It was the rainy season, winter, to the rest of the northern continent. The last four months since Calith's clutch had passed rather quietly with little to fuel passions or rumors.
The Weyrlings were growing and adapting to their new lives, forming friendships and figuring out their positions in the pecking order of life. Yes, life, while wet, was running along smoothly. As such, Turnover approached and brought nothing but excitement as a grand Gather was planned! It was both a celebration of the new turn and (under the radar) a way for the Weyrfolk to congratulate and celebrate Ticene and R'yn on their first child.
Preparations moved into full swing days before the actual Gather itself. The kitchens were kept hopping night and day, weavers were busy with banners and large tents, and harpers erupted into spontaneous song 'rehearsing' as they so eloquently put it. There were few in the Weyr who hadn't helped at least a little.
Finally the day was here. Trader caravans and crafters of all sorts had arrived by ship to take advantage of the festivities. Their stalls went up around a large clearing set with a wooden platform and a ring of torches that later in the evening would serve as stage and dance floor. Everything was carefully covered with the wide tents supplied by the weavers. It was the rainy season after all and even if the day was dry, there was no guarantee the evening would be as well.
Well look at this! First day here and they were already throwing a Gather in his honor! Zofer chuckled to himself, wrapped warmly in his favorite cloak and captain's attire. He knew the Gather wasn't for him, but it had seemed to be a good day to arrive now that he'd been offered a chance at Candidacy.
It would be weird going from being captain of his own small ship, to being little better than a cabin boy, bossed around by almost everyone else in the weyr. Zofer would make his place in the pecking order known soon enough though. Once the other candidates and weyrfolk realized how impressive he was there shouldn't be any trouble.
For today though, he'd celebrate in true sailor style. Midday or not, he had a purse full of marks and intended to spend them well! First stop? Vinters!
........................................ Z'ke
"C'mon Aioth! Hurry up!" Z'ke trotted backwards ahead of his blue, a ridiculously excited grin on his face. A Gather! And he had a handful of Marks! Not many, but he had some!
There was a breathy laughing noise coming from the clear eyed blue as he kept his steady pace, watching his rider with humor. ~The day is still young. The gather will be there for quite some time mine. Come, walk beside me and enjoy the day instead of rushing through it.~
"Aioth you're a spoil sport!" Z'ke grinned but slung an arm over the bright blue neck of his bonded as they passed among the first of the stalls ringing the gather site.
‘ Mine, would you get that hideous thing off of your face if you plan to be seen in public,’ openly badgered the green named Moharth in a saccharine tone, moving closer to her rider the motherly little beast rubbed her snout against that of Aelyn’s face fussing over the leather worn eye patch that she insisted on wearing ever since the hatching. ‘ My love you are far too pretty to hide behind such a ghastly---thing. Come, let me rid you of it.’ Bubbly insisted the green as she worked her lips in an awkward motion in effort to pry the woven leather blotch from the brunette’s face without harming her.
“Moharth! Please, I am old enough to pick what I wear,” Aelyn argued in a somewhat pleading voice, lifting her hands out the thin green-rider pushed her palms against her partner’s neck and cranked her head backwards in effort to spare herself from being groomed. Today was a gather and not just any gather one that held undertones and hints of celebration, it was odd really when she thought about it, one no else seemed to be bothered however Aelyn couldn’t help but feel a sense of injustice in knowing that some were making merry because Ticene and R'yn had a child. She had no idea whom her parents were and she could honestly careless about that fact but seeing so many weyrfolk beaming over one child actually stirred something deep within her that sullied her normally bubbly temperament. “I don’t think it is right how people are going on about things, this is a Gather there shouldn’t be any hidden meanings that go with it. That isn’t how Weyr life works and everyone should know that.” Had those words actually passed from her lips or had she merely thought them towards her lifemate with such conviction that it startled her? Whom was she to follow the rulebook, when did something like this bother her? Oh well, there wasn’t anything she could do about it, shrugging some the thinly built weyrling dropped her hands to her side, shimmering tranquil eyes peered into the girl for a long while before a soft breathy sigh escaped the female dragon over their mental link. Her darling little one was troubled by things that she didn’t fully comprehend, she understood it for the most part and could see why her companion would be disheartened but it was her duty to rectify those ill begotten emotions before they could fully root.
Pressing her large head into the teenager’s stomach Moharth cooed softly while she nuzzled into the soft robe that hers wore. ‘ Come my love, let us get something warm into your belly, cast out those thoughts, you have your Moharth and our love is a celebration in itself every day. Let the people cling onto any happiness that they can find. You might be a green-rider my darling but the green shade of jealousy does not suit you. Let it go and just enjoy the day.’
Giving a bit of a nod Aelyn agreed silently, stroking the soft well-oiled scales with her left hand she found a smile forming at the corners of her mouth. “You’re right Moharth. You’re right. So where should we go first? I am thinking somewhere serving meat.” Wholeheartedly commented the trim figured lass as she gazed around the open stalls, giving a small chuckle Aelyn lifted her hand to her face, deft fingertips loosened the strap of the eye patch that she wore until it fell over her nose and down her neck where it rested against her tunic. Like always her eyelids were painted with radiant hues of reds and purples and a dark black lining that traced the shape of her eyes making them stand out noticeably the only difference was the light scarring upon her cheek and just above her brow where the little blue had attacked her during the hatching, she wasn’t ashamed of the marks but she didn’t feel like she was immune to others judging her appearance either at least when she chose to wear the patch to conceal the scars she was in control of what people around her saw without it she felt vulnerable and far too exposed.
‘ Look at you! Mine is so very beautiful, now isn’t that better?’ Happily snorted Moharth after getting her way, puffing out her small chest up the darkly colored green warbled with a mix of pride and delight before she took her proper place directly beside her rider and stroked her leg as they walked with her pronged tail, comforting her every step of the way.
Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2012 1:51 pm
Gathers were always a fun time for Cesa, regardless of what the cause behind them was. There was always a large build up to the excitement for her. Working in the kitchens with the people she'd known for a lifetime they all built up on each other’s energy and by the end of it the place was buzzing with life before the celebrations had even officially begun. When the time came that they were able to leave the warm area and actually venture out into the Gather half were set to collapse. The other half, the one that included Cesa, was so sufficiently excited that there was no way she could possibly sit still for any length of time.
Though she would have gladly gone straight to the dance space and stayed there until long past nightfall, she had been dragged off by friends instead. Insisting that she 'couldn't go to the Gather looking like that!'. So, she'd be swept back to her weyr and been made to change out of her flour dusted clothes into something more presentable. It was settled on a rich plum blouse and a long brown skirt, embroidered with leaves and vines twisting up the material. Finally before she left, Cesa swept her hair back in a high runner-tail and tied it with a purple ribbon. Keeping her hair down would just be a nuisance, yet still she wanted her hair to be free to move without having to pin it up like she did when she worked. What use was it keeping her long hair if she never had it at least near loose? It was entirely possible that as the day drew on and the sky turned dark that the ribbon would be abandoned.
It was only a matter of time after that before the small group of women were dancing and laughing at the Gather. Twirling and following the music with no real focus on whether their motions were in line with what the set dance for that song in particular was. As content as they were to continue swirling about in a mass of feminine giggling, it wasn't long until the young ladies began having suitors appear and whisk them each away to dance. Cesa's partner turned out to be a rather charming Brownrider by the name of R'cen. Who seemed to greatly enjoy picking up the shorter woman and spinning her around, which was enough to cause Cesa to laugh as she tried not to slip out of his grip.
Alone in the world for the first time in her life, Jasi found herself at a loss as to what to do. People, crowds, neither of these things bothered her. She'd been to gathers before so even they weren't strange. Something just felt off about being at the weird. A little voice just teasing the back of her brain. Maybe it was just the fact that she was alone, without mother, father or brothers.
Jasiline was never kept down for long though. Despite her feelings she was already bouncing around with a few other ladies in front of the harpers. Most gave her a wide berth. The young huntress wasn't exactly the most graceful creature to ever wear a skirt. Infact... she might be the most 'flaily'. With the quick pace of the music and the bemused looks of the harpers to encourage her, Jasi wasn't about to stop enjoying herself just yet.
.................................... Z'ke
"Hey! There's another weyrling!" Z'ke spotted a green dragon among the crowd and while he didn't know many of the female weyrlings that well (being a 12 turn old boy) Z'ke was never shy. Aioth kept his steady pace, even as Z'ke ran up to the green dragon, finally spotting her rider. At least he was decent with names. He recognized her by the eyepatch that now hung around her neck. "Aelyn! Isn't this exciting?! How are you and Moharth? How is your eye?"
~ Mine, tact. Please. ~ Aioth chastised as he drew up to the small group. He crooned to Moharth, deep blue eyes admiring her fresh oiling. ~ Forgive him please. He doesn't mean to be rude. ~
Z'ke flushed but didn't lose his bright, if sheepish, grin. "Sorry. How are you?" He asked in a much more respectful tone.
....................... Zofer
Glass of wine in hand, Zofer meandered through the stalls, admiring the wares and checking prices against what he knew were the going rates for importation on most of them. Over priced. But that was to be expected at a gather. A few bright baubles, hidden away from careless eyes, were noted and filed away for later haggling. For now, Zofer had his eye out for a game of cards or dice to get in on, or a lovely young thing looking to be swept off her feet.
Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2012 1:42 am
The booming call of her given name instantly caused the green-rider’s boot clad feet to come to a sudden and firm halt, the voice was familiar and yet the name that belonged to it escaped her recollection in that instant. Twirling in place the long-haired brunette squinted against the light of day, honey-brown eyes darted instantly to the boy addressing her as well as his blue counterpart and just like that his title sprang back into her mind and she grinned wolfishly towards him in greeting.
“Z’ke,” Aelyn warmly mirrored the boy’s exuberant inflection and tone. Giggling with mirth the trimly-framed weyrling listened to the disheveled youth ramble with excitement; his words rode up behind one another like inexperienced beast-runners and came to her ears in a single rush. “The gather does look to be really amazing; I haven’t seen one this big in a very, very long time actually.” Smoothly commented the girl rather nonchalantly. At the blue-rider’s next set of questions Aelyn gave a barking laugh and wrapped her arms around the smaller boy’s neck pulling him close against her slender-frame, lifting her hand she ran her willowy digits through his messy brown locks before pressing her knuckles against his scalp and rubbing vigorously.
“My heart and I are doing great, actually,” she retorted all too cheerfully then coiled against Z’ke again with another hug before releasing him from her hold. “And my eye is doing well I think, it is still sensitive to light and waters a bit here and there but otherwise it seems to be working right and proper.” Aelyn chimed and finished with a rather flirtatious wink towards the much younger boy.
‘ Apologies aren’t necessary,’ Moharth insisted with a demure touch lacing her mental voice, folding and tucking her wings with poise the green moved closer to her clutch mate for a moment. Outstretching her neck the dragonet nudged against her blue brother with the side of her head in a soothing manner. ‘ It seems ours still have a few lessons to be leant, don’t mind my love though she is still sensitive of her wound. She is just trying to make light of things. ’ Moharth affirmed in a silken tone before pulling away from Aioth and moving back towards Aelyn.
“Don’t be sorry you silly git! You didn’t do anything wrong,” boisterously declared the green-rider with a roll of her eyes, Z’ke was still so very young but already held the foundation to a manly body and Aelyn recognized that fact, he was the sort of person that she would need keep as a friend if she planned on establishing rank in later turns. “Say Z’ke wanna keep Moharth and me company during the Gather? I have some marks so we can get some food and maybe craft goods too if they have good deals.” During the hatching Z’ke had been strong-headed and brave in the face of danger, he was a lot like her and Aelyn liked that about the boy. “My treat.” She beamed impishly.
‘ I have my eye on you my love, my dearest. No tomfoolery, please.’ Verbosely urged Moharth in the most sugared of tones that still somehow managed to convey a stern warning edge to it.
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Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2012 1:01 pm
T'rel, the bronzerider known for playing pranks and hating tubers with a passion, was not in a particularly good mood that evening. Indeed, he sat on a bench watching the dancers with a scowl. He pushed himself up with a hand and made his way over to Cesa. He did not once glance at R'cen as he tapped Cesa on the shoulder. "May I cut in?" he asked. "Dance with me, Cesa?"
While he and R'cen typically got along--and quite well, it seemed T'rel wasn't charmed by his behavior. Onlookers may have found this strange--if they didn't know how the bronze and greenrider's friendship worked. They had known each other since T'rel's first day as a candidate, and had been close to inseperable since. Naturally, he was protective of her. And it seemed that he disapproved of "We could wander the stalls after," he suggested with a smile, taking her hand.
"You look beautiful," he added with another smile.
Digith, I wonder if you and yours can come swim with me? The water is very nice. I believe you will like it. It is not sunny, so we cannot lay in the sun--but it is nice, still. The rain has made me dirty, and swimming will fix it. This will be good. Do you agree? We can catch wherries.
Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2012 1:51 pm
Kindra and Morrigath entered, both held heads proudly, the green's hide scrubbed and oiled until she almost literally glowed. Kindra, dressed in some of her finest. Neither was about to show up looking less than their best. Kindra's hair was up in a loose bun, strands out of place, framing her face. They both looked at their fellow Weyrlings but said nothing, Kindra had made Morrigath promise to say nothing if she couldn't be nice, how long that would last, was debatable. "Are you hungry Morrigath?" she asked out loud as well as mentally, pride forcing her to speak, why should she be sneaky and only talk to her dragon mentally? It was natural to speak to someone that talked to you.
"Not right now Mine, i TOLD you this before we got here if a dragon could eyeroll, Morrigath would have right then, knowing full well Kindra only asked because she herself was but knowing Hers loved her enough to see to her needs first was slightly mollifying. "Go and eat, i will wait here" She wasn't going to go to others, THEY would have to come to her if they wanted to greet her. Kindra smiled and kissed her green's eyeridges to go and get a plateful of food, Glaring down those that tried to grab the best bits, snatching the choicest parts for herself before returning to Morrigath.
Gather time, was there ever anything better? Probably not, it was a large group gathered together, often times drinking more then they should, and looking far to cute for their own good. It was a good time waiting to happen and he was looking for just that. He hadn't gotten to enjoy the last gather to the fullest due to having to get into a fight with a bigot and then steal off with that man's son. It hadn't been his most well thought out plan by any stretch of the imagination but at least it had all worked out in the end. Well in fact given that same boy that he'd kidnapped, or 'searched' as R'yn dubbed it, had ended up impressing at the hatching a few months back in a rather unexpected manner. The boy had been quite behind, finding that he needed a lot of extra teaching to get him up to par with the others who impressed that day but he was sure that he would be an excellent rider one day given the bond between the boy and his beautiful green, "I look forward to the day he is an official rider." He said to himself and to Tzo who was always listening in and he could hear her all but sigh.
Mine, you are also looking forward to when your most recent 'friend' comes to age as well." She scolded him, half wishing he might just settle down one day with someone but she doubted very highly it would happen. He seemed all too happy to remain single, prowling around, pouncing on his various lovers like a dragon would a wherry. She blinked a couple times, eyes whirling, then asked, "What suddenly has you so excited, Mine?" She found herself asking, though she really didn't know if she wanted to know that much. If he were as pleased as she thought he was she could guess who the poor fool was that was about to get pounced and carried off to be 'devoured' by her stalking partner.
"Just an old friend of ours, you recall Zelith, don't you?" He asked of her and, if a dragon could blush, Tzo would be at the moment, "Yes, well his cute little rider is here. It's been far to long since I have been able to catch up with him. Shame he seems as though he is about to get snatched up by a female again." He mused, shrugged, then walked forward. There was nothing stopping him from cutting into the dance he was trying to get he thought to himself, grinning happily. He wondered what Tzo was going to do now, seek out Zelith perhaps? He wasn't sure but he knew full well what he was going to do, he was going to have a good time at the expense of a bronzerider, as per usual. Why were they so cute and so out of reach most days? No matter, this one was easy enough to pounce.
As he got close to the bronzerider he heard him inviting the woman out, flirting it up, calling her beautiful, and he gave a bit of a grin, "Beautiful, huh? Been a while since I have been called that but I will accept such a compliment from one of my favorite bronzers." He said, one strong arm wrapping around T'rel before he dragged him backwards for a hug, "It's been far too long, how have you been, T'rel, love?"
Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2012 6:33 pm
It was finally here! Her first Gather as a real Candidate, and her first Turnover as well! Iliyana hid a small giggle behind her hand as she looked about the gathered stalls. She didn't have any spare marks to spend, but at least she could look at all of the interesting things that were available, and smelly the Bubblypies, and- well, she'd find plenty of things to do! The twelve-turn-old was nearly skipping as she meandered into the clearing that had been set up, golden curls bouncing with every step.
Now, where should she go first? Which tent should she investigate? Perhaps the wares for sale? Or maybe the space for dancing, that could be fun! (But the people that were in that direction seemed older than her, and there were more interesting things to poke into right now besides.) Perhaps she could talk to a Rider? Maybe one of them knew who had birthed her, since her foster mother had never told her. Or maybe - maybe - oh, there were just too many options!
Iliyana sighed and nibbled her lip thoughtfully, trying to think about what, exactly, she was going to do. How could she ever decide?
Ionan who was not at all naughty and had not run away from his father who had not been dishing out a punishment such as 'You will not be going to the gather tonight' due to such rowdy behavior--was rather... Lost. The six turn old had been so upset about being punished when he'd been so well behaved all sevenday and done every bit what he'd been told--up to a candlemark before that he had dashed off without paying attention to where he was going. He'd been so excited to see Iona and tell her excitedly all the things they were going to do during the gather that he had 'forgotten' that he had had chores to do before attending.
And so running, the six turn old boy bumped into Ilyiana. "I'm sorry!" Ionan squeaked. "Sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going and--" the blonde boy hesitated, eyes widening as he studied her face. "I don't know you," he informed her, matter of factly. "But you look like Noa. Why do you look like Noa?"
Saying this, the boy seemed to remember he was looking for Iona. Maybe he was finally old enough to see the Turnover Ghosts this turn! He'd heard many stories about them. How they were supposed to be the ghosts of dragons' past. "Have you seen Noa?" he asked hopefully. "Wanna help me look?"
Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2012 8:19 pm
Feeling a tap on her shoulder, Cesa stopped dancing and turned her upper body to look at who had wanted her attention a questioning look on her face. It had definitely been a tap and not just someone bumping into her. Seeing T'rel she broke into a grin, she had been hoping to see him at some point through the gather. "I'd love to," Cesa said as T'rel took her hand. There wasn't anyone she'd rather spend the Gather with than her best friend. She always had fun when T'rel was around and with the majority of her female friends in dispose he was her number one choice. The two had seemed to settle back into their own ways quite well since she had returned from her absence. Cesa was immensely happy about this, her days had felt so boring without her friend around and she would have hated to come back and find that he no longer wanted to spend any time with her. She turned an apologetic look to R'cen, she felt a bit bad about abandoning him mid-dance.
"It's alright, my fair lady," the Brownrider shamelessly flirted with the woman as he bowed to her. "Hopefully you will be able to honour me with another dance later tonight to make up for it." Flashing Cesa a charming grin it was obvious that R'cen was pleased by the faint flush that crept into the young woman's face at his behaviour. Were it not for T'rel already having a hold on his previous dance partner's hand he may well have kissed her hand. The dark-haired male certainly seemed to have a talent for saying the right thing at the right time. He momentarily lost Cesa's attentions though when she heard T'rel's comment.
Looking back to him she had been about to thank him for his compliment, even if she wouldn't say she'd managed to go to the effort to deserve it, but they were interrupted when another rider appeared. She lost hold of T'rel's hand when he was dragged away from her for a hug. Cesa smiled slightly at the rider pulling T'rel about, she couldn't imagine that he would like it very much. It was then that her hand was taken up by R'cen again. "Looks like your potential dance partner has gotten a little tied up. Think I could get another dance? Digith seems to have been invited off for a swim or something, so I won't be getting any company from him for a while."
Looking from R'cen to T'rel and G'deon Cesa thought about it for a moment. She would rather spend the time with T'rel, but he did seem caught up at the moment. He and the other rider also seemed to be rather good friends and G'deon had said it had been a long time. "Well, I'll let you two catch up." There would be other dances and Cesa didn't want to intrude on him and G'deon's time together. R'cen grinned and started to lead the woman back into the dancers. "You come find me when you're done, okay?" Cesa called out to T'rel, a somewhat sad twist to her voice. She did hope to spend some time with him today.
Iliyana was interrupted from her indecision by... a little boy? What? Blinking, the young candidate stared down at her unexpected companion and frowned, trying to figure out what in the world he was talking about. "Excuse me...? Noa? Who's Noa?" She asked, wondering who he meant. She didn't know anyone by that name, not at all. "I don't know how I look like this person when I don't even know who it is," she added with a shrug.
"But I can help you look for this 'Noa' if you'd like? The Gather is a big place and I don't know what I want to see first anyway - maybe you can show me around while we look?" And hopefully they could find the person he was referring to - maybe a foster parent or a sibling? - and he could be stashed safely where he wouldn't get lost or hurt, or even frightened. Then she could go back to whatever she intended to do. "Where do you think we should look first? Oh - my name's Iliyana. What's yours?"
