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The hatching was soon approaching with the hardening of the eggs on the Sands every day, but whether Aliliena's future draconic partner currently was among them, she hadn't the slightest idea. Whether he or she was or not, her immediate interest lay more in getting to know the charming brownrider she'd met at the lakeside a little while back. Well, him and his brown; she was rather impressed with the dragon's talking to her, and really, you didn't waste a thing like that. Why not cultivate a friendship? If nothing else, were she to Impress, she was fairly sure her odds lay green, so it was sort of like shopping around for future Flight suitors. She was pretty sure she wasn't the only one that did such things...

She wasn't really sure how private or open to random drop-ins at home S'ren was, so she'd prepared what she thought of as an amazing excuse: carrying messages. Just because the message happened to also be from her didn't make a difference, right? It had been easy enough to figure out where the brownrider's weyr was once she'd asked around, and she jogged over to the location at an easy pace after dinner was over, as the sky was just starting to turn properly dark. As she approached, she caught the distinct sounds of a pipe playing within. She hadn't known S'ren was anything of a musician. Was he playing for himself, for his dragon, or even perhaps an audience...? Granted, she hadn't planned on him having company. Lena's final approach was cautious and quiet, planning to get a peek in to ascertain the situation before proceeding further.

The complaint of the fire lizard within and the abrupt cessation of the music told Lena she'd been found out long before S'ren's call to the outdoors. Cover lost, she stepped into the personal weyr, bold as a bronze, with a little wave and a smile. "Oh, by all means, feel free to continue~" she said breezily. "It's nothing pressing that brings me by, after all." She blinked, once she'd realized the flit she'd heard earlier was around S'ren's neck, and came a little closer, leaning to peer. "Ooh, she's a pretty one. You don't see crimsons that often." Mostly because you either had to be incredibly lucky with your timing or know when the rest of the clutch hatched to really be able to aid them through the shell. It was amusing he had a brown and a little crimson though, perhaps because a dragon crimson would be roughly brown-sized? Not that flits were terribly picky about those they Impressed to.

"I hope I haven't come at a bad time," she added, almost as an afterthought. S'ren was looking a little guilty, and she couldn't imagine why. Was it the music? She wasn't one to judge another for their hobbies.

Not doing much? Well perhaps she needn't have prepared an excuse in the first place then. Ah well, she was here now, and that's what she'd wanted. "I'm sure your friend understood. Given her nature...she likely wouldn't have made it if you'd had to wait long at all," Lena replied, sensible in her assessment of the situation. "And they are very charming." She'd been of a mind to get a flit of her own once or twice, even gone so far as organizing with other weyrbrats to comb the nearby environs for clutches, but she'd decided the thrill of the search was really what she'd liked. Perhaps someday she'd acquire one, though not likely in the near future. If she Impressed, she wouldn't want to take care of two hatchlings at once, and if she didn't, well... She'd likely still wait, if only to avoid the look of angling for a dragon replacement. She supposed she could offer to go looking for others who did want a firelizard egg to make up for disappointment on the sands, though.

"Needed? I 'needed' nothing more than your company--and that of your dragon, of course! Hello, Tereth," Lena said, turning to the brown dragon and offering him a little bow. It had been some time since they'd last met, and she'd never really quite gotten the handle on draconic memory; it was entirely possible he'd forgotten her. She glanced back to S'ren with a smile. "Were you playing for him?"

S'ren sounded so mystified! Of course she'd seek out his company; he'd piqued her interest, he had a lovely dragon, and his own personality was rather charming as well. About the only downside was how tall he was, but everyone except children were tall next to Lena. She'd grown used to it, really. She was even more amused by faint hints of a flush across the rider's cheeks, and paired with his excuse, put two and two together. He was embarrassed? Of playing? "I think he is too, Tereth. But I'm sure you already know Yours is apparently a bit silly~" Lena said, leaning over to 'whisper' at the brown dragon. "Why be so secretive? Not that I expect you to rare off and become a Weyrsinger, but there's really no reason to hide a perfectly legitimate hobby. Your dragon likes music, so you make music for him! S'all very straightforward to me," she finished with a shrug, talking at S'ren once more as she settled into a cross-legged sit beside Tereth.

"I suspect if I Impress, were I to have a dragon who abhorred swimming, I'd spend less time in the water, for example." She really hoped there were no such dragons--bathing one who didn't like the water would be an absolute pain past the smallest stages! "Perhaps you didn't much like music before, but Tereth's opened your mind to trying something different than you normally prefer. That just shows you're a very good dragonrider, willing to take the suggestion and counsel of your mindmate." Lena was perhaps talking overmuch on the subject, but she was curious to see if her words had any effect--or merely embarrassed S'ren more. That would be fun too~

"Ah well, silly ones can be the most fun," Lena agreed sagaciously, patting Tereth's nearest foot in what appeared to be reassurance. She certainly thought they made a nice pair, though she'd yet to see Tereth act "silly." Perhaps his silliness came from choosing S'ren, though it wasn't a course Lena would have disagreed with.

"Your thing, hmm~? As if we all can only have one desire?" Lena teased. A friend wanting to start a dragon choir...how very entertaining! Yet yes, she could see a cause for concern there given how S'ren appeared to be the type to keep to himself. "Does this rider friend have a weyr nearby then? Or do they stop by in the evenings often?" she asked, just to make sure it wasn't his only reason for rather panicking at the impromptu visit, since she hadn't actually seen the instrument the whole time she'd been in here so he must've hid it. Why she was taking this so far even she didn't know, except perhaps it made for an easy topic of conversation. Plus, it wasn't a proper evening 'til she'd managed to pry some new secret out of someone she'd just met awhile ago.

"If it's on occasion, then surely you have time to stash away your instrument and hide the evidence of your ill-gotten musical gain," Lena quipped, crossing her arms as she leaned back against Tereth for support. His hide was very soft (no surprises there, given the recent oiling) and the brown made for a comfortable seat back. "Treating me? Not as a treat, I assure you! But if they were easy on us, then it might encourage more lads and young ladies to try their luck at the weyr, invitation by Searchrider or no." Not that Lena fancied herself much of a lady. She liked dressing up, but she'd been told on several occasions her manners left something to be desired, to say nothing of her terribly informal attitude. She'd've been doomed had she been born in a Hold. "On the bright side, I've been through them before, so I can still get away with naps if I sit in the back," she added with a grin.

"Extra chores? Pfft, why bother worrying about getting them or no? I've lived here my whole life, so like it or not I've gained a certain efficiency for changing glows, peeling tubers, and mucking out...well, whatever needs to be mucked out," Lena said, with a laugh. "What comes will come. I'll worry less about punishment and more about entertaining myself, thanks~" It was her philosophy for most things in life, really. Why worry about others' reactions when there was fun to be had? S'ren seemed to have a little different view of things, but then again...well, she was pretty sure she'd pegged him at the lake. Responsible brownrider, that one. She doubted the brown, amazing as Tereth might be, had been the one to make him responsible. "How long did you have to endure Candidate lessons?" she asked, struck by a sudden curiosity. Some people Impressed on their first standing, true, but you never knew until you asked.

So he'd been a repeat-candidate as well, hmm? Well he knew her "pain" then, though she was fairly sure he might've taken the pain part a little more seriously. "Let's see...four Turns, I think? As soon as my foster mother'd let me start, basically, a few of my friends were able to stand the Turn before at twelve and, boy, was I jealous," Lena said, chuckling at her own youthful indiscretions easily shared. "You've been around, you know how it is. Even if it takes everyone awhile to Impress or decide dragons aren't their preference, the mood in the weyr's always to at least try a bit before giving up. Are you from around here, then? Or just spent your adolescence as a longtime 'guest'?" Her own mother (not that Lena knew her well) had been a Holdgirl who'd aged out, so it wasn't entirely unlikely he'd been from somewhere a bit further than the next Hold over.

"And your contingency plan, if you don't mind my asking? I think I may need one of them in the next few Turns, and I haven't the slightest idea where to start," she admitted, running a hand through her hair. Certainly something that would allow her to stay at Trine, but it would be nice to do something a little more interesting than mere drudgery.