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Post by thedreamerlady on Apr 9, 2007 21:50:48 GMT -5
Having escaped the clutches of the Weyrwoman, R'net was finally back on track for his evening chat with Mari. It wasn't late yet- being maybe six, but the Wingsecond felt worn out like it was close to midnight, and time for the Watchdragons to change. The young man felt glad he didn't have to worry about being tapped for that duty any longer. Ah, the privileges of rank.
The stone passage he traveled through was still unfamiliar to him, though Mari had been living there for a turn or so. He disliked it- it was meant for the Junior Weyrwoman, not for the Regal Mari, but he put up with it, never voicing his discontent. Never saying he felt it disrespectful for the Weyrguard to disregard this hallway though it didn't exist. But he quickly pushed thoughts thoughts out of his mind, and thought of better things. There were rumors of a Gather at a Hold, and his son's birthing day was coming up, and there was still the problem between two of his wingmembers. But most of all, R'net was wondering about Queen's, and what they looked for in Candidates.
His brisk stride eating away the hallway, R'net was quickly outside Mari's open door. Sticking his head inside, he smiled. "Got any time for an unruly boy?" He asked with a smile, always glad to see Mari and her mate.
Had R'net been more aware of his surroundings, he'd have noticed the trundling of a sturdy three year old and sent said small boy back to the crèche. However, the silly man didn't, and the three year old hauled himself toward his favorite person.
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Post by hrsegrl on Apr 11, 2007 22:26:20 GMT -5
Beynath rumbled on her ledge, something had caught her interest down below. The Gold was entirely too nosy. Which was why Marisol had to ask immediately what was going on. The dragon replied in an amused tone, None of your business.
Marisol laughed and went back to pouring herself some klah. Truly awful stuff. No wonder it kept one awake. Mari began to wonder if R'net was coming tonight. Torenth informed us that your grandson would be here. He would not lie to a Queen. Least of all her...the dragon left it out but MAri understood perfectly what the dragon was thinking. chuckling to herself, the woman looked up to see the exact person she was waiting for in her doorway.
His little shadow was unnoticed for the time being and Marisol would not let on that she saw the three turn old till he was safely in her weyr. "If only unruly boys weren't late." SHe smiled but then noting the look on his face became worried. R'net had very little to trouble him at the Weyr. When he was troubled she was too.
"What is the matter, dear? You look like your dragon left you for another man." She walked toward her grandson and gave hima hug. "Come now, theres no use hiding it." While she was distracting him, Reiko was able to enter without notice.
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Post by thedreamerlady on Apr 12, 2007 0:04:32 GMT -5
Reiko scampered into the Weyr, a large smile on his face. He was still of the age of not realizing that he wasn't actually not being caught, and was quite excited about his escape and sneaking. Hiding behind a piece of furniture, he paused, waiting for the best moment to reveal himself(a time after his father would feel like leaving, usually).
Choking back laughter at the idea of Torenth leaving him for another man, R'net began to feel better(even if it wouldn't surprise him if Tor'd thought about it before). "Nothing nearly that dire- just me being stupid again."
He took a seat with a practiced ease, and relaxed visibly. Knots of tension that naturally formed throughout the day were gone, and he stretched his arms out. He scooted the chair closer to Mari's desk, and leaned forward on it to focus on her better.
"I volunteered to help the Weyrwoman out with her duties- and not be cause I want to become Weyrleader either. Remember how my foster mother always told me to double check my surroundings before speaking? I forgot."
If she wanted to know anymore, she could ask Torenth. He doubted the Bronze had stopped trying to figure out how they'd been given Queenrider duties.
"But I have another reason for coming." He looked his grandmother square in the eye. "With Beynath retired, Elisha's Queen will probably produce a Golden daughter." He didn't add a little bit about how if she didn't, she wasn't worth her weight as a dragon, but he thought it.
"I think it might be beneficiary to both of us if we searched a candidate who sympathizes with us, and train her for what she needs to know." If Mari didn't seem to like the idea, R'net would change his train of thought, and never comment on it again. The idea of finding a young girl who would agree with Mari where Elisha didn't agree wasn't exactly treason, merely, in his eyes, a good idea. But, you never knew with Queenriders where they would decide to stand. And if she didn't want to bother Elisha, well then, whoever Impressed was fine. He still needed help with his wingriders, and if he could connive a way out of his new duties.
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Post by hrsegrl on Apr 12, 2007 8:12:20 GMT -5
Marisol smiled and sat down. "You forgot where I live again did you..." she kaughed. "I'm sure that was a pleasant visit with Elisha." Unfortunately for him, she was finding it all more than a little amusing. She sipped her klah again, watching his reactions closely. He was clearly bothered by Elisha, in ways that Marisol would not be. When it was her time to step down, she had given Elisha free reign to do as she willed, much as Marisol had when Herath and Danae had transferred.
"I see." Was what she said next, clearly and unmistakably avoiding a direct answer. "I don't think you can mold a Gold rider or a Gold Candidate into something she doesn't want to be. It would be awful to even try. That doesn't mean she won't get along with my ideas but she will have her own. Goldriders have clever minds my boy, its not likely two of them will think exactly the same. " She wasn't really sure herself, whether he could search a Candidate that would be both easy to convert to their ways and be stubborn enough to take on the job of Weyrwoman. He must not see the paradox in what he was suggesting.
"The dragons choose my dear. Even if we wish they understood Weyr politics, they do not. I don't think Danae appreciated my passion for this job as much as some other people did when I started. There were pleanty of men who thought that I was giving dragons to women that men should have. So you see, I wasn't well accepted for thinking differently than the Weyrwoman before me. Elisha is not that much different." Marisol was an entirely different person but that meant Elisha could be seen as a new voice and a much more level headed person.
She looked aat him, brown eyes revealing not one thought or emotion. She was concerned that he wanted a Gold rider for himself but could not be with the current Weyrwoman. HE might need this more than she knew. "If you want advice about Searching Gold Candidates, I can tell you what I know." She knew he was much too lonely. The Greenriders he pursued were mostly for Torenth.
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Post by thedreamerlady on Apr 13, 2007 11:54:34 GMT -5
"Mold her?" R'net's voice held a slight amount of shock. He wasn't quite as conceited as that- a Queen candidate had to be firm in her beliefs for the Queen to even think about her. "Mari, no! I simply meant we should find a girl who is Searchable, and agrees with our point of view." Then, he added silently, because he wasn't getting as much support as he thought he would, he would help her be the best trained, focused, and perfect candidate. Then, girls wouldn't be considered nothing more than Breeders, and girlriders wouldn't become as scarce as he feared.
Girls were good for the Weyr- they're reaction time was just as fast, and they could do the same amount of work as others. Many brown and blue riders were straight- and Weyrmated pairs tended to be more stable, and confident. And not only that- what bronzerider wanted to be limited to Drudges and Queenriders, and Gold Hopefuls? Not many, that was what. And single bronzeriders showing off for the two or three Queens would not be pretty.
Mari explained why he should give Elisha a chance, and he kept from sighing. This would be a single night conversation, he could tell. Perhaps it was best if he just left it alone. It had been Mari's fight, not his. "I'd love to hear what you think, Mari, even if we don't do anything with it."
Reiko grew bored quickly. Father and Grandma(not to be called Grandma) were using big words, and tones. Perhaps they were telling secrets, for that was how he sounded when telling secrets, but they didn't discuss the best way to sneak out a bubbly pie. Silly old people. He would wait for a little bit longer, and if remained this boring, he was going to his grandma. She always made things better.
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Post by hrsegrl on Apr 17, 2007 7:12:43 GMT -5
"How do you intend to go about finding her?" Marisol asked, wondering what his grande plan was that he needed a Gold Candidate. She would most likely not become senior until Adeloth died or stopped mating and that would probably only leave the next in line a few turns of leadership, not enough time to change much. She really didn't know if getting a girl who thought like them would help anything. Elisha would be argued with all the time, which would not only exhaust her but the other girl as well and that would be the opposite of healthy for the Weyr.
"Darling, I think the best way to go would be to leave Weyr politics out of your search. The dragons will know who is suitable. Often with Gold Candidates, humans can tell too. After all I was found by a Bronzerider when I was too young to be Searced. The amazing thing was that the same pair found me the second time, when I was the perfect age to be searched."
She peered around her Grandson to her Great Grandson. "Reiko, would you like to hear a story. Your father would probably enjoy this one too." Her sly smile told R'net she knew the boy had been there for some time.
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Post by thedreamerlady on Apr 19, 2007 19:25:20 GMT -5
"I never claimed to be as smart as you, m'dear." He fell silent for a little bit, thinking over what Mari had said, and deciding it would be too hard to do what he was thinking, especially if Mari wasn't completely on his side. Perhaps he could come up with something else later.
When Mari mentioned Reiko, R'net blinked, wondering why she was speaking to his son. The boy wasn't here, was he?
A few seconds later, the poor rider's suspicions were confirmed as the toddler trundled out of his hiding place, and then flew to his great-grandmother's side with a beatific smile on his face.
"A story! I wanna'storry!"
Reiko was pleased- his grandma had the best stories in the world! And they were funny, and silly, and some made him kinda scared, but she always made everything better in the end. She was much more fun than his old foster mom, and much much more fun than his Father.
He pulled lightly on her skirts to try and convince her to pick him up. He usually wasn't allowed to stay on her lap for too long, but it was always fun to be picked up a little bit, and very few people would do it. Once, his mom had brought her bluerider "friend" in with her to visit him, and the bluerider had taken him flying! Not on a real live dragon of course, but the Bluerider had picked him up, and lifted him, and made-believe with him that he was flying his own dragon. It had been the bestest fun ever!
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Post by hrsegrl on Apr 21, 2007 16:15:05 GMT -5
There was nothing anyone could do to keep Marisol from having what she wanted. Right now, she had not only her grandson but her great grandson to entertain. Marisol's stories were often from her own life but she could get carried away from time to time. Holding Reiko against her, she smiled. "Alright. We will start at the beginning as all stories must."
She shifted her weight so that Reiko wouldn't have to move for a little while at least. "It was a long time ago, on a day far different from this one. Her parents were common drudges at Telgar Hold. Young Marisol was fed up with living their. She wanted to see the world and explore new places. She was tired of living the boring Hold life. So when her parents had gone to bed she slipped off to the stable." She added a slight quirk on her face on remembering her home. "Her parents were too busy working to go after the young girl. She meanwhile had decided not to take a runner in the hopes that no one would follow her. She walked all day until she saw the most amazing thing ever!"
Marisol watched her grandson and great grandson. "Do you know what she saw?" She asked Reiko.
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Post by thedreamerlady on Apr 21, 2007 16:33:36 GMT -5
"No! What'd she see?" Reiko's eyes were as wide as saucers, and he leaned back against his great-grandma. "Was it a Dragon! Or a Lord Holder?" He'd only heard of Lord Holders in passing, and had a rather odd feeling about Hold's Leader. It was something his foster mother figured was an infatuation, and just smiled when she heard him describe Lord Holder's as seven feet tall, with booming voices and generous as any could hope. She thought it was rather the way Holder children felt about Dragonriders, and thought it funny.
R'net sighed slightly. If Reiko was here, that meant he'd snuck off, and he knew his grandmother wasn't going to let him leave for quite some time. It didn't matter to him- Mari's stories were as interesting today as they'd been when he was younger, but Reiko's foster mother was probably going to give R'net a stern talking too. It wasn't late enough for her to be seriously worried, and Reiko had done this before, but it still was going to end up being his fault.
Mentally sighing, and trying to think up a good excuse, R'net settled into his chair, watching Mari carefully, and waited for the story to continue.
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Post by hrsegrl on Apr 21, 2007 16:52:36 GMT -5
"The young girl had seen the Lord Holder before, she played with his sons all the time. This was something more special. It was a large Bronze dragon. His hide gleamed in the sunlight as his rider snapped the young girl's attention back to reality."
Marisol remembered this part as if it were yesterday, "Now you probably know that Bronzeriders are the finest men in the Weyr. This one conducted himself in such a manner it was almost like a dream. The young girl heard him say, 'Hello…' with a charming smile. He was tall and handsome and she realized suddenly that she would be better off on a dragon than on the ground. Then she could see the world from the highest places. The dragonrider was still smiling when she finally got manners." She looked down at Reiko.
"Who do you suppose the girl was?" She asked. Marisol had not described much of anything because if she added in what the girl had looked like he would not be able to guess. Marisol no longer had red hair and flawless skin.
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Post by thedreamerlady on Apr 21, 2007 17:01:49 GMT -5
"Marisol!"
Shockingly enough, Reiko actually did know his Great-Grandmother's first name. Turning his face upwards to look at his favorite person, the three turn old beamed. "Bet the ol'bronzer was shocked mor'n you!"
That last idea probably had something to do with any Bronzer being shocked at seeing a girl who played with a Lord Holder's children, or it might have been that Reiko had heard stories of how beautiful Mari had been when she was younger. Either way, it was meant to be a flattering comment.
R'net smiled. He'd heard the story before, though not recently- in fact, it had been so long ago, his memory was faded and dusty. He couldn't even recall the Bronzerider's name!
Leaning forward, all of the daily worries, thoughts, and ideas were washed away by the story, and he listened intently.
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Post by hrsegrl on Apr 21, 2007 17:14:12 GMT -5
"You guessed it." She beamed at him. "So she said, 'I am Marisol of Telgar Hold.' the rider in return stated his name, 'I am L'tor of Bronze Orenth.' " Marisol added, "He was shocked that she was so young. You see he and Orenth were on Search and as a ten turn old she was much to young to be searched. The Dragonman convinced her to go home and even gave her a ride on his dragon."
Marisol continued, "No one in the young girl's family believed she had ridden a Bronze dragon so she told her friends. The Holder's sons soon were no longer allowed to play with her. See the girl was growing older and wilder." She grinned at her boys, they hadn't been so well behaved either. Reiko sneaking away from his foster mother was very bad behavior indeed.
"Young Marisol was also becomming more educated than a normal drudge would, sneaking lessons from the Holder's tutors. This is a very important lesson Reiko, if you want to know something about history the best way to find out is to bribe it out of a Harper with some good Benden White Wine. Trust me it works."
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Post by thedreamerlady on Apr 21, 2007 17:30:29 GMT -5
"Mari!"
R'net wasn't exactly shocked that she'd say something like that, but it was still uncalled for. He didn't want his son learning things like that, at least not till he was older. The morally strong tended to be easier too look after, though he was sure Mari would never teach Reiko about lying, and why it was useful until he was older. Getting Harpers drunk was actually one of the less shocking things she could have said- which made R'net's head hurt to think about.
Reiko was eating this up though. "What else's useful?" He blinked, and stared at Mari, hoping more secrets would be forthcoming. He liked secrets. Then he thought about the story, and wished it would always be this easy to get stories and secrets.
"Why did'n the Bronzer Search you anyway?" He knew that sometimes rider's Searched people a few turns before they could actually stand because they were perfect as candidates. And Mari was obviously a perfect candidate for Impression, so the Bronzer was being silly in not taking her!
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Post by hrsegrl on Apr 21, 2007 17:45:43 GMT -5
Marisol cast a glance at R'net. "Don't be so worried, darling." She spoke in a voice that said she wasn't the least bit sorry yet at the same time she seemed to be saying that was it for now. "It is useful to listen. Always listen to other people. You will find out more useful things by simply listening."
She answered his question with a smile, "L'tor, well, he was known to be a friend of many women and that was good but to bring a girl my age would have been bad for him. Especially seeing as at ten turns old I was very pretty. L'tor was a smart man and he knew he would never forget me."
No one had ever, or would ever forget her, who met her. She knew it at that age as well as now. She may be old but she had a way with people that was almost like magic.
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Post by thedreamerlady on Apr 21, 2007 17:58:00 GMT -5
R'net mock saluted her, smiled and waved as if to say that it was nothing. The story was getting better- he, himself, knew the problems of bringing a girl into the Weyr- even if she was Searched with a Greenrider or Bluerider giving the a-okay. And bringing in a girl of ten would lead to many more problems than any Bronzer would ever want to deal with. The man had probably kept in mind exactly when he should go back- girls with potential that bronzes could sense were worth their weight in Gold. R'net, himself, had never met one.
"What happened next?" Reiko already knew listening to people was the best way of getting information. It was also the best way to solve problems- if the person told you why they were having issues, it was easier to resolve them. Also, knowing what made them upset, or happy, or mad was very useful knowledge. Even better than knowing which drudge had bad eyesight, or which drudge might fall asleep while watching over the children.
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