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It'd been a very long day. Rieta was sore from heel to hair and it showed in the way she walked off the fields, her shoulders slumped, her steps irregular. The sun was setting and from the looks of things, she'd been out working since it'd first crested the horizon. So, all in all, she was obviously in a miserable mood. The Ghenza folks weren't even friendly, after all.

But no. Rieta was dragging herself like death twice warmed, but she was also singing, her loud, exuberant voice filling the air with off key renditions of the old teaching songs. She was getting looks, too, but anytime a native turned to stare Rieta just offered one of her very brightest grins and raised a hand in friendly salute.

If she'd had the energy, she would have been bouncing. She'd been bouncing when she'd walked onto the fields that morning. Now, headed back to Awunrayth before grabbing some dinner, her mood, at least, hadn't changed.

"Hey there, beautiful." She gave the green a rough pat, looking her over with a critical eye in the fading light, "Looks like you could use some oil. We'll do that, now, yeah?"

And with that statement she frowned. Oil. Shards. Had they told them were to find it? They probably had. She must have been distracted. It'd been an odd few days. Without hesitating, she glanced around, she and Awunrayth weren't the only ones in the area, "Anyone got some oil? Or know where it is?" She was loud enough that her voice carried even when she wasn't shouting, and she was certainly raising her voice now.

Rieta, despite her apparent exhaustion walking off the field, already seemed to be perking up again. She crossed the space between herself and Amelia in a few ground eating strides smiling all the way. "Wonderful. Thanks. Wouldn't want her getting uncomfortable."

She glanced back at her own dragon, then at Sharath, her expression breaking into a smile that was perhaps a bit to wide, a little too enthusiastic. "You've sure got your lady shining." The compliment sounded genuine enough, no sign of teasing. "She looks real lovely."

Awunrayth, who'd been napping until Rieta's nearness and the thump on her hide awakened her, turned her mild, whirling gaze to Sharath, no sign of irritation in the colors of her eyes.

You do look beautiful. She tilted her head for a moment, as if listening, then settled it against her forelegs again. Have you noticed that it sounds different here, Sharath? I like being outside at night.

Taking the oil, Rieta, returned to Awunrayth's side, the two dragons not so far apart as to make conversation difficult. With another rough pat, she went to work, starting at the point where the greens wings met her body.

"The transfer? Oh, you know. I was farmercraft before I got called back to the Weyr." There was obvious pride and affection in Rieta's voice as she spoke. Pride for the weyr or for the craft? "Good to get back in the dirt. I figure, give 'em a little time, and they won't be so skittish around us."

Rieta was going to make friends here if it killed her. She'd not been making much progress yet, but the girl was nothing if not persistent. Overbearing? Yes. But persistently so.

Awunrayth was quiet, seeming to turn the comment over before attempting a suitable reply. Among her clutchmates, Sharath was one of those that most confused her, though, being Awunrayth, she simply took it as a sign that she needed to make further efforts to understand her. I am sorry the rain bothers you, and I am sorry you miss the Weyr. She said, finally. Mine is frightened of the plague, and she feels safe here. I am grateful that they let us stay here, where she feels safe. And she is happy, in the fields. She missed them. I am happy with her.

"Give 'em time, I say. They're just a bit skittish." Rieta sounded utterly confident as she spoke. As if she really believed that all the distrust, fear and superiority that the Ghenzans displayed was going to be washed away with a smile and a firm handshake. Well, if that was the case, she'd be the one shaking hands. She'd shake every hand in the place if she needed to.

"The way I see it, we do a good enough job, they'll start to warm up. And we'll-- we'll be headed back to the Weyr soon enough." Only on that last sentence did her voice lose volume and confidence. Maybe she was afraid for the Weyr, maybe she was just reluctant at the idea of a return. It was hard to tell.

I am worried for them too. And Awunrayth was worried, her mind-voice made that clear, her eyes taking on the slightest hint of yellow as she thought of what they'd left behind. She looked to Rieta, hard at work with the oil and that seemed to calm her, settling her back to her usual easy going persona.

I like to stay here. She turned to look about the fields to where the Ghenzan dragons were keeping their distance. So that they can talk to me, if they like.

"It's their place to be rude, I suppose." Rieta said, with a shrug. She'd always struggled with the whole 'people skills' thing, anyway. So being picked at and ignored wasn't exactly a new experience. Sure, it took her back to childhood. But she'd gotten through that. She'd get through this true. "You know how it is, new apprentice shows up and everyone has to get a shot in, see if they can get them to do the hard stuff."

She rubbed her neck, then, reminded of how tired she was. They sure did have her doing the hard stuff, didn't they.

Maybe she simply wasn't that bright, but her expression showed nothing but confusion when Amelia suggested something other than the plague was responsible for D'astel's symptoms. "But the healers, they said that others were showing signs." A shake of her head and a rough chuckle meant more to dismiss her own unease than anything else, "But what do I know? If it's not dirt, it's beyond me. I guess hope is all we can do."

There is more to you than that, Mine. Awunrayth admonished mildly.

I have not spoken to them, much. It is early. They will be friends, in time. We all hatched. We all love Ours. We are mostly, alike, I think. Why shouldn't we be friends?

Rieta gave another one of her harsh, barking laughs at that. "Course it is. That's what people do. Find someone to treat as lesser. Makes 'em feel better. And people in your debt? No one easier to look down on than that." Despite her apparent amusement, she ended the comment with a sigh, giving Awunrayth's hide a good hard rub as she did so. "But it's alright. People push me away I just push back harder. And me? I don't stop pushing."

At Amelia's somewhat darker comment in regards to the plague, Rieta turned completely toward Awunrayth, as if the task of oiling required her complete attention. It wasn't something she wanted to think about. But it was something she was thinking about, none-the-less. "Nah. But it's what I heard. And I was hearing about maybe some cases over at the hold too. That was before, well, before." Her voice was as low as it got, which was to say, just about at normal speaking level, and she almost trailed off at the end. Clearly a subject she disliked meditating on over much. "I dunno. Maybe everyone was cleared."

Yeah. Maybe. Maybe everything would be fine. And maybe Awunrayth would lay eggs like a gold.

When it happens, I will tell you. The green solemnly, no doubt or hesitation in her mindvoice. Worry though, was there. Rieta's anxiety was catching.

Rieta too, had changed, since impressing Awunrayth. Not in outlook, no. But in how she presented her thoughts. Oh, she was still loud and she wasn't above being a bit pushy. But Awunrayth was always there in her mind, reminding her to be gentle, to be careful, to let others change in their own time. Only a few months ago, she would not have let the subject of the Ghenzans drop. She might have even grabbed Amelia and dragged her off in an attempt to make friends with some innocent bystander.

Instead, she rubbed oil into Awunrayth's hind leg and let her mind continue to brood on the subject of the plague. All told, maybe it would have been better if she had fixated on their first conversational topic, instead of the second. But, if she didn't push the topic from her mind, she did allow Amelia to redirect their conversation toward other things.

Still, some of her trademark enthusiasm was missing when she next spoke. "Yeah. I like it. When I was growing up, I spent a lot of time in the kitchens, with my Dad. Never really liked it. The Weyr--"

A brief shake of her head, there were words there she wasn't quite ready to give voice too. "Just like having the sky above me is all. Think Awunrayth appreciates it too."

You are happy. That is what matters. Awunrayth gave a happy little rumble, her eyes whirling with calm contentment again.

"I dunno about a fresh start. Not for me, anyway." Rieta commented, and for the first time, there was an edge to her voice. Awunrayth, picking up on it, lifted her head.

I am sorry, Mine.

Oh, love, hush. I didn't mean it that way. She stroked the dragon's hide with apologetic affection looking a bit guilty. When she spoke again, her voice was more careful. Unused to such care, she paused nervously as she selected her words.

"Sorry. I was-- unclear. I was born at the Weyr, see? When I was searched, it was-- well it felt like walking backwards." She rested her cheek against Awunrayth's pale green hide and allowed herself a long, slow breath, "I mean, I wouldn't change anything. Of course I wouldn't. But for me, yeah. It was different outside the Weyr. It was like breathing for the first time."

She shook her head, a rough, abrupt motion. "Nevermind all that. You don't need me chatting your ear off. This one's working with me on that." The green rumbled gently at that, and Rieta seemed to return to her earlier chipper state.