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L'thor nodded to Ulan's words, not responding verbally as he heard Nehren's footsteps approaching. It wasn't his duty at all. He was not obligated to take any interest whatsoever in those he Searched, but he wanted to in this case and saw no reason to be pedantic. He'd do it, and that was all that would matter to Ulan. There was no guarantee that Nehren would get any dragon at all of course, many worthy Candidates never did and if that was was the case for Nehren, perhaps his father could have his boy back nice and safe. There again, perhaps Nehren would remain at the Weyr; not back home but still safer than he would be in a wing.

"Thank you," L'thor said with a nod to the offer of the room, "leaving now would be foolish... River come here will you?" The flitt chirpped and flew to land on his outstretched wrist. L'thor pictured the blue going to V'kain, and picturing to him L'thor and Nehren here. Safe. Stuck. If his friend didn't get the message from that, no doubt River would be sent back with slate and charcoal for a message of clarification. River cheeped confidently before hopping into the air and vanishing to do his duty. "Gone to tell my friends where I am," he explained to the other occupants of the room.

"Raith?" he addressed his dragon a moment later, "Are you alright in there?"

"It's not my weyr," the green responded sleepily after some moments, "but it's quite comfortable and dry. I shall do fine here for the night."

Smiling and nodding, L'thor turned to Nehren. "She says she is fine, thank you for asking." It was gratifying that the boy considered her comfort. He'd do well by a dragon if one chose him. "I'll give you a bath when we get home," L'thor told his dragon. "A bath and a full oiling." Perhaps he'd invite Nehren to come along and help; he had a feeling the lad would enjoy it.

Now what? Didn't look like conversation was going anywhere for now. L'thor frowned to himself, trying to remember if he had any chores he needed to do... Shards! He'd left Raith's harness on.

"Don't worry," the green reassured him, "I'll be fine for the night. You'll just have to give me an extra nice bath to make up for it when we return to the Weyr."

L'thor nodded, still feeling a complete fool for forgetting, but that reminded him. Summoning River over to him once more, he pictured his spare riding harness and the sewing kit. Needed those. Dusk would help him. River cheeped and vanished again. Some moments later, he and his larger, darker brother winked back into the house and dropped the riding straps in L'thor's lap, closely followed by the sewing kit.

Setting the needles and tough thread on the table, L'thor searched for the stitching he had been working on the previous night. All the joins needed sureing up, but he might as well begin where he left off. He found the spot before too long, threaded a needle and set about his work as Dusk fluttered over with River to be introduced to the master of the house, i.e. Flick.

"You spend half your life repairing your harnesses when you're rider," L'thor commented, glancing up at Nehren with a smile. "I imagine you'll take better to it than I did at first. Never done any sewing in my life before I had to learn how to do this in weyrling lessons."

L'thor set his mending aside and accepted his bowl of stew with a smile of thanks, leaving it to cool a little while he thought. "Well," he began, "as a Candidate you'll be doing whatever chores you're told to do and having lessons in dragon lore and the like with the Candidate master. There are more detailed lessons with the weyrling master when you Impress, but you get the basics from the Candidate master. You're kept very busy, but I doubt you'll really find the schedule too demanding. It's the soft ones who've never had to do a day's work in their life that moan about getting blisters and not having enough time to have fun."

Those ones had annoyed him as a Candidate, but then so had the ones that bragged about how easy it all was. He'd found it a little tough at first, used to walking all day and rough conditions but not really to dull chores and heavier labor but he'd adjusted quite quickly. Almost everybody had been coping by the hatching, but of course there had still been the complainers and the braggarts. Still were come to that.

On trying the stew, L'thor discovered that it was really rather nice, and made a small noise of appreciation as he munched some more of it. "As I say," he went on once he'd eaten a bit, "you get very little time off as a Candidate, but you do get a day or two sometimes and I'd be happy to give you a lift back here if you want to come. Families are welcome at hatchings, and again I'd be happy to bring anyone who wants to come. If there's lots of people, I can rope some of my friends in to give rides as well." It would probably just Nehren's father and brother, L'thor considered, but he might have cousins or aunts or close friends who would like to be there as well.

L'thor nodded good night to Ulan, pausing to watch the sturdy man leave. It had been a long time since he'd seen his father. He really should stop putting a visit off... He'd always just referred to D'los as Dephie or Los, his pet names for his weyrmate. His family assumed that he had in fact been a she... He hadn't really liked the deception when D'los had been alive and he really hated it now he was dead but it had felt necessary and still rather did. Traders were no more accepting of his sort than Holders. So, it was keep away from them and have them think of him fondly, or go to see them and end up snapping when somebody referred to D'los as she and have them despise him.

When Nehren spoke, the rider sighed faintly and set his spoon down. "Well... We have morals, just not the same ones as are held elsewhere," he said softly. "Riders do not marry. Due to the bond we share with our dragons, we couldn't really devote ourselves to a spouse as others can. Many riders never have long term romantic relationships, but some of us stick with weyrmates for life... You can end a relationship for any reason at any time though. I suppose some might see that as immoral. It's accepted too that men can love men and women can love women, and that such feelings and relationships are as valid as those between a man and a woman. Again, many Holders would consider that extremely immoral... In the end though," L'thor shrugged, "we live for our dragons. They are always the most important thing in your life, from the very moment the bond is formed. It has to be that way, the closeness of the bond, if we are to do as we are supposed to and defend Pern. All else that we are, all else that we do, follows on from that bond. People can call us immoral if they like, but they should remember who it is that risk themselves against the Thread when called on."

He did despise those who spoke ill of Weyrfolk, of riders especially. What kind of gratitude was that? What right did they have to try to apply their way of life to a place so very different from their homes? Within a turn, if reckoning was right, he would be in the sky battling the Thread for all of Pern, and somewhere down below him there would still be people who would spit on him if they knew he preferred men to women. Despicable.

Stifling chuckles, L'thor finished the last of his stew with the help of River, and Dusk who had just arrived, before banking the fire in the hearth and heading to bed. As he lay down in the dark, he couldn't help but compare this day to the last time he'd picked up a Candidate. On the whole, he decided as he closed his eyes, he preferred days that ended with an embarrassed lad and a hot bowl of stew for him than ones that ended with him having had the stuffing knocked out of him. Still grinning faintly to himself L'thor drifted into sleep, lulled by the pattering of the rain.