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Dragons didn't mean the world would stop spinning. It was the time of the year where baby herdbeasts and caprines had to be prepared for, counted ahead of time. Lists needed to be made of which male needed to be bred, what ones were too old to produce and needed to be slaughtered, how much profit could be gained in the long term. Natai spent the better part of the morning with her father and brothers, taking notes and numbers, reconfiguring it all in along with the others that owned beasts, the hunters they came to rely on as well. Iachixth spent it running around and getting dirty, repeating songs that Nana taught her earlier that day.

After lunch and a bath, Natai took them both somewhere quiet to do their respective duties. She settled down near to the butcher shop with account books in hand, curled against a stone wall with her butt on the ground and knees pulled towards her chest. A long orange dress kept her modest, a few titleless books settled next to her legs. The Hold bustled around her, talking and laughter, people bartering, some mother complaining over her childs lack of desire to do his Craft. Everything continued on as if nothing ever happened, as if the threat of Revolutionaries didn't loom over them because she refused to go to Trine. Mother never spoke of it outside of 'Are you alright?' and no one else commented at all. They simply kept their weapons near and smiles in place. On the opposite side of the girl, a gold dragon sprawled. Iachixth had a thick runner bone in her claws, some meat still clinging to the ends. Father saved it for her and she knew he also had a ball for her, somewhere.

Iachixth was sure it had bells.

"You are very quiet," Natai murmured, scratching in a few numbers. "Are you plotting something horrible?"

I am plotting the ball Father has for me. Iachixth's teeth grated against the hearty bone, her claws kneading into it. But I am tired, we have done a lot. I chased herdbeasts and ate and we had a bath. It's a busy day.

"You did a fine job with it as well." Natai patted at her dragon absently, smearing a bit of dark ink against the shining hide. It made her look mortal, something less then what the visitors now seemed to think she was. "Later we will go and pick some weeds. What do you say?"

Yes! The dragon shifted and pressed herself tight into a ball, leaning against Natai with a happy croon. And then I will sleep under your bed. We can tell scary stories.

Iachixth noticed the young man first. Her slim head popped up, the large bone awkward and angled in her mouth. Uuuhm, Natai! I don't think we know him. Do we know him? S'dekai didn't sound like the mean, loud sort and he didn't stand over them like some tall intimidating human some of them liked to. She chirped in greeting anyway, the young dragon unraveling from her ball-of-dragon to keep her stare on this new person.

It took her human another few seconds to realize there was a person settling down and talking to her. She blinked at her books once, wayward hand pressing ink to the edges of of it. The goldrider didn't notice, her gaze sweeping over the strange man and his lack of riders knots, the ones all the others before him wore, the name that sounded as if it could have once been longer. Much like her dragon, Natai noted the lack of looming and what appeared to be a good amount of manners. Iachixth nudged at Natai's shoulder with a chirp, curiousity abound, and the goldrider smiled at the quiet S'dekai.

"It'd be absolutely foolish to try anything at all while we're right here," she assured him. A handkerchief was pulled from a small pocket of her skirt, used to wipe her inky fingers. "Hello, S'dekai. I'm Natai, this is Iachixth. Would I be out of line to assume you were sent from one of the Wherholds or Trine?" Her lips quirked. "If I am, I apologize, but you're not from the Hold and had you been sent from Manaan, you'd have something from him or an indication of a Trader. I'm guessing the rest of it. Yes, though, I've a few moments."

S'dekai not throwing about his weight as a bronzerider helped. Natai didn't know what color he rode save for 'not gold' and it didn't matter; out of all those that visited, the kindest had been a white rider and a greenrider. That had to say something about how things were over in the other Weyrs.

She watched him and his struggled, eyebrows furrowing. Iachixth crooned and stared at him, her head cocked to the side curiously at the human so obviously in distress. The young dragon hemmed and hawwed for a second while he struggled for words before she reached out to any other dragons in the vicinity, her mindvoice piping and curious. Helloooooo? He says you are Pioth and Mine doesn't know him, are you there? I am Iachixth! We should talk! Are you there?

Natai patted Iachixth's head gently as her dragon decided to intrude rather rudely, completely unaware of dragon manners at this point in her life. She didn't expect his statement in the very least, coming from a Rider of Malvren. The distress made sense then and she reached over to press her hand against his shoulder in as reassuring manner as she could.

"Are you hungry? It's quieter in the house for once, we'd have it all to ourselves," And not in the open where firelizards or random people about might over hear. "And Mother actually knows how to cook. I burn water."

S'dekai appeared more pleased than anything at the uninvited touch. Natai smiled up at him when the man stood, taking the offered hand to stand. She straightened up her skirts, Iachixth squirming about to collect their belongings in her mouth and pass them up to Natai. "You're the first from Malvren. It's been a bit of a toss up. I've not made many friends among the Weyrs." She cracked another smile and led him around to the house.

"Is it so easy to find me? She's not quite big enough to be seen from the sky yet, I think..." Natai shook her head, her lips pursed to hide a sigh. She smiled anyway, quiet an mild and altogether pleasant. "You're the first to say what you did, though, if that means anything. They've all been from Trine as well."

The door opened with an easy squeak, the only other person inside the dozing seven year old at a small table in the corner, a little book spread out under her thin arms. Natai waved a hand at her and gestured for the kitchen table. The kitchen was large for a house of its size, warm with old, well used utensils and hearth, the wooden tables worn soft and rounded, the counters frequently washed. It radiated comfort to her at least and that ay it smelled of bread. "Anything you particularly like to eat? My brothers eat as much as Iachixth so we're well stocked. ...I think, unless they've been in here. Then we can talk about the situation at hand."

All the other dragons I've met are veeery very big anyway. It's okay! They're used to being spooked. Iachixth trotted into the house after the two humans anyway, wedging herself under the table with a happy chortle. But the last time one showed up, he scared us. It wasn't good. So maybe hiding is good for now. I'm under a table. Why is yours acting all fidgety?

"Ahh, yes. The gossip. A good friend of mine, a trader, he had been here too when I Impressed her," Her smile became even more gentle when the emotions decided to punch her in the throat. When in doubt, smile. "No doubt that he talked a bit about it as well. A stolen dragon isn't exactly something that happens often."

She spoke without pride, voice softer than anything else. Dragons were wonderful and fantastic but they weren't her future. She never planned on it. Natai liked to have plans, to have her books and her bits and bobs of paper and numbers. She loved Iachixth. This was not her life anymore, not really. Natai glanced at S'dekai and caught the tail end of his closed eyes and then the whole of his smile. She returned it and then laughed, just a little. "Mother is good at baking, despite whatever she says. It's not a bother at all, I wouldn't have asked."

Out came a loaf of bread, some cheese, a bit of meat that they had left over from breakfast. Sure, Natai couldn't cook but she damn well could put together a bit of a platter for him. "No," she said once she turned with the plate of the food and set it on the table. "No one from the Wherholds that I'm aware of. I'll be honest, my Hold is rather scared of them. What happened has been talked about in great detail. Revolutions like this don't happen."

They aren't allowed to hurt him, Iachixth protested even as she crooned at S'dekai from under the table. She rolled over onto her side with a squeak, squirming, her little legs kicking. Natai liked to call her a tube - and she was, a tube of a gold, glittery and without too much definition. He's in Mother and Fathers house and this is our Hold so - so they're not allowed. I won't tell anyone though! I'll forget and Natai won't say anything and she's good at not saying things when she talks.

"So not everyone was preparing for the revolution?" Natai leaned against the counter, her fingers hooked together, thumbs rubbing together slowly. The fact that not everyone in the Revolution didn't actually want it to turn bloody didn't occur to her previously; people fought, they died, and they joined sides. Not everything could be shades of gray, some things had to be black and white but... but what he said stirred some doubt in her mind.

The goldrider tilted her head back to stare at the ceiling, her lips pursed in thought. "They very likely won't be. The rider of Iachixth's clutch mother has voiced her opinion on my situation and it is none too kind. It may be the opinion of others...? But it's not as if I walked onto the Sands, Impressed, and then walked out." she smiled then, looking back to the other rider. "No, no Malvren or Benden. I must admit I am none too fond of Benden's views on atypicals. I don't like the idea of sentient infants drowning in their eggs due to belief that smaller is worse. But... you think I'm doing the right thing, not going anywhere."

Iachixth squeaked and crawled out from under the table with all sorts of good humor, nosing at the door until she wedged it open and peeked out. I'm not allowed to go outside unless Natai's there 'cause I can be snatched but you can get in as far as you can! We're not too far from the Hold edge. If you can't fit you can at least get closer?

"That's a pity," Natai murmured, her eyes downcast until he sighed. S'dekai looked tired, worn, much too thin to just be nibbling at some food. She couldn't be sure if he always had such cheekbones but... she reached forward to take some food for herself and settle down in one of the chairs, ankles crossed. "I wonder if they'd sing the same tune if their future partner rested in one of those shells."

Equality or death. The words sent unpleasant shivers down her arms, the goldrider pausing in her bite of the food. It took a moment to swallow, the bread and meat weighing in her stomach like a stone. "Did you kill anyone?" Gentle as her tone may be, the question meant quite a bit. Maybe too much. "I'm glad you agree with it. I'm trying to decide on the future and allies may be in short supply. They would kill you for being here, wouldn't they?"

Hello! Iachixth reared up on her hidelegs and propped the fore against the windowsill. She trilled a greeting, eyes the same shade as Pioths. You have pretty eyes. I am Iachixth!

A kinder woman would have felt guilty for the way the young man looked at her, how uncomfortable an indignant and flushed. Natai didn't, she couldn't. Considering the on-goings and people that visited, she felt the question valid. She remained in her seat, slim fingers curled around the snack that no longer tasted delicious. The conversation soured her stomach despite how necessary it was.

"Fighting in and of itself is distasteful," said the woman that never had to kill anything larger than a wherrie in order to survive. Nothing in her life involved copious amounts of violence, brothers wrestling aside. People did not need to kill, did they? Life could be peaceful. From her viewpoint, she could judge. the wherholders held much of the blame - they attacked. Natai shifted in her seat, calm, composed, and let him continue. "Did you run during the fighting? --It's not a judgement. I would have fled until it calmed. Flight is my first instinct when words can't be used to reason. Just - how did ou manage not to kill? From outside accounts..."

She shivered, mask slipping momentarily. Natai looked back to him, the corners of her mouth curled up into a wry smile. "And I'm not calling you a liar. It's honest curiosity." She tried to not be a horrible person, she did. Some part of her knew just how condescending she could sound.

Okay! Iachixth trilled, rounded body wavering i the sheer happy. New person, the nicest shiny one yet, and polite at that. They liked it so, even if Natai's mental reply came through somewhat muted. She says thank you. She's not mad, she likes questions like I do. And puzzles. And books. I like worms, though, and mud, she does. She likes bubbles too. People from outside keep saying we'll be hurt and taken so it also means I'm harder to see! Natai says both of those things are bad so hiding is good.

Natai looked down to the table, thoughts quietly clicking together. She knew of punishment by Thread, a disgusting terrible practice, but feeding a person to a wher made her angry rather than scared. Those were the sorts the traders murmured about at night when they thought their children slept. Little wonder they failed to approach the bondmate of a stolen dragon, especially considering the reception given to the thieves themselves.

"I'm going on my feeling that you are not a spy, a very good liar with a knife, o a kidnapper," she said at length, her voice even. "The offer of my home will stand after our visit - should you need a safe place to stay, my Hold won't turn you away. We're more than capable of defending our Hold, more so now than ever. Even our children are learning defense. What happened at the Weyrs will not happen here."