith can give Oveth directions." Her eyes unfocused for a moment as she passed mental pictures of the location of the weyr to her dragon.

"And no, we don't have any other healers. We're very glad to have you;" she replied to his inquiry. Her words were very sincere; she was certainly glad to have him around and she was sure that plenty of others were. Kalith rumbled to add emphasis and her voice to the words. The sound was deep and clear but distinctly feminine as her slender, lengthy frame was not designed to produce an extremely loud or growling noise such as that.

Your reflection is a blur,
Out of focus,
But in confusion.

[4horseshowgirl4]

B'nyur was inwardly surprised when Fajra seemed to relax, though he didn't let his expression betray this fact. As far as he'd known, he hadn't said anything that would cause the Weyrwoman to soften her expression and give him a smile that was far more sincere than her first. It might seem rather unlikely that B'nyur would notice such small changes in her posture, but, after all, B'nyur was a Healer, and it was his duty to notice such small changes, as they might give him some clue as to what was happening inside his patients' bodies. He wasn't a psychologist, though, and while he knew that Fajra's change was not due to anything physical, he didn't try to find out any mental reason. He would leave that to her dragon and her weyrmate, if she had one. Somehow, B'nyur doubted it.

Oveth was rather excited. Kalith was actually talking to him! A Queen had never talked to him before to say anything conversational like this. Oveth had only heard a Queen speak to give orders. This realization so enthralled him that, bless him, he nearly forgot from where he was. Mine is from the Healer's place. He went to Fort to be a Dragonhealer. That's where I hatched! It's a good thing that Mine was there, too! Oveth said cheerfully. What about you and Yours? Oveth added after a few seconds, suddenly remembering that it was always polite to ask a question in return.

"Will do!" B'nyur said as Oveth quickly relayed the images back to him. Their small weyr seemed nice enough from the slightly impaired and imperfect images Oveth had managed to pass on. The fact that they were on the southeast side was nice, as there would be plenty of sun in the morning to rouse the heavy sleeping B'nyur. Oveth twitched his wings, eager to go see it, but he wouldn't leave until Fajra and Kalith did.

"Thank you for your time, Weyrwoman," B'nyur said. "Just have a Candidate nip me up a wing drill schedule when you figure out where to put me. Now, if you don't mind, Oveth and I would like to start setting up camp here." He nodded to Fajra politely before striding over to Oveth and unfastening various bags and sacks from Oveth's harness, unpacking his Healer's tools. The unnatural starkness of the place was unnerving him, and he was anxious to at least make it look inhabited.

[Admin]

The frames are suddenly burnt,
And in the end of a roll of illusion,
A ghost waiting it's turn.

Yes, it was very good that Yours was there when you hatched. Mine and I are from Bay Weyr; both of us were born there. It is very different there than here or at the northern Fort; she replied easily to him, speaking more properly than the blue but still enjoying the conversation. The simple, sweet creature was easy to talk to. There was something endearing about the way he said the obvious and hardly seemed capable of talking at all. He was a little odd and a little slow, and she would be the first to say it even though she'd just met him, but he wasn't so bad.

"Actually, we currently have a small lack of candidates, and some of the current ones are less than reliable;" Fajra said, speaking on, unperturbed, as he went to start settling in. The young Weyrwoman heard much and was aware of many things so she knew of the antics of certain candidates. It was her job to be aware of potential future problems that might end up arising. If one was aware of the fact that the number of candidates was very close to the number one, it wouldn't be hard to guess who her thoughts were on as she spoke of their less than endearing qualities.

"Your assigned to the Dawn Wing and O'sho, rider of bronze Daidoroth, is in charge of it. You should speak to him about a drill schedule;" she continued. There was an odd emphasis when she said the name of the wingleader and candidatemaster. The only reason that it was odd was that her general way of speaking was not one that contained such emphasizes. It was generally just a brisk but clear way of speaking things, not really boring but not interesting due to the fact that it was so cool and lacked style. The reason behind the way she said his name was as foreign to her as it was to anyone else.

Feeling left out given that the healer hadn't been paying any attention to him, Afzal choose that moment to rise off his bonded's shoulder. She frowned slightly at the bronze firelizard but the lanky little creature darted forward regardless of that; he always was very much his own person. Coming to hover in front of B'nyur's face, he gave a cheerful chirp, grinning a draconic smile at him, just as sweet as could be. Of course, he wouldn't turn down a treat if this got him one.

It's fading way too soon,
The shadow is on the move,
And maybe you should be moving too.

[4horseshowgirl4]

Where is Bay Weyr? Oveth asked, rifling through his rather limited memory slowly, trying to remember if such a place had ever been mentioned to him. He honestly didn't think that he'd ever heard of the place. The old Weyrs of the North tended to ignore the newer ones on the other continents, so, while Oveth knew Fort, Ista, Benden, and the like extremely well, it was entirely possible that no one had ever bothered to mention Bay to him. Yes, this place is very different from Fort! Oveth enthused. Here, there's no snow in spring, B'nyur gets to sleep at night, and Queens talk to Oveth! Indeed, Oveth had decided that he liked Ka... Kali... Queenie. She wasn't uppity like all Fort's Queens! Actually, he was surprised to find that conversing with her really wasn't much different from talking to dragons of a lower rank.

B'nyur couldn't help but chuckle when Fajra started to talk about their Candidates. She didn't seem bothered by the fact that he was moving about the infirmary, taking his tools out of Oveth's harness bags and putting them inside various cabinets and drawers, so he continued to do so as she talked. He gave her a cursory glance over his broad shoulder as she spoke, just to let her know that he was still listening, before turning back to his task at hand.

"Well, there's no hurry," he said easily. "I'm sure the Dalibor Searchriders will find some good ones before the first clutch hatches." B'nyur had mixed feelings about Hatchings. On one hand, he, like everybody else at the Weyr, loved to watch the Hatchings and reveled in the fact that every healthy hatchling made the Weyr stronger. On the flip side, Hatchings almost always resulted in several dragonets needing to be patched up in the infirmary. Dealing with dragonets was the hardest trial with which B'nyur had to deal as a Healer. The dragonets were often panicked, thrashed liked baby humans, and the new Weyrlings often didn't know how to control them.

However, it didn't seem like B'nyur didn't have much to do at the moment, so perhaps a little work would be a nice interruption. As for the mention of an unruly Candidate, B'nyur didn't fuss himself over the fact. Little did he know that he would meet her the next day, the morning of the Gather.

"I will speak to him tomorrow," B'nyur said. "Is he the only Bronzerider here at the moment?" B'nyur hoped so because it would make his Wingleader that much easier to find. If not, he was going to need a bit more description to find the right man. He found an ink pen in one of his pockets and scrawled the man's name on the back of his hand, so that he wouldn't forget to get a drill schedule from him the next day.

B'nyur was slipping his small stock of numbweed into one of the drawers when Afzal popped in front of his face. The Bluerider was slightly surprised and took one small step back before he realized what the flash of metallic hide by his nose was. "Hello, little one," B'nyur said kindly, smiling back at the friendly Bronze firelizard. "What's his name? He sure is a sweet fellow," he asked Fajra, reaching out a hand slowly and deliberately to stroke at the flitter's small head. "I'm sorry, but Oveth and I already had so much Healing junk that we didn't bring food with us," he continued to Afzal.

[Admin]

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be.
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be.

Kalith rumbled with amusement at the blue's comment about his rider sleeping at night and Queen's talking to him. It was very cute, in a funny sort of way. There is snow up in the wastes all year round and there is snow in fall still sometimes; she told him, adding clear pictures of the waste and the Weyr covered in a thin layer of snow during last fall. She preferred it when it was a sunny, but snow was colder but better than rain in general. Bay Weyr is on the Southern Continent, between Frontier Weyr and Southern Weyr on the coast; she explained patiently to him, carefully giving him a few pictures from her memories of her birthplace. She certainly remembered things well; landmarks like Weyrs were important to remember too.

When he spoke about there being plenty of time to find candidates, Fajra eyed Kalith. It would all be up to the fiery Queen about how much time they really had to find candidates. She mentally made another a note that she needed to make some polite inquiries to the other Weyrs to ask if they could search to the holds that they protected. That was the right way to do things and would keep any feelings from being hurt or any toes being stepped on. "I'm sure what you say will be true, once we get a few real searchriders;" she replied curtly to him. She kept her voice from betraying any worry or bother about the fact, though Kalith's misgivings, when she choose to think about such things, often prickled in her mind. There was no need for a dragonhealer to worry about it, of course.

"Oh, no, Daidoroth is our only bronze, at the moment anyway. He should be easy to find;" she told him, pursing her lips slightly as her thoughts turned to O'sho again. It was the only display of her displeasure towards the Weyr's solitary bronzerider; she didn't want to show that there was any unrest amongst the leaders of the Weyr. Kalith, who was good at keeping composed when her rider thought it was best, mentally gave her a sort of questioning little prod. The copper, growing bored again, did flick the tip of her tail to show that; she liked to be amused. It's nothing, love; the Weyrwoman reassured her dragon firmly. They left it at that and she firmly shoved her wants of reek revenge on certain parties to the back of her mind. Doing that was fairly simple; she had the problem that Afzal was harassing B'nyur now.

Afzal beamed his draconic smile at B'nyur until the dragonhealer said 'didn't have food' and then he sort of slumped in midair while remaining hovering. He lowered his head and dropped his legs out as far as they could so that he looked very sad and forlorn; his gave flickered towards his bonded momentarily. The young bronze firelizard's lanky form and simple face was utterly perfect for looking very pitiful. "His name is Afzal. My foster mother said it was the name for someone better or superior when I was little;" Fajra said, hurrying over towards them and clucking to her pet. He obediently came to perch on her shoulder, keeping attitude and body language as sad as he could. Still, she was smiling; the cute flitt brought out her softer side as she was so fond on him and he was so insincerely innocent to everyone almost all the time.

And when the broken hearted people living in the world agree,
there will be an answer, let it be.
For though they may be parted there is still a chance that they will see,
there will be an answer. let it be.

[4horseshowgirl4]

The waste? Oveth asked, wrinkling his nose. To him, the waste was not a geographic landmark, but a pile of smelly, used materials. Why would waste be covered with snow? Isn't it usually burnt in the kitchens before the ashes get thrown outside? Oveth's mind whirled furiously, trying to make sense out of Kalith's words. However, the images she sent him cleared everything up quite easily. Oh! That's what Queenie meant by waste! Thank you for that, Oveth said in his contented manner, happy to know what 'waste' was. He would fill his Mine about what he had learned later. For now, though, he waited for B'nyur to finish talking to Fajra, as the Dragonhealer had told him that it wasn't polite to have private conversations while others were speaking to them. Oveth certainly didn't want to offend anyone!

B'nyur couldn't help but shift uncomfortably slightly when Fajra pointed out that the Weyr had few --or no-- Searchriders. As a Bluerider, it was a certain stigma that he should Search at least a few Candidates. B'nyur was generally quick to agree that Blues made the best Searchdragons, as Oveth, for all of his simplemindedness, seemed to have that 'sixth sense' that Blues had for Searching.

B'nyur remembered his early days back at Fort, just after he had become a Journeyman. He and Oveth were flying to the Healer Hall when the Blue swerved suddenly over a cothold. There is a Candidate, Oveth had told him, landing with the Weyrling awkwardness that he had never quite fully outgrown. "A what?" B'nyur had said, grumpy to have his trip interrupted. "How do you know?" I like him. After that, B'nyur had always steered Oveth away from any civilization when they were flying. B'nyur didn't like Searches; he was far too lazy to enjoy all that work. The Searchdragons had to fly all over Pern, and, even if Oveth found one randomly, it was quite the job to explain everything and get the new Candidate settled in when there wasn't a clutch on the Sands.

B'nyur mistook Fajra's curt tone as some hint that B'nyur should be a Searchrider. He shifted again; he'd heard this before, and he and Oveth often got wrangled into the duty when Candidates were few and the eggs were many. "I'm not a big fan of Searches," B'nyur said, rubbing his left foot on the back of his right calf uncomfortably. "I prefer Healing to Searching, but I'll help if I have to." With that, he turned back to sorting out the few medicinal herbs he'd brought with him into their respective drawers.

B'nyur nodded to let Fajra know that he'd heard her. Good, good; it wouldn't be hard for him to find his Wingleader. Oveth gently reminded B'nyur that having only one Bronze was not a good thing, but B'nyur wasn't in the mood to worry about Threadfall or Queenflights at the moment. That was Fajra's job. His was to take care of the Weyr's dragons, and he was doing that now. By putting herbs in drawers. It was important. Well, maybe not, but someone had to do it!

B'nyur was feeling a little guilty that he was somehow shirking his duty as a Bluerider by not willingly participating in Searches. Oveth hugged his bonded's mind with his own, soothing and reassuring him. Candidates will come, Mine! They'll want to be a part of this new Weyr, too! {I guess we'd better hope for metallic eggs on the Sands} B'nyur thought wryly.

"He's sure not acting superior now," B'nyur weakly joked, chuckling. "Come on, Afzal, that's not how a King should act. You perk up and stay healthy, and I'll give you something later." B'nyur wasn't sure if the firelizard would understand his words, though he knew some were extremely intelligent. He'd only dealt with a few in his line of work, tending their stomachaches (from their people overindulging them on sweets, mostly) and healing their scratches. "How long have you had him?" B'nyur asked, setting down the final empty sack of what had been packets of drugs. "He's certainly got people figured out pretty well."

[Admin]

Oh, maybe you should make a list for me,
Of everything important in this world,
In a note of urgency,
'Cause I don't know how to feel.

Kalith did find the blue's ignorance a little annoying at moment then but not enough to get angry at the sweet dragon, at least for that; other traits from him did bother her a little more. She liked respect and felt that even a simple-minded fighter should be able to manage that properly. After all, he'd mention that the Queens from his older Weyr were much more uptight about associating with lower ranking members than she was. She associated with who she wanted, when she wanted. Queenie? My name is Kalith. K-A-L-I-T-H, Kal-lith; she explained to him, flickering her tail in irritation now. There was a tinge of pride that touched her voice when she spelled out her name; she enjoyed being able to do things like that. Her rider was always writing and reading, so she'd picked up a few things, such as how to spell her name and her Mine's name. It wasn't the most useful skill for her but she hadn't found it hard; she hadn't bothered with any other things though since she didn't care about much else.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll be very busy with your job. We have a lot of workers in the lower cavern despite having few riders who will need to see a healer often enough and I believe you're qualified for caring for humans as well as dragons;" she replied to his uncomfortable words about searches, as curt as she had been before. She didn't care much "I'm currently working on getting permission from other Weyrs to search in there holds. Crescent and Western aren't that populated yet. If no one else can cover a section, I'll mandate that my wing turn out to go searching. A red, an orange, and a copper should certainly at least be able to find female candidates;" she continued. Talking about business was easy for her, and it helped to organize her thoughts about what she needed to get done and what she was going to do. At the idea of going searching, Kalith gave a rumbling laugh. She wasn't particularly good or experienced at sensing candidates but she liked having people gawk at her.

When the bluerider joked weakly, Fajra actually chuckled too and tickled Afzal under his chin to make him have to perk up as he rumbled very softly with laughter like the Queen. She was more lighthearted around pets and young animals; it was the only time she ever acted what was considered more normal and sweet. Afzal wasn't the most kingly of firelizards himself but he was smart. When the dragonhealer spoke to him, he tilted his head to the side to listen carefully and try to see what his bonded was thinking. After a moment of considering it, he seemed to understand and sat up proudly on Fajra's shoulder with a chirp. He was going to get something later if he acted like others of his color and didn't get injured; it seemed easy to him but it wasn't like he saw far into the future normally anyway. So, he left his sullenness behind in an instant, spread his wings wide on his perch, and launched himself into the air to before a couple of rather acrobatic moves to show off to B'nyur.

"Afzal doesn't much care much about acting as a King. He's very good at getting what he wants though and a fine, brave commander, one of the only creatures I've ever met so far who will try to duke it out with Kalith;" she explained proudly to the dragonhealer, watching the firelizard instead of looking at him. She was much more relaxed and natural talking about her show-off of a pet. He never wins though; the Queen interjected into the conversation to her rider quickly. An amused grin came onto Fajra's face then. "Kalith seems to want me to explain to you that he, of course, never wins;" the Weyrwoman added to her previous statement. She was also much more relaxed and natural teasing and translating for her dragon. The copper hunched her shoulders and hissed, disliking being teased by even her rider. So, the young woman mentally gave her a sort of soothing pat in order to make her settle. Shifting her haunches, she relaxed again.

Maybe you should stay a mystery,
And I know you as well as anyone else,
And you will appear the same to me,
'Cause I don't know how to feel.

[4horseshowgirl4]

Oveth's relaxed posture instantly tensed when it became obvious that he'd said something wrong. Why was Kalith angry at him for calling her 'Queenie'? He was being respectful! However, he knew that it was Kalith's opinion that counted, not that of a lowly-minded Blue. He instantly decided that he would make it right, whatever he had just done wrong. He just wouldn't call K, Kol, Ka... Kalith by name anymore! Or her rider... oh, forget it, he didn't have the slightest idea what her name was anymore. It would take several sevendays before he would be able to easily recall the names of his aquaintances. Oveth is sorry, Ka--Kalith, the Blue said, lowering his head, his eyes whirling a light color and showing his slight distress. He felt awful! He'd just disrespected his Queen! She must be so offended! Oveth was used to healing hurts, not creating them, and even this small transgression lay heavy on his conscience. He was, as expected, quite confused about Kalith's spelling (he had absolutely no idea what she was doing), but any curiosity he felt was overwhelmed with his need to make the situation right again.

{Oveth!} B'nyur said sharply to the dragon, cutting off the reply he had started to Fajra, sensing his dragon's unease. Oveth's flustered mind snapped to attention. Mine? {Relax!} It was an order, not a friendly suggestion, and Oveth reluctantly eased his tensed muscles. {If you can't wrap your mind around the fact that Kalith is a Queen and will act like one, you're going to have a tough time come Threadfall!} Oveth didn't reply; he was sulking slightly. {Now get over it. You're not going to pout like a hatchling whose Impression got overshadowed by that of another dragon, got it? You won't be able to do your job if you're sulking.} Oveth realized that B'nyur was right, though, of course, snapping out of a stormy mood wasn't easy. {Now tell Kalith you're sorry for acting like an overemotional dragonet.} I'm sorry for acting like an overemotional dragonet, Oveth parroted reluctantly.

B'nyur turned back to the Weyrwoman, watching appreciatively Afzal's shenanigans. "I was an apprentice Healer before I went to Fort Weyr, yes, but I don't know how to operate on humans or treat their more advanced diseases. However, I should be able to patch up minor injuries until a real Healer arrives." Whatever Fajra said, Afzal was certainly acting like the most egotistical and overconfident Bronzes that B'nyur had ever met. By saying what she had, B'nyur hoped that she meant that the Bronzes (or Bronze, singular, B'nyur reminded himself) were far less uptight and vain than they were at Fort. However, B'nyur thought with a chuckle, they got hurt as much as any other dragon, despite the self-acclaimed strength about which they trumpeted every time a female took flight. Still, Bronzes tended to have fairly long memories, and B'nyur was certain that Afzal would appear at B'nyur's first meal at Dalibor, begging for food. Shameless, wanton flitters, he thought with a smile.

B'nyur broke into hearty guffaws at Fajra's next quip. "Well, I would certainly hope so!" he chuckled, letting his gaze settle on Kalith's massive, lithe, shining body. She was an immense specimen of a dragon, and, despite her slender form, there was no doubting the muscles under that shining metallic hide. Afzal, strong Bronze firelizard as he might be, could never even come close to rivaling the juggernaut that was Kalith. However, it wasn't even the sheer size that mattered so much as the attitude. Kalith looked surly enough that Fajra had even mentioned that the flitter even fought with her; certainly she'd never let any dragon best her.

"I think he could probably take Slowpoke over there, though," B'nyur teased lightly, tipping his head at the small Blue dragon behind him. Oveth seemed oblivious. Who? he asked, his curiosity piqued. {No one}, B'nyur reassured him. It seemed kinder not to tell him, though Oveth would probably agree eventually that he wasn't the most impressive physical or mental specimen of a dragon. B'nyur constantly worried about how he would fare when Thread finally came again, though, unfortunately, the pair would probably spend more time on ground duty patching up those that fell to Pern with Thread burrowing into their bodies. B'nyur shuddered at the thought, though he knew it was inevitable. This was why he was a Healer.

[Admin]

Ask me a question,
And I'll fill you full of lies,
I know now the truth is bigger than my disguise,
The message that I sent was shot down long ago,
All I wanted was a simple yes but baby you said no.

Once he apologized, the Queen immediately settled down; she was only looking for confirmation that he respected to her and would reced to her opinion and authority. It was a matter of her pride but it was more a test than something really to do with something that bothered her. So, she returned to resting again and her tail stopped its irritated flicking. To recline especially comfortably, she leaned slightly against one of the couches that would hold sick dragons in the future and allowed herself to stretch out. It is fine, Oveth. I suppose it is fitting; she mused to the blue softly. Her amusement about his simpleness slowly started to fade again as he sulked and acting like he wasn't a fully grown, solid fighter. Again, the tail, the long, limber tail, began to twitch again; it was the clue to her irritation even when she was trying to act as unreadable as Fajra almost always was.

The tail paused and then stopped all together as he apologized once again, but this time for his more recent behavior. That was certainly a good way of putting it - acting like an overemotional dragonet. The cleverness and fitting of it seemed far to below even Oveth, so she guessed that he must have been talking to his rider. Kalith turned her head to give B'nyur a quick look before her calm, composed blue-green eyes towards the other dragon. Once again, it is fine, Oveth. Just use your energy for better efforts in the future. Sulking does you know good. It is much better to enjoy the day or do something good; she said sagely. As one of the higher colors, she certainly wasn't stupid. She was feral, in her own way, but was capable of acting civil when she was required to. It was all there in her body motions - dangerous, intelligent, attentive, knowing, perhaps almost perfect.

Fajra nodded appreciatively as he explained that he had been an apprentice healer before going to Fort. If he could take care of the minor injuries, she was sure that she could send any major cases away or get an experienced healer to come her for a time until she could get one assigned to her. An underpopulated was not the first priority for the Healerhall though; she was using enough of her time pressuring for transfers and candidates at the moments. In time, she could get a healer. She didn't have the time to wait for more dragons and people to Impress to the future children of Kalith and the other female dragons of the Weyr. Though she remained on the conversation at hand, her thoughts were drawn towards other worries. Her job was heavy, and she'd fallen into large shoes.

"Afzal is doubtful to even try to beat the, er, slowpoke;" she replied to his quip about the bronze firelizard being able to take on Oveth. The fact that the blue seemed unable to understand that his own rider was referring to him hit home with the Weyrwoman. Blues weren't generally stupid dragons; it was almost pitiful how little this one seemed capable. He was sweet, yes, but that wasn't enough in most cases. He was cute, like Afzal, with his antics, yet it was somehow less endearing to her with a dragon. Kalith could find it cute all she liked; she was more based on the practicality of it all. A smart dragon was better in threadfall; one with good instincts would fare well enough too. However, Oveth seemed to have neither and was simply totally oblivious to everything. She only found him passable because he was linked to a dragonhealer.

"He's a smart one, but he's all about being chivalrous, noble, and treats. Sometimes he doesn't seem as smart as he is because of it but he only picks fights that seem right to him, even if that is a little warped;" she explained to B'nyur, smiling faintly again as she watched her pet. As she talked about him, he came to settle on one of her shoulders again and rubbed his head against his cheek as a way of showing his affection and respect. She scratched one of the ridges above his eyes with one finger in response. It was glimpses to behind her mask, when she focused on just the firelizard who was so good at charming his way to anyone. She wasn't cold and curt when she was dealing with him, though still guarded.

You can't see my point of view,
You're too caught up in protecting you,
I'll put on a smile and wait just like I often do,
Then I'll make myself a promise too.

[4horseshowgirl4]

Yes, you're right, Oveth said softly in return, fighting to keep some dignity in his tone. It was too easy to act like a scolded dragonet in front of a Queen, the maternal figures of the Weyr, but Oveth knew that would be stupid, even for him. Kalith was far too young to be his mother. Still, no matter what Kalith said, it was any dragon's instict to submit to whatever a Queen said, and Oveth felt his muscles slowly relaxing, his posture becoming slightly less defensive. The motions were rather involuntary, caused not by his own consciousness, but by the fact that Kalith had told him to stop worrying. So, he did.

Oveth paused for a moment. What would be considered 'doing good?' There was no use in 'enjoying the day,' as the day was nearly gone. Oveth's mind was far too simple to take the formidable dragoness's words as anything but their pure, literal sense. To him, that only left doing good. The only way he knew how to do that was by working in the infirmary, but there were no dragons in here to be treated at the moment. Oveth knew that that was a good thing, but it left him with no way to achieve the goal Kalith had given him. He lowered himself back down to the hard, sterile stone floor, settling himself to wait for B'nyur. In the meantime, he could be helpful! Kel...Kalith, he began, all of his earlier anxiety gone, Would you know where to find healing herbs around here? Are they plentiful on this Continent, or should Mine grow them from seeds he brought from Fort?

As he spoke, he couldn't help but be rather enthralled by the sight of the rather testy and irritated Queen. The sheer power her movements betrayed was both awe-inspiring and somewhat frightening. Her size, too, was impressive in and of itself: she would barely fit on the couch. Tentatively, he raised the tip of his tail and imitated Kalith's movements, twining the tip in lazy figure eights and spirals in the air. It was almost as if his tail was seeking to calm hers, loathe as Oveth was to see any small tic or twitch ruin the perfect grace of Kalith's body. She was on his couch, in his infirmary; therefore, she was his patient, and, as B'nyur had always told him, the patient must be calm. Kalith might rule the Weyr and all of Pern, but this small room was his, Oveth's.

B'nyur nodded. It didn't appear that Fajra had much of a sense of humor. He had been kidding, after all, but Fajra had taken the joke seriously. B'nyur wouldn't call Oveth stupid (though that fact was probably due more to his love for his bonded than to reality), but, after all, not all dragons could be smart. It was the same with people. Of course, while B'nyur had dealt with many idiotic people and dragons in his days-- after all, they were the most accident-prone-- Fajra, high-ranking as she was, probably had little time to talk to anybody but the most important people of the Weyrs and Holds. People, B'nyur imagined, that would be far from stupid. It was an interesting thought.

B'nyur let the subject drop. Afzal seemed like a much easier topic for Fajra. She was actually smiling, a gesture that was more than welcome to B'nyur. There was obvious love and affection between the two. While it was apparent that Afzal was willing to charm anyone, B'nyur had heard of, and was now experiencing, Fajra's usual coldness. It was hard to imagine anyone, even Kalith, to share such a carefree relationship with the Weyrwoman. Their conversation was ricocheting from ease to tension unnervingly quickly, and B'nyur was eager to pounce on an easy subject when he could. He had figured out that talking business with Fajra was no good.

"How long have you had him? You two certainly seem close," B'nyur commented as one would on the weather. What was it like to have a firelizard? B'nyur often wondered, but he was wary of Hatchings of the little beasts. It would be just his luck to Impress the crazy one that seems to have an eerie penchant for mayhem. There seemed to be quite a lot of those among the flitter population. A quieter, more dependable one would be nice; if B'nyur could manage to train it, then it might be useful for fetching herbs and the like.

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[Admin]

Revolutionaries wait,
For my head on a silver plate,
Just a puppet on a lonely string,
Oh, who would ever want to be king?

Kalith looked pleased when he instinctively relaxed under her orders. She liked being a Queen; she liked being in charge and being listened to by everyone. That entire thing was probably connected - most higher ranking dragons were designed to be good at filling the roles that they were allotted to. It was there, ingrown into the every fiber of a Queen's being, into her being. The Weyr was hers. She had to do what was best for the Weyr; she had to lead the Weyr. Anyway, of course she was right; she was often right, when she cared to have an opinion on some matter.

When he fumbled over her name again, she sighed again. She was beginning to just wish she'd stuck with 'Queenie' and just dealt with it. I don't know where the herbs are. The continent is harsh and rocky; there isn't much that grows here. The most likely place is in the north, around here and Crescent. Not much grows down south; she replied to his question about where to find herbs. It might be best if Yours planted the seeds; she added. Topics about healing weren't something she knew very much about, though she didn't like to let on about that. She preferred to seem as if she were all knowing, the omniscient Queen who saw and heard everything. If anyone wanted to argue about that with her, it was at their own risk; she disliked being argued with about anything.

As Oveth tail began its soothing movements, she allowed herself to relax as she saw it, and sensed it in only the way a dragon's finely tune senses could. She was already calm enough, given her tendency to be a little bit fierce and aggressive. It didn't bother her to just be soothed. He was good at that, the sweet, silly blue; he definitely seemed to be very empathic and useful with healing. So he wasn't useless; that was good. It had been seeming as if he would be a useless fighter, but, if he could help his rider, it would be fine. Lowering her head, she waited for her rider to finish talking.

Fajra continued to gently scratch Afzal's head. He loved getting attention, though he preferred treats to just petting. However, he knew that his bonded wasn't likely to give him any such thing; she stuck to a good diet for him and was hard to sway. Even he couldn't do that and she actually liked him. Though he could distract her, which was what he was doing. Still, despite paying much of her attention to him and some to B'nyur, she could sense that her dragoness wanted to go enjoy the sun. As she reached out towards her with her mind, she felt the dragoness react without giving any sign away physically. It was just a flash of pictures and ideas between them with a strong understanding - sun, rest, work, time. The bond that held made words obsolete much of the time. Even when they used them, their communication was lightning fast.

"He's about two turns now. His egg was a present for when I graduated. I don't mind firelizards as long as they don't get in the way;" she replied to the dragonhealer's question. Prying and clinging to his bonded's thoughts, he could understand that she was thinking about time and how big he'd gotten. So, to show it off, he reared up onto his back legs, spreading out his wings and balancing himself with one foot on her head. He was a lanky creature but about average size for a bronze, which made him pretty big for a firelizard. His hide shimmered as he moved up into greater light; it was a deep, metallic brown color with touches of orange that gave it that bronze effect. He let out a proud trill.

"Afzal, down;" the young Weyrwoman ordered him and, sheepishly, he settled back on her shoulder. There was a tinge of smugness from Kalith when the firelizard was corrected. She preferred it when he wasn't the favorite; she liked her rider to pay more attention to her. Sighing, Fajra was suddenly very much back on task. "Kalith and I should go. Is there anything else you need?" Her eyes remained fixed politely on B'nyur but she took a step or two towards the exit. Seeing her riders movements, Kalith rose from her comfortable seat and stretched luxuriously. She was going to go lay around and relax elsewhere now, where the sun would be shining for a bit longer, and than she could sleep.

One minute I held the key,
Next the walls were closed on me,
And I discovered that my castles stand,
Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand.

[4horseshowgirl4]

Oveth imitated Kalith, stretching his head down onto the sterile stone floor towards B'nyur. She seemed somehwhat impatient and eager to leave the confines of the infimary. His dragonborn senses were quite as good as Kalith's, and his ability to find pain or discomfort in his fellows had been carefully honed through years of working as a Dragonhealer's dragon. He, too, wanted to leave. He wanted to see his new weyr, to just spent time with B'nyur, and feel the rays of spring sunshine warm his navy hide.

Thank you, Oveth said quietly to Kalith as both an expression of gratitude and a closing. She was certainly a very capable Queen. Power simply shone from her every particle like her brilliant metallic sheen. Oveth was at once both awed and a little bit intimidated. He wouldn't trade positions with her in a million Turns-- no! She had to manage everything with Fajra. Oveth liked his little corner of the Weyr, simply because it was little, it was cozy, and it was manageable, even to Oveth. He could help in his own small way, though B'nyur did most everything.

The Blue dragon was getting a little drowsy. He blinked languidly, but he didn't dare close his eyes in present company. How rude would that be? Still, he let his lazy mood touch B'nyur's brain progressively, like waves building on a shore, adding images of reclining in the sunshine. {One moment} B'nyur replied softly. {Be patient.} Oveth was going to relay the information that Kalith had given him regarding herbs, but he remembered that His was still talking to the Weyrwoman, so he held his tongue.

B'nyur just nodded, his eyes trailing over the beauty of the Bronze's form. He disregarded what Fajra had told him earlier: that flitter was acting like any Bronze B'nyur had ever seen. {Showoffs!} he thought to no one in particular, but the sentiment earned a warm, tingling feeling of appreciation from Oveth. B'nyur smiled slightly. How childish, and yet how sweet, that the Blue relished each small thought that selected him out as better, it was.

"Oh, no, Oveth and I are fine. Thank you for all of your help. I hope not to see Kalith back here anytime soon!" He smiled, hoping that the pair would understand the joke. "Then again, I can't imagine anything hurting her." He cast the Copper an admiring glance because he knew that Queens liked to be admired, and their cooperation was often essential in Dragonhealing. B'nyur wasn't stupid, and he had seen many horrible cases where it had been necessary for the Queens to mentally restrain mortally wounded dragons so that B'nyur could treat them.

"It was very nice meeting you. Dalibor is a lovely place." B'nyur strode forward to shake her hand, before bowing slightly and gesturing Oveth out of the infirmary. {Something about sunning yourself, Oveth?} B'nyur teased lightly, looking around for their assigned weyr and recognizing it quickly. Yes, B'nyurmine. Let's!

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