Even Though Your Skies Are Blue {Gathering!}

[Admin]

Rukbat peeked out over the horizon and spread its rays out through the open sky, turning it from the deep black of night to the warm pinks, oranges, and reds of dawn to the clear blue of day. As the fragrant scents of flowers that sometimes drifted on the winds, that were now quite warm, hinted, spring had come to the Western Continent. It was the end of the sevenday and clear as could be. The Gathering, that had been set so long ago, was finally going to happen.

Those who came with business arrived early and workers were out well before dawn setting up stalls, temporary paddocks for the beasts that would be traded, the stage for the harpers, and tables to surround the dancing square, and others decorated the entirety of Crescent Hold in brilliant colors. The cooks in the kitchen were busy turning out food for the guests that would be coming; the bakers begin to set out their delicious smelling wares quickly. Around everything, there was a buzz of excitement. This was a joyous event, a wonderful occasion; it was a new turn after a seemingly long winter overshadowed with the loss of the Weyrleaders at Dalibor. The innocence of the day, with children running down the alleys of vendors and laughter everywhere, was refreshing to all.

Finally, Rukbat broke free of the horizon altogether and rose into the sky. Up on the heights of the hold, the watchdragon tossed back its head and bugled a greeting to the new day. Below, many of those that were already milling about let out a cheer as dragons began to appear in the sky on perfect cue with the guardian's cry. Let the Gathering begin!

[4horseshowgirl4]

Where are we going? Oveth asked, prodding B'nyur roughly with his nose. B'nyur, still lying abed, woke groggily. "What?" he asked, still not fully coherent. Dawn had barely broken. "What are you talking about, Oveth?" The dragons are leaving! We leave, too, to follow the other dragons! B'nyur sat up, rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, and slouched over to where Oveth sat on the his ledge. He was rather startled to see the other 'Riders all checking their harnesses and getting ready to leave. "Oveth, they must be getting ready for the Gather!" B'nyur exclaimed, suddenly remembering.

B'nyur grabbed at his riding straps and started to harness Oveth. The dragon stood obediently still, but his eyes were whirling a furious light blue. B'nyur chuckled at his dragon's apparent excitement. He tugged the final strap into place and slapped Oveth fondly on the shoulder. Mine, what's a Gather? "Silly dragon, you've been to three before! It's just a congregation of the weyrfolk and the holdfolk. It's a lot of fun." Oh!

Oveth lowered his front end so B'nyur could mount, which he did easily. Oveth bugled in his curiously high-pitched way before peering over the edge of the weyrledge. "Off you go, Oveth!" B'nyur said firmly. Oveth spread his wings and dropped off the ledge, plummeting for a few feet before gliding forward. The Blue landed on the stony floor of the Weyrbowl with his usual bone-shattering jolt. B'nyur dismounted quickly before looking around, trying to find out when they were leaving.

A young woman sprinted up to him, wild black curls flying everywhere. "Hey, Mr. Bluerider!" Pratyba called, smiling broadly. "Can I hitch a ride to the Gather?" She was clearly as excited, or perhaps more so, than Oveth. B'nyur smiled alongside of her despite himself. It was pretty hard not to be enthralled by the prospect of a Gather in this new, quiet little Weyr. "Certainly." B'nyur said kindly to the girl. "Thanks!" Pratyba laughed, sprinting towards Oveth.

B'nyur chuckled. If Pratyba had to pick any dragon to which to just run up, she couldn't have picked a better one than Oveth. The Blue was slightly surprised, but just turned his head around to softly whuffle her hair. Who is she, Mine? {A hitchhiker.} B'nyur told his dragon, chuckling again. "Do you need a leg-up...?" B'nyur asked, but Pratyba had already vaulted onto Oveth and was strapping herself in behind B'nyur's spot. "I'm ready!" she called. B'nyur just shook his head in disbelief.

B'nyur climbed aboard in front of Pratyba, careful not to accidentally hit Pratyba when he swung his right leg over his dragon's side. "Let's go," B'nyur said to his dragon, his passenger, and himself. Pratyba grabbed onto her straps, a bright grin on her face. "Fly, Blue, fly!" she encouraged. Oveth rumbled happily before swinging his wings down in one powerful stroke and lifting them precariously into the air. Several wingbeats later, they were on their way, angling out of the Weyrbowl.

Pratyba was completely at ease on the dragon's dipping and swaying back, a fact for which B'nyur was eternally grateful. He'd had too much experience trooping around terrified new Candidates or Weyrbrats that insisted on clutching at his tunic like it was their very lifeline. "I'm Pratyba!" the Candidate said. "Who are you? What's your dragon's name? Are you new? I don't think I've seen you before, and I've seen most everybody here!" B'nyur paused for a moment to direct Oveth back to Crescent Hold, where they'd been yesterday. "I'm B'nyur, the new dragonhealer, and this is Oveth. Yes, we only arrived last night." He paused again. "Do you mind if we /between/?"

"Of course not!" Pratyba said, laughing at such an absurd thing. "Go for it!"

Oveth blinked /between/. The trio was overcome for a few seconds by /between/'s opressive cold, but Oveth reemerged at Crescent just as dawn was breaking. "Woohoo!" Pratyba hollered, pumping the air with her fist.

"Hold on!" B'nyur cautioned. "Oveth's not the smoothest lander!" Pratyba grabbed at the leather straps, bracing her body. Oveth touched ground with an uncomfortable bump at Crescent. Oveth half walked, half waddled into the Gathering area, swinging his short, awkward legs out and forward and holding his wings out to the side. Pratyba had herself unstrapped and into the thick of the crowd before B'nyur even had time to say goodbye to the quirky girl.

{Water, Oveth?} B'nyur asked. The dragon had eaten and drunk his fill last night, but a pail of water would do well to keep him comfortable at the long day here. He quickly fetched a small wooden bucket of water and watched contentedly as Oveth drained it. Oveth settled himself in a sunny spot just outside the Gathering area, basking in the weak winter sun. B'nyur started to browse through the stalls, looking at everything for sale.

[renscorch]

Er, I think there something going on, Love. Came and invading voice in his dreams. "Huh, what?" W'al asked, He pushed himself up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "What did you say?" Er, I think there something going on, Love. That what I said. "You really need to learn to stop taking everything serous...Never mind.." He looked out of his weyr and, yes there was something going on.

He then looked at Kerath. "Why not ask?" He wondered. The purple dragon popped his head out from over the weyr. He made a bugle noise. Their riders said gathering, He the sent a image of were it was. "I think we should go, or get scolded..." Ya, what a great thing to look froward.

W'al readied himself with a quick bath, after a few moments he had dried himself off. Throwing on his clothing, then strapping on his riding gear. He turn to Kerath. "How I look?" He asked. Kerath forward his own image of W'al. "Yes I agree I look very mess, but it will have to do." Climbing on, "let just get over their quick."

[Kila]

Sol was up and dashing around the Gather square before even Rukbat had began to rear it's sleepy head. She and Stelos, her younger brother and the eldest son of the family, had been shaken from their sleep and told in hushed tones that they were to go and build a stall in the square from which Sol and her mother would be selling baked goods during the Gather today. Their early morning had nothing in store for them but manual labor. Unwillingly, Sol rolled over and got out of bed. Her father, Sonstem, making her sit behind a stall all day and play hostess to a bunch of strangers was nothing more than she'd expected, but to wake her this early to build said stall too? He could've done it himself yesterday, she thought sleepily. But there was no use in her protesting, this was one of his ridiculous orders that she couldn't get out of doing. He probably waited until the last second so I'd have to do it, she realized with a groan. Nonetheless, she pulled some clothes, flattering ones she'd chosen for the Gather, and then warmer clothes overtop of them. Kissing her younger sister Tess on the cheek and then peering into the boys’ room at the younger brother, Comnile, she left the house and rustled around with Stelos until she found the tools they needed.

Despite the fact that the two siblings didn’t usually get along, Sol and Stelos, united by a common complaint, set aside their differences and grumbled betwixt themselves on their way to the square. It was cold. Despite the fact that Spring had just begun, Winter was still present in the atmosphere where it lurked in the early morning hours. In between the other, already made stalls, a large pile of wood sat where Sol knew her mother’s stall was supposed to be. She shivered as they hammered away at their project in silence, trying to preserve as much body heat as they could. The arrival of Rukbat on the horizon seemed to take turns, but came as a great relief to Sol and Stelos as they toiled away. Not only did Rubkat’s light warm their bones, it made their work go quicker, and they were soon finished.

Right on cue, Celine, their mother, appeared with a massive tray of goods and a large cloth draped in the crook of her arm. She acclaimed their work thoroughly as she slid behind the counter and immediately began to set things up. Sonstem arrived right behind her as she threw the cloth out over the ledge and smoothed away the wrinkles until the thing was immaculate. He looked the structure over with a curt nod of approval and then pulled Stelos up by the shoulder. “Good. You’re done here, son- the rest is women’s work,” he declared, pointing Stelos in the direction he expected him to go. Stelos sullenly gathered the remaining tools and obeyed. While Sol was up to her ears in pastries all day, he would be running Sonstem’s petty errands. Her heart softened for him a little as he walked away moodily.

Before she had time to challenge her father’s chauvinistic and bossy orders, Celine had her employed in running back and forth between their house and the stall she had only just finished building. For the past few days Celine had not left the kitchen and not stopped baking. Sol had been forced to spend the majority of her time in there with her. She had run errands and fetched cooking utensils and ingrediants for her mother, but, thankfully for the people who would be buying treats from her today, Celine had secretly not allowed her to bake a thing, much to Sol’s gratitude. Now, their house was packed full to the seams with every kind of baked good imaginable- and they were the most delicious around. While Celine had a magic touch in creating edible masterpieces, Sol had about as much skill as a rock. And though she had not baked them, she was expected to sell them today. “People will begin to arrive soon!” Celine warned, hustling to and fro.

Sol carried tray upon tray and carts full of goods from her little house to the stand until there wasn’t any room left. She set the last tray in place just as Rubkat finished rising and the watchdragon let out a cheerful bugle.
“Mom,” she said, leaning on the counter and watching the dragons, carrying their riders and passengers on their back, arrive in the sky, “Do you really think we’re going to sell all of this? There’s twice as much more still at home, even. Were you expecting to feed the dragons too?”
“Don’t be smart,” Celine replied noncommittally, straightening things out and finding things to do until the very last second.

Sol rolled her eyes and watched the square begin to come alive. She was so excited to see a great crowd at Crescent Hold. Tillek, where she had come from, had a far greater population than the new and growing Hold to which she had been recently moved, and she had often rubbed elbows with huge amounts of people every day. There was a definite lack of excitement here that she hoped would be filled by today’s event. She glared at her apron and the baked goodies all around her. Sol was still indignant that she had been caged up in the wooden stall to play hostess for a bunch of strangers. She wanted to get out and be part of the Gather! Explore! Meet new people! And maybe find the young, handsome Lord Holder, she thought, smiling slyly. Sonstem was determined that she should stay with the Bakers and help her mother, but she had other plans for the day…

[4horseshowgirl4]

Pratyba darted for the stalls where all sorts of merchandise were being peddled. She halted suddenly in the middle, throwing out her arms dramatically and sucking in a big breath of the nippy, early spring air. It smelled of a new season, but, better yet, it had that unmistakeable aroma of plenty of people all bustling around. There was no better smell to Pratyba, one of good food being made, one of warm bodies going about their business, and one that was sometimes tinged with the unique smell of strong perfume that some of the upper-class ladies wore.

Pratyba couldn't help but spin merrily in a circle. This was where she loved to be, here, in a crowd. She could hardly be called claustrophobic, that was for sure. She ducked into the thickest part of the crowd, giving perfect strangers jolly hellos before trotting off, usually leaving them with quite the confused look on their face, wondering, "How does that girl know me?" Crescent Hold wasn't exactly filled to bursting, but it was populous enough to satisfy Pratyba's need to see people of her own age.

Pratyba was so blind in her own joy (and so klutzy that she was stumbling every other step), that she rather quickly collided head-on with a young man carrying a large tray of klah. Of course, Pratyba managed to hit him so that all the klah slipped off the tray on the man's side and slop all down his perfectly clean and very nice Gathering clothes. Both Pratyba and the young man were knocked off of their feet, and Pratyba hastily stepped forward to help clean him.

"You sharding IDIOT!" the young man exclaimed, wailing as he tried to mop up his soiled garments. Pratyba hesitated before attacking him with a small piece of rag that she kept tucked inside her tunic for occasions just like this one. They certainly happened around her often enough. The man panicked and charged around like a young runner colt being broken under saddle for the first time, with Pratyba clinging tenaciously to his shoulder and doing her best to get the klah off of his tunic. The young man was already fretful about the Gather and all of the duties he had to do so that his father would have a profitable day. Slopping klah all over himself was not part of the plan, worsening his anxiety. However, being tackled by a perfect stranger who was just trying to help was too much.

The man squirmed from Pratyba's grasp and sprinted off, weaving through the crowd than Pratyba thought possible. A few other passersby gave her strange looks, and Pratyba thought it best that she skedaddle away, as well, quickly wringing out her rag and stowing it back in her tunic. A few small children were struggling to contain their laughter, being shushed hastily by their mother. Pratyba smiled at them, giggling herself. In their childlike innocence, they couldn't help but snicker quietly among themselves as their mother hurried them away.

Pratyba jogged away, more careful to give anyone carrying a tray of anything a wider berth. She quickly found herself among the many stalls. It was fairly loud and rowdy here, with much haggling and bartering going on. Pratyba was fascinated by everything, from firelizard trainers selling eggs (and some of the shadier ones trying to pass off a plain, larger egg, which looked like it would be a Brown, as a Gold egg), to the leatherworkers selling harnesses for dragons and runners alike, to, of course, those peddling food.

It wasn't long before Pratyba's nose had led her to a huge stall selling shelves upon shelves of delicious looking baked goods. Pratyba's stomach rumbled, reminding her that she'd forgotten to eat breakfast in her haste to make it to the Gathering on time. Pratyba currently had in her possession about half a mark, which was her entire savings at the moment. Despite the fact that there was little to buy at the Weyr, Pratyba had a hard time keeping tabs on her money. It seemed to spend itself!

"Hey!" Pratyba greeted enthusiastically. She was pleasantly surprised to see that the person manning the baked-goods stand was around her own age. "I'm Pratyba! Who are you?" Straightforward as always, Pratyba's cheerful and sincere smile was as inviting as her words were off-putting. She stood to the right hand side of the stall so as not to prevent anyone else who wanted to give the young woman their money from doing so.

Pratyba silenced the many questions that were tumbling impatiently through her head like so many clothes in a warm pot of cleaning water and soapsand. After all, the woman running the stand more than likely would have more that one thing going on at the moment, and Pratyba was rather eager to interact with someone at this Gather that wouldn't run away from her screaming just because she'd tried to help! She didn't want to scare the stallkeeper off!

"Why do you look so irritated?" Pratyba questioned, though this was far from the most polite question to ask. Pratyba just couldn't contain her own curiosity, and the woman really did look rather testy. Pratyba simply couldn't imagine why! This was a Gather; it was exciting and happy! Of course, Pratyba would probably feel differently if she had been here as a worker rather than a cheerful participant.

[xena2009]

Mine.

What is it, love?

Everyone is leaving. Vhreth replied matter-of-factly to her rider.

What fo- Oh. It must be the Gather!

Well, are we going? That had perked up the orange dragon. She looked into her weyr.

Yes, we are going, love. Arsana just finished smoothing her hair. She looked at her image in the polished metal she had placed on the table of her weyr. She walked out to her lovely orange dragon and put on the riding straps and vaulted up into her spot. "Let's go, love."

Vhreth launched into the sky and winked between to Crescent Hold. She bugled a greeting to the Watchdragon before spiralling down to land to let her rider off. Have fun, Sanamine.

"Oh, I will," Arsana replied to her orange with a bright smile. She gave the dragon a final pat on the foreleg before turning and heading into the Gather crowd.

[4horseshowgirl4]

While B'nyur was off browsing the merchandise, the arrival of a new dragon didn't escape Oveth's notice. The flamboyantly orange color flashing through the flawless blue skies wasn't exactly something that was easily missed, however. Oveth was lying on his sternum, his eyes half-closed as he dozed in the quickly warming sunlight, but Vhreth's arrival shook him back to consciousness. Like a snake following its charmer did Oveth's navy head follow Vhreth's form as she landed lightly on the ground.

MINE! MINE! shouted Oveth, his eyes whirling anxiously. When B'nyur did not immediately heed his words, Oveth uneasily called again, B'nyurmine! Come! Oveth lumbered to his feet, pacing back and forth in place. Where was his bonded? Had he been lost amongst the crowd? Oveth panicked and strained to see him, to no avail. Mine! Where are you? What had started as simple excitement and encouragement for B'nyur to come see the new arrival had turned to draconic terror when B'nyur failed to show up for a few seconds.

"What on Pern is the matter Oveth?" B'nyur said, finally appearing to the Blue's great relief. His dragon's fear and epic unease had greatly worried B'nyur, and while his tone was rather exasperated, the worry lines etched on his face displayed the massive love and concern B'nyur felt for him at the moment. It was hardly the first time Oveth had panicked about being alone.

Oveth brightened immediately when he caught sight of B'nyur, and he lowered his head for the Dragonhealer to scratch his eyeridges, which he always did. Please excuse Oveth, he just wanted you to see Queenie arrive! But then B'nyurmine didn't show up, and Oveth got worried. The Blue dragon was content now, his eyes returning to a pleasant, dark shade.

"It's fine, Oveth, it's fine," B'nyur assured the Blue, as the dragon relaxed under the soothing scratches. "But I don't see Kalith here." B'nyur wasn't very surprised by this fact, as Oveth constantly confused dragons and people alike. Over there! Oveth saw them land! Oveth protested. B'nyur turned around, but he still didn't see Kalith. There was only one other dragon here at the moment, and it was... an Orange? B'nyur recognized the coloring quickly from description, though he'd never seen one before.

See? It's Queenie! Oveth said, interrupting B'nyur's train of thought. "No, Oveth, it's not. Kalith is a Copper, and this is an Orange." But Ka...Kalith's not Copper! Copper is green, like ichor! "Oveth, I explained this to you yesterday," B'nyur said patiently. "The dragon color Copper is a metallic orange. See how that dragon's not metallic?" Oveth cocked his head, pondering that for a moment. Oh! So who is she? "I don't know, why don't you go introduce yourself?" Okay, but B'nyurmine is coming with Oveth, in case this Orange is a mean Queen!

With that, Oveth walked awkwardly towards Vhreth. B'nyur followed his dragon, one hand resting soothingly against the Blue's tall shoulder. Hi! I'm Oveth. Who are you? Isn't it so pretty out today? This is B'nyurMine.

[xena2009]

Arsana didn't get far into the crowd when she heard her lifemate speaking to someone. She turned around and went back to where her dragon had curled up. She arrived just as a blue and his walked up to Vhreth.

Hello, Oveth. I'm Vhreth. Mine is Arsana. Vhreth spotted hers walking back to her. It is a very beautiful day out, Oveth. Have you been at Dalibor very long?

"Hello, I'm Arsana and this is Vhreth. We just transfered to the Weyr just recently. How about you?" Arsana asked as she extended her hand to the blue's rider.

Oveth's rider's name is B'nyur.

Thanks, love.

[renscorch]

Floating down. That between jump was cold. It always is. His dragon replied. It was a quick landing. Kerath glanced around taking in all the people and faces, though the likeliness of him remembering them all is almost zero. Yet he still enjoyed a new challenge. "I'm going to head in and take a look around. Try not get into to much trouble. A?" He asked as he climbed off. Kerath just nods a few times already spotting possible places he could get in trouble at.

[4horseshowgirl4]

Oveth was rather pleased to find that Vhreth seemed kindly. At least, this was what he had decided from the all-of-five-seconds-long conversation they'd had at the moment. Oveth tipped his head up to answer her, as she was much bigger than he was. Hi, 'Reth! Oveth said enthusiastically, not quite able to get his tongue around the dragon's rather hard-to-pronounce name. No, we only got to Dalibor last night! We met with Queenie and Hers, went to sleep, woke up, and came here! It is very exciting.

Oveth was still having trouble wrapping his mind around the idea that Copper and Orange were two different things. After all, Vhreth was still much bigger than he was. Coming from Fort, Oveth was used to only two kinds of females: Golds and Greens. Therefore, any dragon smaller than him was a Green, and any female larger than him was a Queen. B'nyur sighed, hearing these conclusions come together slowly in Oveth's mind, knowing that it would take many sevendays before Oveth was able to understand the idea of all of these new colors. B'nyur himself was still struggling to remember all of the new ones, as he hadn't yet seen all of them. However, he at least knew that Orange wasn't a Queen. While Vhreth was certainly large enough, she lacked the metallic shine (and queenly attitude) that the Golds and Coppers had.

"B'nyur, and this is Oveth," B'nyur said simply, grasping Arsana's proferred hand and giving it three solid shakes. He was rather glad that Arsana introduced herself, as Oveth hadn't quite thought to tell B'nyur what her name was. "Actually, Oveth and I transferred from Fort very recently. We didn't arrive at Dalibor until last night. As a matter of fact, the night before we stayed here, at Crescent," B'nyur said.

B'nyur leaned against Oveth's right shoulder, contented and relaxed. He didn't say anything for a moment, enjoying the simple joy of Oveth's warmth and always-comforting presence. "Tell me something," he said, standing more upright. "Vhreth is an Orange, right? What exactly does that color constitute?" Oveth, hearing this, turned his attention from the pretty female dragon to listen to Arsana's answer.

[Kila]

Sol lounged lethargically on the stall counter, leaning forward so that her elbows rested on the wood and her face rested in her hands. People had already found the stand and begun to come, but the pattern thus far seemed to be that they attacked and bought in droves. Groups of friends and gaggles of children would approach, having fun even though the day was new, and laugh and talk as they browsed the marvelous selection. It rather annoyed Sol that they had to stand there for so long and block her view of the rest of the Gather square. Right now, though, her view was clear and she looked out longingly at the crowds. She was bored!

"Don't slouch, Sol, it's unattractive," he mother said, slapping her butt, which was sticking out so she could lean forward. Sol jumped up, startled. She had seen this coming. Groaning discreetly, she shifted to lean against the side of the stall instead. "I'm going back to the house to get some more sweet rolls," Celine continued cheerfully, picking up an empty tray and rearranging one that only had half of it's contents remaining. "Stay here and keep selling- there are plenty of hungry mouths to be fed out there! And do stop moping, Sol, it's not polite and bad for business. Don't slouch." Sol straightened up. "Good, I'll be back in two shakes of a runner's tail. Don't leave, now, darling!"

And with that Celine as off to fetch more pastries from the overladen house and Sol was alone. Her mother was going to be doing this all day, she could see. Celine also happened to be in an insufferably good mood since business was booming. That would make it all the more unbearable to be there. As soon as her mother was out of sight, Sol threw herself back over the counter, butt out and arms hanging apathetically over the front of the counter. After a little while of this she raised her head and peered over the counter to resume her Gather-watching.

Instead of the busy Gather square meeting her eyes, the face of a beaming young girl awaited her. She immediately began to speak to her, calling out an unnecessarily loud greeting and inquiring as to Sol's name. Instead of being surprised, Sol merely raised an eyebrow, puzzled. Before she could even think about replying the girl, Pratyba as she'd introduced herself, spoke again, this time asking why she looked so irritated.

"Oh. Is it that obvious?" Sol replied glumly. She took a moment to review her current person: drooped over a counter, melancholy, uninterested. A smile flickered across her face despite herself, fueled by the radiance of Pratyba's own beaming smile. "I guess I am pretty sharding irritated," she confessed, straightening up. She was very grateful that Pratyba had come along and perked her up a little bit. "Hello," she returned. "It's nice to meet you, I'm Sol." She didn't know who this girl was or where she'd come from, but it didn't really matter. "Sorry you caught me in such a funk, I was just really irked that I'm stuck selling pastries on such a beautiful day. I mean, it's Gather day! Look how many cool things and people there are jammed into this little Hold!" she exclaimed, including the entire scene around them with a sweep of her hand. "It's a total bummer- I'd much rather be out exploring."

[4horseshowgirl4]

Pratyba's first impressions of the young woman were good. She was irritated and testy-- she had admitted that fact unhesitatingly herself-- but if this was the limit of her grumpiness, then Pratyba would call her a pretty pleasant person. At least she wasn't taking any temper she might have out on Pratyba and chasing her away from the stand! After thinking this, Pratyba shot a quick look over her shoulder, to make sure that the young man with the klah that she'd knocked down earlier wasn't following her with some twisted idea of revenge or something.

"Sol," Pratyba repeated, mostly to herself, committing the name to memory. Pratyba actually didn't know why she was bothering to remember the name, as Sol was holdfolk and Pratyba was weyrfolk. Unfortunately, Gathers didn't happen often enough for the two groups to be anything but aquaintances. Still, Sol could be Pratyba's official Gather-buddy, at least for today. With no other Candidates or even younger Weyrbrats at Dalibor, Pratyba was thirsting for friendship, no matter how temporary or fleeting.

Pratyba's grin widened when she saw that Sol was quickly falling out of her foul mood. "It's nice to meet you, too!" she said enthusiastically and sincerely. "That stinks!" Pratyba quickly agreed. "Why are you here, then?" It seemed rather strange that Sol would be forced to man a stall by herself instead of getting to relish in the sheer excitement that the Gather rendered. Pratyba's heart went out to Sol. Gathers must represent the same level of interest to the Holds that Hatchings did to the Weyr: it wasn't hard for anyone to feel bad for anyone in Sol's predicament. Pratyba could hardly fathom being compelled to, say, clean the dining hall for the Hatching Feast instead of getting to watch (or participate; she was a Candidate now!) it.

"Why don't you sneak out and come with me?" Pratyba said, wriggling her eyebrows enticingly. "Surely someone else will run the stand for you for a few candlemarks?" She hoped that Sol would come with her! Because she lived here, Sol could obviously show Pratyba all of her favorite stomping grounds. Pratyba loved to come to Gathers, but Gathers, of course, could not give her any sort of idea about what holdlife really was like. Pratyba admitted that she was rather curious; she'd never lived outside of a Weyr in her life. For a second, she wondered if she should buy a firelizard, so she could keep in touch with the friends she'd made from the Gather after it ended, but then remembered that the half a mark or so that she had was nowhere near enough to even buy a Green egg.

Her stomach rumbled noisily, reminding Pratyba of the reason that she'd come to the bakery stall in the first place. "Sorry 'bout this, Sol," she began, giggling already, "but I'm going to have to take advantage of this bakery stall that you loathe at the moment. Can you get me something tasty from back there?" Pratyba passed over a 1/32nd mark coin, taking a moment to savor the delicious aromas that gently wafted from the stall. The Weyr's food was always plentiful and quite good, but the cooks were usually more worried about preparing strengthening, heartful food to feed the 'Riders than they were fiddling around with sweets.

[Kila]

"You ask a lot of questions," Sol pointed out. She did not say this in a mean way or with cruel intentions of injuring the girls feelings, nor was it in any way a flattery. It was a mere, blunt observation. Sol was full of them. Pratyba would probably hear a lot more of these comments and a lot about herself that she may or may not want to hear if she hung around with Sol for the whole day.

"I'm here to sell all of these, of course," Sol explained, heaving a sigh and indicating all the baked goods that were stuffed into the stall with her. Even though they were mouth-watering and their aroma was wafting all across the Gather square, to her they may have possibly been the most detestable things in the entire festival. "My mother," she began, then paused painfully, "And I," she grimaced as she added the words, "Are Bakers. She's been baking us out of house and home for nearly the past sevenday for this. You should see our house- there's hardly any room to sleep!" Sol pursed her lip and narrowed her eyes before going on. "My father, the one who forced me into the craft, insisted that I spend the day here, helping my mother sell all this. Oh, and that was after he made me and my brother build the entire stall this morning before Rubkat rose." She raised her head and sniffed indignantly. "He doesn't have to be cooped up for the Gather..."

"Sneak out and come with you, huh?" Sol mused, indeed enticed by the offer. "Why Pratyba, escape was just what I had in mind. I like how you think!" Sol winked at her teasingly. She was grinning, as she had been since her newest friend had arrived. Thank Faranath she had, otherwise Sol might have been disheartened all day. All she'd needed was a little push. "I wouldn't waste my marks on the people here, I don't trust any of them yet. Nevertheless, I think I'll have to take you up on that offer." Her eyes gleamed mischievously and she leaned back out over the counter, looking left and then right. "My tyrant of a father will be back here to check up on me soon, though. I have to wait until then so he at least thinks I'm here doing what he said."

Just then, Pratyba's stomach let out a long loud gurgle, after which they both began to giggle. "Can I get you something tasty, you ask? I can get you anything you want!" When Pratyba passed over her coin Sol only shook her head and pushed it back to her. "My treat this time, don't think twice about it. It's the least I can do. Now what can I get you? I can guarantee you that I had no hand in the actual baking, so they're all quite good. I did decorate some-" She ducked under the counter and pulled out a tray of sweets with smiley faces and other such doodles made with icing on the tops. She looked at them quizzically and them back up at Pratyba- "I got bored."

[4horseshowgirl4]

Sol's blunt comment didn't offend or irritate Pratyba in the slightest. There was nothing that anyone could say about Pratyba that she hadn't already figured out, and most likely accepted, about herself. As long as the other person was truthful, Pratyba was as willing to laugh at her own exuberant and rather brash nature as anyone else was. She had long decided that life was easier when she learned to agree with what others thought about her and simply laugh off any negative traits people liked to bring up.

Pratyba chortled appreciatively at the amusing image that the first part of Sol's little rant brought up before she realized, a few moments too late, that Sol was far too aggrieved by what she was telling Pratyba to find it funny. Pratyba sobered up hastily. "How unfair!" she protested, unhesitatingly taking Sol's side. "Who does your father think he is?" She felt quite the bit of righteous anger on Sol's part. Poor Sol! Pratyba's brow furrowed. Weyr families were often, well, not very family-like, with few 'Riders raising their children, and Weyrbrats running all over the place, but at least they were free to choose their own life, for the most part! She had often heard stories about the Lord and Lady Holders marking out their children's lives for them, but the tales had never hit home like they did now.

"Why, thank you," Pratyba said with overly dramatized tone. "I like the way I think, too!" Pratyba was delighted that Sol had agreed to come with her. Trouble was always way more fun to get into when there was someone to plunge into it headfirst with her! She'd only known Sol for a few minutes, but already she felt more like a friend than any person that Pratyba had met since arriving at Dalibor. W'al was all right, but he was still a Dragonrider, a Sub-King 'Rider at that, and that huge difference in rank made any real friendship hard to attain. The other Dragonriders seemed kindly, too, but most of them were older and/or highly responsible people. But Sol seemed just as eager to goof off as Pratyba was!

"That's what I was hoping for!" Pratyba said, smiling broadly and patting her impatient stomach. "I forgot breakfast in all the excitement this morning. All the dragons were getting ready to leave, and I had to make sure that I had a ride here!" Pratyba took the mark back into her hand. "You don't...!" she began, but cut herself off. Sol wasn't going to change her mind, and Pratyba wasn't going to make her waste her breath by insisting. Free food! Pratyba couldn't complain about that. "Ooh! They're so cute!" Pratyba squealed buoyantly when she revealed the decorated sweets. She gratefully took one, taking a moment to enjoy the artistry before biting into it.

"Don't worry, I can't cook, either!" Pratyba told Sol, giggling. "You have to be better than I am! My mom's one of the Weyr's cooks, but apparently the genes didn't get passed down." She snorted in laughter. She took another large bite of the sweet. "This is amazing! Are you sure you didn't give me a free sample so I would be tempted to buy a bunch to sneak home with me? They don't make things like this there!" she joked, as she knew quite well that no one would be that sneaky! "Hey, tell me when your father's in sight. I'll pretend to be haggling over a bunch of these goods, and he'll see what a great job you're doing," Pratyba shot another look over her shoulder, just to make sure there weren't any customers behind her that were waiting (though Sol would have seen them and taken care of them first), before continuing, "and then he'll leave you alone for the rest of the day!"

[Kila]

Sol watched Pratyba eat the sweet with odd pleasure. No one she knew would dare to touch anything she'd had a hand in making- they'd learned their lessons and knew better. Maybe this whole decorating thing wasn't so bad, even though she'd smudged the pictures and and kind of made a mess with things. Pratyba may be the only person who ate one all day. She decided she would approach her mother about it later, though; if she was going to be forced to participate in the craft for the rest of her life then maybe she could work on something that was less dreadful and disastrous than the baking itself.

As Pratyba began to tease about the sweet merely being a sample to lure her in, Sol's attention was diverted by the repeated shouting of her own name from somewhere in the crowd. Looking up, she saw her two youngest siblings, Comnile and Tess, break free from the crowd and stampede happily towards her. "Sissy! Sol, Sol, Soooolll!" they shouted, trying to outdo eachother as they laughed and tumbled forward. Something had obviously tickled them both very much, because the two children's eyes were red from tears of mirth and they were out of breath from the combined effort of hysteria and running to find their sister. "Sol! Sol! You won't believe it! It was the funniest thing! I thought I would die! You'll never guess, Sol!" they both shouted at the same time as they reached the stall. They skidded to a halt and broke down into another fit of laughter as they tried to explain. Though she didn't know what was so funny, she couldn't help but laugh at the bewildering scene.

"What is it you two?" she demanded, leaning over the counter again, instantly the conspirator. "Tell me!"

"Stelos! I! We! He! He got klah ALL OVER him! Some girl ran into him and it got all over his tunic! He freaked out, Sol! You shoulda seen him running all over the place! He was so mad! It was so funny!" Again they both tried to retell the story at once, and again they dissolved into a fit of laughter before they could properly finish. It was enough that Sol got the gist of the story, though.

"He got klah all over himself? HA!" Sol threw back her head in mirth, slapping the counter with her hand in amusement. Neither she, Comnile, nor Tess liked their brother Stelos very much. Comnile and Tess disliked him because he bullied and teased them, and Sol disliked him because he bullied Comnile and Tess. While she had made amends with him earlier that morning when they had built the stall together, it registered as more of a ceasefire. As of now it was off and she was free to laugh at him again. "Oh Faranath," she said, wiping small tears from the corners of his her eyes, "Father will be so mad at him."

"Oh!" Tess exclaimed, remembering something she had forgotten in her excitement to tell her story about Stelos. "I saw Daddy- he's coming this way."

[4horseshowgirl4]

"Who are they, Sol?" Pratyba asked, also whipping her head around when Sol's name was shouted repeatedly. However, it really wasn't that hard to guess. The two critters couldn't be anything but Sol's siblings. Pratyba chortled as well at the sight of the sheer hilarity that danced on their faces. She bent towards them, mirroring Sol, as it was pretty much her raison d'étre to hear the amusing anecdotes of life. She pushed her disobediently tangled, curly hair behind her ear. "Tell us!," she urged the pair, not bothering to politely stay out of what might be family business. She was far too interested in what they were going to say to do that!

Suddenly, Pratyba cracked. She burst into an outright torrent of laughter, her shouts of joy loud and irregular. If Comnile and Tess's mirth was a river, Pratyba's was an outright floor. Her eyes were closed, but tears still streamed down her chubby cheeks. Her heaves of laughter was so cacophonous that it seemed impossible that Pern itself wasn't shaking as well.

Pratyba collapsed to the still-dewy-wet ground, the sheer merriment overcoming her. After several minutes, her laughter did not start to dissipate. The wracks of the giggles still shaking her body. Finally, she composed herself enough to choke out, "That! Was! Me! I! Knocked! The! Klah! Onto! Your! Brother!" Having said that, Pratyba succumbled to her laughter once again, and wasn't able to recover enough to get to her feet until her stomach started to ache beyond the limit where it would allow Pratyba to keep laughing, much as she wanted to do.

Pratyba staggered back into a standing position, wiping the sleeve of her tunic across her face to get rid of the abundant tears that her laughing had conjured. "I'm sorry about that!" she said, clutching at her stomach. "I would apologize for crashing into your brother, too, but you don't seem too sorry about that!" She knew that she wouldn't be able to compose her face into anything resembling a serious face for several sevendays. "It was so funny! He ran away from me when I was just trying to help him clean himself up! I think he was afraid that I'd do something else to him, but there was no more klah around! I already spilled it all on him! What else could I do to make it worse?" She giggled again, to the protest of her throbbing abs.

"Here," she said, dropping the 1/32nd mark that she was going to give Sol for the food (and was still determined to sneak it to her somehow) into Comnile's hand. "That's for making me not feel guilty for tipping klah all over a random stranger!" She turned back to Sol, straightening up. "Now, tell me something depressing so we don't look like a couple of maniac clowns when your father arrives!"

[Kila]

Had Comnile and Tess not been so absorbed and entertained by their story, they would have been more alarmed by Pratyba than they were. Her laughter, though it way outmatched their own, fit right in. Any chances of their shy selves returning to greet this stranger were obliterated when she gasped out that is was actually she who had run into Stelos! The entire family again relapsed into hoots of laughter, falling to the ground and grabbing things for support. Pratyba had made instant friends in the young children by admitting her blunder and finding as much amusement in it as they did.

"No! No! We're not sorry at all! It was SO funny to watch him run around like a headless wherry!" they reassured her in between giggles. The instant friendship was further strengthened when Pratyba passed her unused mark to them. Eyes wide, Comnile accepted it rather disbelievingly while Tess watched, also wide-eyed.

"What do you say?" Sol interjected. The two quickly piped a gracious 'thank you.' "In case you couldn't tell, these two rascals are my own flesh and blood," she said to Pratyba, her tone joking but her eyes regarding them adoringly. She leaned over the counter and growled at them playfully, causing a fresh volley of squeals and giggles. "This one," she said, indicating the boy, "Is Comnile." He was the older of the pair, though not by much. Both children had blond hair and blue eyes like Sol, though their hair was straight and much more thin. "And this little darling is Tess;" she indicated the cute younger girl. "You two: this is Pratyba." Sol did not know quite what to introduce her as, so she left it simple. Comile and Tess smiled at her and chorused a happy hello.

"But you said that father was coming?" Sol interrupted herself, remembering Tess's words. "Pratyba, I've already told you something depressing- I can't bake my way out of a paper box. Now listen up you three," she commanded, naturally including Pratyba in her plan. "Go hide nearby, but close enough that you can watch and listen. Pratyba: when you see me toss my hair come over here and begin to haggle, alright? That will be the sign. Oh look! Here he comes!"

Sure enough, a tall head could be seen bobbing closer towards them through the crowd. "Hide!" Sol hissed at them, sending the younger two scurrying immediately. She was the only one whom they would instantly obey, for they loved and trusted her completely. In many ways it was them who were her partners at large.

"Sol! How are things coming, m'girl?" Sonstem boomed, breaking free of the crowd and approaching her with something tucked carefully under his arm. He put down the mysterious thing on the counter and surveyed the stall. "Looks like you've emptied a lot of stuff out of here."
"It sucks," Sol said. She had instantly made herself busy when he had arrived, and slammed down a jar on the counter for emphasis with her description- "If you must know." She stared him down scathingly.
"WATCH YOURSELF!" He bellowed, snatching up the package as she slammed down her jar. A vein in his forehead twitched visibly.
"What else would I watch, the pastries?"
"Don't get smart with me, young lady," he said dangerously.
"Sorry father, it's just-" she paused dramatically- "I've been so busy selling all of these baked goods. It's such hard work I'm doing, you know."
Sonstem seemed slightly appeased by this and his jaw unclenched by degrees. "Good girl. Now see what Dad has here!" he said, beginning to unwrap the package he had been cradling. Removing the gauze completely, he proudly displayed a small but healthy-looking firelizard egg. Sol was taken aback. Was he trying to rub this in her face? "Since I've been promoted to the position of mastersmith here at Crescent Hold," he boasted (as if she didn't know), "I decided that having a firelizard of my own would help to keep things running smoothly."
"That's great, Dad," Sol said insincerely, trying to keep the immense irritation she felt from showing on her face. "I think that's a wonderful idea," she added, flipping her hair purposefully.

[4horseshowgirl4]

"That's not depr-!" Pratyba began to protest, but she cut herself off when Sol began to dole out orders. A droll smile spread across Pratyba's face, and she rubbed her hands together briskly and mischieviously before dashing off, following Comnile and Tess. She tapped on their shoulders (it was rather nice to have shoulders she could tap without reaching, vertically-challenged Pratyba thought, having come from an entire Weyr of Dragonriders with quite the impressive physique), and she gestured madly towards a nearby stall, where the shopkeeper was daydreaming and not paying the slightest attention to anything around him.

Pratyba tucked herself behind the large canvas flaps that formed the sides of the tent (the shopkeeper was apparently too lazy to build an entire wooden stall like Sol's father had made her do). She strained to hear the conversation through the bustling and busy noise of the Gather. However, she did manage to hear the phrase "firelizard of my own to keep things running smoothly."

Instantly, Pratyba found herself straining to keep in the giggles. That was no metallic egg, that was for sure! It looked tiny, which meant either Blue or Green. There apparently weren't many flitters where Sol was from, 'cause Blue and Green firelizards, with the exception of a few, of course, were trouble! Pratyba had very, very few who had been perfectly well-behaved and helpful at Southern Weyr, where firelizards were most plentiful, and even Dragonriders, who were used to dealing with draconic habits and controlling and training their talents to put to good use, had to struggle to train them. Ooh, Sol's father did not know what he was getting into! Pratyba snickered. Well, Sol would be entertained when the thing hatched, that was for sure!

Sonstem didn't seem too popular, even among his own children, and so Pratyba didn't feel the slightest tinges of guilt for laughing at his expense. He was obviously overconfident as his own abilities to train a firelizard (and considering it didn't seem like he'd trained Sol too well, Pratyba really wanted to see how that'd come out), or he was so gullible that some trader had been able to convince him that the little eggs hatched a flitter as trainable as a larger one. Well, Pratyba mused, the metallics weren't necessarily easier to train, but they enjoyed bossing others around and showing off how well they could do things, and a Brown would be steadier and less flighty than any Green.

Pratyba marched in on cue, internally struggling to keep from breaking into hysterical laughter. Dying little felines, dying little felines, she repeated to herself, which kept her just somber enough for her job. It was time to see if she had any talent as an actress!

"Well, miss, no other person has pastries as good as these. How's three-eighths of a mark sound for the dozen tarts? The stand in the north is selling them for a quarter, but theirs aren't as tasty-looking. Come on, that's twice as much as I offered you earlier!" Pratyba nodded respectfully to Sonstem-- painfully hard as that was-- leaning forward eagerly, sniffing the aromatic scent of the baked goods with an enthusiasm that didn't have to be acted. She let her marks clink against each other in her hand, glad that they were mostly 1/32nd marks, so it would look like she had more money than she really had. She turned back to Sonstem, unable to resist giving him a little cheek.

"Good luck with that, sir!" she said, looking with hopefully-not-too-obviously-fake wariness at the small firelizard egg. "They can be quite the little mischief makers if you don't train them up right!" She chuckled; this was why only Zabio, the only one who had proven so far to have both dragon sense and common sense, was the only one with a flitter out of her immediate family. Despite his careful training, his Blue, Sneak, was just that: he often preferred to fly off to the forest to Chase wild Greens rather than deliver messages to Dalibor Weyr to his family. Pratyba chuckled; despite Zabio's persistent effort, only one letter had gotten through so far.

Of course, that didn't mean all firelizards were unmanageable, but most were without proper training, and some were despite a world's worth of impeccable training.

Pratyba fought to keep herself from rocking excitedly back and forth on her heels. She hoped Sonstem would just leave already, so she, Sol, and Sol's little siblings, if they wanted, could go find some real excitement!

[Admin]

Sunshine,
I'd really like to tell you,
Oh my sunshine,
Even though your skies are blue,
You're drying up my bed,
How can I get any rest now?

Fajra was up with the light of dawn; Kalith, who'd had a bath yesterday and practically glowed even in the dim light of their weyr, slumbered on even after she arose. Sighing, she rolled out of her furs and made her way to her bathing chamber off of her room to take a bath of her own. Once in the warm water, she submerged herself up to her nose and rest on the ledge that ran along one side of the pool. Today did not bode well towards being anything that she would actually enjoy; it was going to be a day to exchange pleasantries with the Lord and Lady Holder of Crescent, Western, and any other hold that came. She doubted there would be anyone else, in truth; the Gathering was off the beaten path for most and partially a mourning for the fallen weyrleaders. It was the people of the Western Continent's Gathering, not for anyone else.

Reminding herself that she should be leaving, given that she only planned to arrive a fashionably reasonable hour rather than the early one that many planned to go at, she hurried to clean her hair so that the short, red curls were silky smooth. Then she was out of the water and toweling it and herself totally try so she wouldn't end up looking like a bedraggled canine when she left. Now clean, she went to her wardrobe, a hand-me-down from Paaie who had been rather insistent that Fajra would get everything. From it she took out a fine silk gown which was a lovely pale blue that went with her eyes. She pulled it over her head and effortless brushed out the small wrinkles in it so that it lay smooth. Around her waist, she tied a silk sash whose color was copper-like and close enough to Kalith's. It also contrasted well with the dress.

Rise and shine, love; she murmured to Kalith, mentally prodding the Queen as gently as she could. Snorting, the lithe dragoness rose, shaking her head to dispel her sleep quickly and yawning to show off her razor sharp teeth. Sliding out of her couch, she rose onto her feet and then knelt, turning her head to watch Fajra expectantly. The young Weyrwoman didn't waste any time herself; she grabbed the riding straps from where they hung on one wall. Securing around the imposing form of her dragon didn't take more than a few moments but she added a little time by checking over the polished leather to make sure it was secure. Then she was nimbly climbing onto her back and securing herself, sitting sidesaddle for her dress, with a strap around her middle. Once she was ready, Kalith ran for her ledge and then leaped off.

The Queen rose into the air, shimmering brilliantly in the light of Rukbat which was steadily rising higher into the sky as time stretched towards midday. For several moments, they basked in the brilliance of the light as she rose and then they plunged into darkness as she betweened. Fearless and used to the sudden sensation of numbness, Fajra steadily counted out the breathes in her mind as the cold dug into her bones - one, two, three . . . She drew in a real breath of warm, fresh air as they burst out of the endless darkness and into the light at Crescent Hold. Spreading her wings, Kalith caught the air and then bugled to announce her entrance to the world. The Queen was certainly noticeable, metallic and larger than any dragon already in attendance. She wanted to be seen, making a quick, tight spiral to make her hide flash.

Whose here, Kalith? Fajra was still working, even though this was a day that most enjoyed as merely something to be enjoyed. Her work was never done; she didn't like to be unoccupied either. She scanned the ground and skies as her dragon descended, searching for familiar faces. It grew easier as they got lower to distinguish dragons at least; everyone else looked like just specks.
I sense Oveth, and I believe there's Kerath and Vhrenth as well; the Queen reported, eying the ground like her rider though she was preoccupied with making a flawless descent. She was dropping quickly but effortlessly downward.
Drop me in the courtyard, then go ahead to bask on the heights, love; she said, almost absentmindedly. Kalith snorted and rumbled grumpily. Did her rider really think that she didn't know what she was doing? She didn't need to be ordered about like some flightless weyrling; she was perfectly capable of finding an acceptably place to land and landing well. The copper was not in a particularly pleasant mood; she disliked mornings and waking up.

Swooping down into the hold's yard, Kalith hovered to give people ample opportunity to get out of her way; anyone who hadn't seen her coming bolted. Folding her wings, she dropped onto the ground, landing lightly in a very feline-like way. Her rider undid the strap around her waist and slipped off her back, landing just as effortlessly on the ground despite wearing a dress. She opened her wings again and was up in the air in just a moment; it didn't take her much longer to find a nice place on the heights to perch, wings wide to catch the light of Rukbats to warm her hide. On the ground, Fajra watched her for a few moments, then turned her attention to the people around her. Several bowed to her before hurry to do what they needed to do. She smiled curtly at them, and then hurried on her way, disappearing into the crowd as she headed towards bakers' stalls. What she needed was some breakfast; her stomach agreed by growling faintly under the noises of the crowd. She wrinkled her nose for a moment before composing her features.

Someday,
You will get the best of me,
Oh someday,
Probably when I'm old and gray,
I'm lying in my bed,
And I will soon be put to rest now.

[renscorch]

A gold his her... Please careful of her rider you will ruin my little plan. Came his dragon's voice. W'al Blinked a few times and darted his head around. A Queen? Of course they would be here. It a Gathering after all. Wait... Plan? what plan he wanted to find out what his dragon was doing. How ever he noticed some of the commotion. Well He guess he better find that Golden rider. He always likes to make friends. He quickly weaved his way with such grace one would think he would be trained for this. However it was just his skills of his old life carrying over. He was still interested in the woman. If he was going to fly under her then he might as well get to know her.

[Admin]

Stop and stare,
I think I'm moving but I go nowhere,
Yeah, I know that everyone gets scared,
But I've become what I can't be.

Fajra senses someone was following her as she pressed into the crowd that was only thickening as the morning set in over the place and people came to do business. Walking down one alley of stalls, she looked behind her out of the corner of her eye. There, weaving amongst the people easily and coming towards her, a man with bright blond hair and . . . rider's knots, purplerider's knots. Slowly her step, she recalled what she knew of him - he would be W'al, rider of purple Kerath, young, new to the Weyr. He rode in the Dawn Wing, like most of their few number of riders, but he was, surprisingly, not a Wingsecond despite being one of the few Sub-Kingriders at the Weyr. It couldn't hurt to get to know him. She slowed her step to make it easier for him to be able to catch up though she disliked being caught up in the crowd like she was.

Sensing that he was getting closer simply by paying attention, she took a step to the side so she was out of the way of most of the crowd and stopped dead. She turned around to face the slightly younger rider; she crossed her arms and smiled curtly at him with any otherwise protected expression. "Hello, Wingrider W'al. I'm glad to see that you choose to attend the Gathering. Having riders out and about gives us a good reputation;" she greeted him pleasantly. Part of her was very curious and also a little wary about why W'al had been seeking her out. Of course, she also knew that it was probably that he just needed to ask her, as the Weyrwoman, about something. Up on the heights, Kalith swiveled her head to watch Kerath though she didn't speak to him or anyone.

Oh, stop and stare,
You start to wonder why you're here not there,
And you'd give anything to get what's fair,
But fair ain't what you really need,
Oh, can you see what I see.

[renscorch]

W'al smiled. "Yes, don't worry I don't have bad news... Well that is as long as Kerath behaves himself." Hey! David gave himself a inner smile knowing full well he just ruin any prank That little purple dragon had plan. He didn't need that dragon causing mass panic. That would just look very bad on his part. "I just wanted to get to know who I will be flying under." He said with a smile.

It was true, getting to know who you are flying for is the best thing cause you know what they expect of you and what not. Shells he going to be living with her after all it not like he could avoid her forever. How ever that was anti-social like and that just would drive him insane.

[Kila]

Sonstem stepped aside and carefully began to wrap up his prize when a young girl approached the counter and began to haggle with his daughter. Such high prices! The girl was offering several times what it seemed Sol was asking for. At the idea that his family's baked goods were the best in the square he grinned proudly, straightening up and smiling into his mustache. Moreover, the girl seemed to have a decent amount of coins in her hand- he could hear their clinking. He had never seen her before, so perhaps she was a wealthy visitor at Crescent Hold solely for the occasion.

At the mention of his egg, he displayed it again and puffed up proudly. "Don't you worry, young lady, no flitter will get the best of me." Sol rolled her eyes. "How tricky can a little lizard be. No ma'am, I will give it the most superior training and it will help and do my bidding to perfection," he boasted proudly, quite sure of himself. "Anyway, please excuse me. I will leave you two to your business. It seems you are doing a very good job, Sol." And with that he gave her another scant nod of approval, identical to the one he had given the stall upon its satisfactory completion, and turned and walked away briskly, the egg cradled protectively in the crook of his arm.

"He's gone! He's gone!" Comnile and Tess exclaimed, bursting from their hiding place and rushing forward joyfully. "He's gone, Sol, it worked! It always works! Your so clever, sis!" But their older sister was not paying attention for once. The younger two faltered and tried to follow her gaze- it must be something very special to hold Sol's attention over them.

"Is that.... the Weyrwoman?" Sol ventured, having caught sight of a red-headed woman coming their way as her father had departed. All she knew of the Weyrleader of Dalibor, for she had never seen nor met her, was that she had red hair, was very reserved, and rode a Copper Queen. Then of course she had also heard the rumors. Th way this lady carried herself, though- she seemed like she was important. "Look, you two," she commanded, coming from behind the counter and sitting on her heels so she could, on their level, point her siblings gazes in the correct direction. Insatiable curiosity seemed to run in the family. "Pratyba," she went on, still absorbed in her study, "Look. You see that woman? Oh, she's talking to another man now. Are those riders knots he's wearing? Pratyba, do you know who she is?"

[4horseshowgirl4]

Pratyba was about to die inside. She was sure to explode soon if Sonstem didn't leave soon from the laughter that she was nearly unable to contain. Dying little felines, dying little felines! she continued to chant to herself wordlessly, just managing to keep a serious face. By the first egg, was this man a piece of work! He was so unbearably superior-acting (the word that kept appearing in Pratyba's head was 'snotty') that it was no wonder that Sol had been irritated a few minutes ago. Pratyba was immensely glad that this man lived at the Hold and not at the Weyr. The Candidate was certain that she'd get yelled at quite a bit by this man if he saw her in her natural state and not when she was putting on an act for trouble's sake.

The second Sonstem was out of earshot, Pratyba succumbed to her laughter. "Oh, Faranth! I don't envy you, Sol, that's for sure!" 'How hard can a little lizard be?' he'd asked. Most people listened to the Weyrfolk when it came to dragons and their smaller cousins! Pratyba darted a glance down to her tunic. Oh, shard it; she'd forgotten to wear her knots again. The ones for the Candidates were the same as those for drudges, but Pratyba still wore hers with a proper amount of pride. When she remembered them, anyway. Maybe you'll listen to me at the next gather when I'm a dragonrider and you have an unmanageable firelizard! she fumed slightly, but she was in far too good of a mood to stay cranky for any extended period of time.

"Yeah, that's Fajra! She's our senior Weyrwoman, though she's pretty young. I don't even think her Copper, Kalith, has ever Risen before! The other rider's W'al, 'Rider of Purple Kerath. I just met him the other day! They're both really nice, W'al and Kerath I mean. I hit Kerath with a redfruit, but he didn't mind, and W'al let me eat at his weyr and gave me some glows to get back to the barracks. Fajra's okay, but I don't think she likes me very much... I wonder why?" Pratyba added at the end with some sarcastic laughter. She actually had quite a good idea of why Fajra was rather wary of her, and Pratyba couldn't say that she blamed the Weyrwoman. She had a difficult job, getting a new Weyr off of the ground in the face of Thread, and Pratyba, well, ... she made things more complicated, that was for sure.

"Come on, Sol, stop staring at Fajra! If anything, we better get out of here before she sees us! You don't want to be seen with me-- it'll poison your reputation! Now, let's go!" Pratyba was only half-kidding about the fact that Sol didn't want to be seen fooling around with herself, but Fajra was unlikely to care. Pratyba grabbed Sol's elbow and tugged gently, gesturing to the area where the traders had made camp. "Hurry! Let's skedaddle!"

[Kila]

For once, O’sho was not awoken by Daidoroth or his own internal clock, but by movements from outside. He rolled over onto his back underneath his warm furs and listened to the noises breaking the silence of the usually serene and sleepy early morning. It was brighter than usual, so the sun must finally be out, and a pleasant breeze drifted into the weyr and made the thousands of tiny hairs on his furs bend and dance. It even smelled of a nice day.

O’sho reached out gently with his mind and found that Daidoroth too was already awake. The Bronze had actually been up for a while, but, having sensed that His was still asleep, had remained silent and allowed him to continue his dreams. Daidoroth was content being in close proximity with his rider. The pair had been together for twenty-six long Turns, and their relationship had matured as they had. They were in no way needy of one another, but they gained strength from the others presence and cared so deeply about one another that no words could describe, nor were words even needed.

Hearing his rider’s stirrings and sensing his growing consciousness, Daidoroth turned his great head away from his magnificent view of the sky and to the bed where he knew His to be. Seeing O’sho turn, he rumbled happily, wishing His a good morning. He was immediately cheered to know that they would soon be up and on their way to the Gather. They had attended many in the past, but the excitement never got old. After all, each was at a different place filled with different people and unique things.

Good morning, Daido. Today is the Gather day, isn’t it? O’sho greeted His fondly, stretching the last bit of sleep from his body.
Yes, Mine. For once the Weyr is awake at our time and running about with excitement. Already I have seen some of the dragons take to the sky and between to the place where the Gather is; Daidoroth replied with light spirits.
Well then we should get ready to go join the fun; O’sho said, getting up and pulling on a pair of pants close at hand.
Aren’t you going to wear something nicer, Mine? Daidoroth inquired after a beat. He looked at his rider curiously, vaguely recalling him wearing nicer things for such past events.
Why yes, I am! How astute of you, Daidoroth! he chuckled. But aren’t you forgetting something? You can’t go looking like that, with your hide all dulled and covered in salt. I must admit that I’ve enjoyed the weyr smelling rather like the sea, but we must both be looking our best. This Weyr is new, and needs to be as impressive as it can. Put its best foot forward, you know? Besides, it won’t hurt to be fashionably late. O’sho said all this with a twinkle in his eye. Already the fresh air had riled him and made him excited for the day to come.
You’re right, of course. Very well, Mine.

The two made their way down to the lake, bucket of soap sand in hand, and proceeded to make a huge mess of things. O’sho submerged himself and splashed Daidoroth as mercilessly as he could manage, still ending up with a pathetic attempt. The gigantic Bronze’s retaliation almost drowned his rider. After splashing about a quarter of the water out of the lake, though, O’sho got down to business and scrubbed Daidoroth’s hide with exaggerated pedantic until it glowed in its rich, dark, metallic splendor. Spotting Oblivion, his semi-crippled Black grim of a flitter, at the edge of the bank, he called out to him cheerily to come join to fun and help him wash Daidoroth, but Oblivion only glowered and slunk back, pulling his injured body along.

Back in the weyr, Daidoroth basked in the sun on the ledge to dry his hide while O’sho made himself presentable. He put on nicer clothes, though not stiff and overly formal, and ran a brush through his hair. He looked handsome, in an old charming kind of way. His black hair hung genially on either side of his face from where it arched in high bangs on his forehead, and his gray eyes stood out boldly. Are we ready to go now, Own? Daidoroth asked from outside, eager to go now that he was stunning and refreshed. You bet, old friend.

And it was with that energy and splendor that the two burst into the sky over Crescent Hold, Daidoroth heralding their arrival proudly. As he spiraled downward, skilled in a way that only turns of practice can produce, O’sho looked down on the fair-sized crowd that had already gathered. There was merriment in the air- and a hint of mischief? Kalith and Hers are already here;Daidoroth observed pleasantly. Spotting Kalith’s brilliant hide farther off, O’sho merely nodded. He was sure he would run into Fajra at some point during the day, but considering how their last conversation had gone, he didn’t think it wise to seek her out. Perhaps later in the day when he was more bold and the sunshine may have cheered her temperament.