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It was around midday when a green dragon blinked into the sky above Ista Weyr. The small dragon was an unfamiliar sight above the Weyr and yet she and her rider's appearance was largely unnoticed. Other dragon's did not seem at all concerned by this dragon's sudden appearance above the Weyr. She was welcome there. The truth was it had been many turn since this small green had been above the Weyr. At that time the fragile under-sized hatchling had been held in her chosen's arms, ready to be taken to another Weyr more suited to caring for her.

Her rider was already familiar to the Weyr and its inhabitants. Born in the Weyr this woman had been away from her home for far too long. She had thought that when they finished Weyrlinghood the pair would be allowed to return home. However Yodith had taken longer to reach her full grown than any had expected. The green had been two turns old and still slowly inching taller. She was still miniscule by dragon sizes, but thankfully had reached a size that was safe enough for her to fly and to fight. Her rider slipped from her back and landed carefully at her side. Immediately a green firelizard slunk out of her clothing and darted off into the air. She wanted to find her old friends, they needed to know she and hers had returned.

Pale blue eyes watched the green blink between before turning to her dragon. The pair exchanged familiar looks at the firelizards behaviour. "It's good to be home, isn't it?" Cesa said with a grin, her dragon let out a contented hum and dipped her head in agreement. Her time here had been short, but she had often pulled memories of the sun and sea from her rider's mind and thought it a most enjoyable looking time. Mecesa turned and looked around at what had been her home for so many turns.

Cesa had left the Weyr four turns and eight months previously when it had been decided that Ista was not capable of caring for the newly hatched green. Yodith was simply too small for them to manage. She needed dragonhealers constant supervision and a Weyr that small could not afford to dedicate as much time as the young dragon would need. So instead Yodith and Cesa had been transferred to Telgar until Yodith was deemed strong and ready enough to join Ista's fighting wings.

After darting away from her bonded the green firelizard had flicked from one place in the Weyr to another rather rapidly. She would crow her arrival and then, just as suddenly as she had appeared, vanish again. That was until she stumbled across a face she knew very well indeed. She darted and hovered a few feet in front of T'rel. She gave an affirmative chirrup at hearing her name and allowed T'rel to stroke her, chattering excitedly about her adventures and how long she had been away. Teller stopped her flow when she looked at Harper, noticing that something was missing. Where was the little her? Being a green, Teller didn't have a mothering streak, but she understood that there was a link between her and the smaller green.

Teller focused when T'rel said her name once again. Where was hers? Luckily Teller had managed to understand the question, where and hers were simple enough concepts for her to grasp. That T'rel wanted to speak to her didn't really mean anything to the firelizard, she understood he wanted to know hers' whereabouts though. That she could give him. Quickly Teller pushed the image of the bowl into T'rel's mind. Of Cesa standing in the bowl the very big her, the one who spoke in riddles. That was where she had left hers. Her Cesa was still there, as was the bigger her. T'rel should hurry or else hers may be somewhere else by the time he reached where she was.

Luckily Cesa was indeed still in the bowl when T'rel reached her. The woman was looking up at the surrounding Weyr with a small smile on her face as she held the bag containing her belongings in just one hand. So many memories drifted through her head, some good, some not and some simply wonderful. It was enough that the woman managed to not even realise quite how long she spent standing lost in her own thoughts, Yodith had no intention of interrupting her as the green settled down in the sand. Until a very familiar voice spoke Cesa's name and distracted her.

Spinning around a bright grin lit Cesa's face at the sight of her friend. She'd missed T'rel so much when she'd been away. Then there was the guilt of staying away for so long. Mecesa hadn't meant to, they hadn't expected Yodith to take so much longer growing. She had needed much more time to be able to carry a rider and sustain flame. She hadn't expected to be gone so long, but soon the days had become months and the months, turns. She'd been gone so much longer than she planned, but she couldn't have returned before Yodith was ready.

Cesa looked at T'rel with a familiar smile as he attempted to tidy himself up. Why the sudden formality? She'd never cared how neat he was before. Although she supposed that was what happened when you left someone for that long. Cesa shifted, but then seemed to think better of her actions. She slipped her bag off her shoulder and dropped it to the ground. A somewhat sad expression crossed her face when T'rel told her that he'd missed her. Taking a quick step forward Cesa flung her arms around his neck and hugged the bronzerider with as much strength as she dared without fear of breaking the poor man.

"Oh T'rel, I missed you too." The turns apart seemed slam into her all at once and Cesa felt tears leap to her eyes at the thought of just how much she had missed him. From behind her a soft croon escaped Yodith to try and comfort her rider. "I'm back for good. I won't leave you again." She wasn't quite sure why she felt the need to say the second part, it just seemed like something she should say. Cesa was putting off ending their hug since she really didn't want T'rel to see how badly she appeared to be reacting to be back. What if he thought she was sad and didn't want to be there?

Reluctantly she moved back at the mention of finding her and Yodith a weyr. "I suppose Yodith'll get to enjoy choosing the one that suits her best." She said with a small laugh as she wiped at her eyes. "Don't worry; I'll make sure there's still a good supply of bubbly pies in the kitchens." Another laugh escaped, but there weren't any tears to wipe away this time. The few that remained in her eyes seemed content not to be shed. Even though she had cried Cesa felt happy. "So, how's Zelith?"

Yodith hummed her approval of T'rel's assessment. Yes, she had grown hadn't she? Indeed, grown I have. Smaller than me now are you. She was no longer the small little green people had thought would not survive. Now she was grown, strong and fast and if those males and Cesa were to be believed she had also turned out quite beautiful. Yodith had never been bothered with such things much before, having not found it particularly important.

As close as they were at the time, Cesa had been able to feel T'rel stiffen and that made her sad. Maybe he didn't see them as being as good friends as they were before and so this really was stepping over a boundry that she probably shouldn't cross. Afterall, she had no idea what T'rel had been doing in her absence. He could very well have managed to move on and was now happily with someone, which probably made this even more awkward. Stupid girl, she should've kept her emotions in check. She'd been gone so long, T'rel could have built a whole family while she was away. Why did that make her sad? She should be happy if her friend had that. Maybe it was because Cesa knew if that had happened she wouldn't be as important in his life anymore. T'rel just wouldn't need her the way he used to.

Again a weak laugh escaped when T'rel told her not to cry and wiped her cheek. It looked like some things wouldn't change no matter how long she was gone. Cesa found it funny that T'rel should be comforting her when usually it was her job to comfort him. She'd sat and talked with him through so much. T'rel had terrible luck from Mecesa's point of view, so many bad events seemed intent on seeking him out. "Yes, I'm definitely back to stay." She didn't want to leave again, it had been bad enough the first time. Cesa had no desire to dissappear off without a word a second time.

The once kitchen worker couldn't help but to raise an eyebrow at the idea that her absence had somehow effected the quality of bubblypies. True, she was very good at making them, but there were others in the kitchen who knew how to make them too. "Ah well, I'll have to be sure to visit them an' make sure the recipe's right, before I get too busy." Yodith let out a pleased rumble at his welcome and dipped her head in acknowledgement. Apart from that she was happy to let the humans continue. Since Cesa had known T'rel a long time, she could tell when he was hiding something. Crossing her arms she settled back into a more familiar Cesa-like attitude than had previously been shown and looked steadily at the bronzerider. "So, what is it you're not telling me. Because I can tell there's something."

Cesa couldn't help smiling when T'rel did, it was like things used to be and she was happy for the somewhat familiar situation. Although she could never recall him saying she could leave the Weyr before, but then she'd never run off before either so that could be ignored. "That's a lot of effort to stop me leaving the Weyr again." Consulting the Weyrwoman? The drama of it all. Of course she knew T'rel was only playing around and it was good that he was. A sad T'rel was something Cesa tried to see as little as possible. Though she had always felt it more her duty to change his mood rather than avoid him. Avoiding him would probably only making him more miserable and that was just plain cruel.

"Oh really?" She sounded sceptical as T'rel shook his finger at her. It honestly could not be that different. It just didn't make sense for there to be a difference when she only used the recipe was taught and all the kitchen staff were taught it. "Quality checks? Is that what he told you? Sounds more like a reason to sneak extra helpings to me." Make a boy Weyrleader and he still doesn't change. T'rel and R'yn were one and the same when it came to bubblypies. Cesa smiled and shook her head at the idea that love made food taste better. She heard people say it a lot, but personally Cesa had never given it much thought.

Cesa quietened for a moment, there had been a long time where she hadn't known if she would come back. Her sister may have never been able to cope without her and no matter how much she missed home and her friends her family's needs had to come first. It took a single glance for Cesa to know that T'rel was lying, spend enough time with someone and you pick up the little giveaway signs. Though she had picked these signs up by seeing him lie to others, not her. He had never had anything to hide from Cesa before, what could have come up that he would need to hide now?

T'rel's greeting wasn't blocked by the once kitchen-worker. She knew T'rel's behaviours and she also knew that any action he ever made to her were that of a friend and nothing else. Cesa wouldn't ever suspect such an advance from T'rel, it was probably not safe to trust someone that much. But it was T'rel, so he was hard to see as a threat in any case. A reply rose to Cesa's lips as she was about to argue that there was something else he was hiding from her. That was until she noticed the bruise on his face. "What on Pern happened to your head?!" Cesa said as she caught a hold of the taller man and pulled him down so she could inspect the damage. Cesa may be small, but there was a surprising amount of strength in her body, but she would never use it to hurt someone. Least of all her friend.

A frown worked its way onto Cesa's face, T'nus had done this? The frown faded when she was given more information. That was reassuring; it was hardly a calm situation for two bronzerider's to be physically fighting. She would have to have asked how much worse the Weyr could have gotten if the higher ranked riders couldn't even get along. She'd seen riders squabble, but rarely had it led to violence. "What soft-headed person assumes that a bronzerider is a threat? Or any rider for that matter." Cesa shook her head at the child's behaviour. True they were a child, but Pern was hardly in a state where riders were considered a threat to anyone.

Mecesa smiled up at T'rel when he wrapped his arm around her waist, though it was the smirk that called her smile out. It was good to see her old friend smiling again. Cesa thought about what T'rel could mean by the cryptic statement. The way she saw it he didn't have many problems to resolve, but that was likely just her wanting to defend her friend. Though she had never had to defend his sanity before, it was a silly idea though. Riders couldn't be mad, dragons didn't bond to the mad, nor did they stay with them. Zelith was still in the Weyr, so clearly T'rel was not mad. His closeness didn't seem to bother her, she'd been gone a long time and him wanting the reassurance of contact was something Cesa could understand. There was something in the way he spoke, rather than what he said that caused a light, thoughtful, frown to crease her features. "Why, you managed to find yourself a girl, yet?" It was half a joke, but Cesa did hope that T'rel found someone. People seemed to be happier when they loved someone. Well, happier when they loved someone they could have.

Cesa's face broke into a wide grin as T'rel said 'maybe' the second time. That meant he had. She was so happy for him. All she wanted for T'rel was for him to be happy and hopefully this girl would help him get there. "Well what are you doing here then?" She asked bringing her hands up at how he'd not told her. "Forget me, go find her and tell her! Now!" The woman was nearly laughing at the idea and was tempted to just start pushing T'rel in any direction so that he would get in gear. He needed to find this girl and tell her how he felt, before someone else came along and snatched her away. A 'tsk' like sound escaped Cesa at the very idea of a holder, yet the grin remained. "Please. A holder? Like one of them would be to my tastes. More than half don't even know what work is." Sure some of the people who worked with the animals had been nice and Cesa had managed to get along with them and the kitchen staff well enough. There just seemed far too many people in holds that didn't do enough. Though she could handle it from children, when adults didn't pull their weight it irritated Cesa. "T'rel, I want you to find someone because you're my friend and I want you to be happy, no other reason than that."

The grin that had so happily shone moments ago faded as Cesa felt guilt creeping up her spine. She didn't know why T'rel felt the need to tell her that, all it suceeded in doing was upsetting her. Not only had she abandoned him, but by some sheer stroke of misfortune she had done it on a day where he needed her. Cesa's gaze fled from T'rel's, she couldn't have the gaul to look him in the eye when she had just up and left him like that. Why hadn't she thought to seek him out? How could she not have told him where she was going herself, instead of running off to leave someone else to tell him. Underneath her own guilt was a flicker of anger directed at Ky't. Time to think she had said. She had had a turn already so Cesa thought T'rel was being pretty generous to allow the girl more time. That time had been to think, not to jump into bed with another man. The moment she realised that she and T'rel had nothing she should have said so and let him go there and then. Not strung the man along.

T'rel's serious tone made Cesa want to shrink away from it. She again scolded herself for not being there. Cesa bit her lip at the idea that she was T'rel's closest friend, and that he'd not said were. Even after leaving like that he still counted her as his closest friend? "T'rel, I'm so sorry." Looking up Cesa really wanted T'rel to know how sorry she was. "I shouldn't have left you like that. I should've told you and I should have contacted you, but I didn't know if I would be coming back." It had seemed easier on him to just go, instead of popping in and out of his life at irregular intervals. Maybe she should have let that be his decision. She was seeing a lot of things she should have done.

He hadn't told her properly yet? "Given it's you, the poor girl probably just gets confused whenever you try to hint at it. You're not the best actor." Most likely anytime he tried the girl in question would just think there was something wrong, like he was feeling ill. "Well, when you do, how about just telling her outright. Save the pair of you a lot of trouble." What if they both ended up implying at each other, but without the other being able to pick up on it. It would be a disaster.

"Well living around dragons does increase the workload a bit." Only a little of course. She didn't want T'rel getting too big headed, after all she was back now and that meant she would be the one to deal with it. "Well, maybe I have." If he was going to be cryptic with her then she would do it right back, what with him giving her such a wonderful opportunity. "It's not like there's a shortage of suitable men in the Weyr."

Cesa raised an eyebrow and smiled at T'rel's proposition. It really did sound rather childish, but there were only so many women in the Weyr for her to choose from and if he gave her a hint each time she'd soon narrow it down. Placing a finger to her lips Cesa thought about it, trying to think of people she had seen T'rel with. "Kilani?" She was a nice enough girl, although she was a kitchen worker. "Ishia?" She was older, but her green was a lovely creature both in looks and personality.

Cesa was happy the T'rel accepted her apology, it made her feel somewhat better. The guilt was still there, but it was nice to know that T'rel wasn't angry with her. "Thanks, T'rel."