[long-awaited return] -- The Perches

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Date Posted: 14:14:16 03/28/05 Mon
Author: S'sha and Kylith || T'yin and Viouth || R'nos and Leth
Subject: [long-awaited return]

"Shards," a woman's voice hisses into the wind of flight, "but it's gotten bigger since I last saw it, Ky." No response comes from the beast on which she's perched, but the riding-gear-concealed figure continues mumbling awed comments anyways as the dragon slowly circles the Perches in preparation for landing. The rising sun glitters tantalizingly along the well-defined curves of muscle and wing in shades of shimmering golden, and Kylith's proud head dips low as she dives shallowly, then backwings to make a dusty but light landing. Once the queen's sturdy talons are all securely on the ground, the rider strips off her helmet and goggles, revealing a tanned, lightly Threadscarred face and short-cropped redbrown curls that immediately fall to obscure greyed blue eyes.

We are home, Kylith announces after a few hours flying in mental silence, and she raises her snout to take a good, thorough look at the Weyr that she helped found. "That we are, dear heart," S'sha whispers reverently, slide-leaping from her lifemate's back to land with a graceless but balanced thump on the dry ground. The tall woman wanders over to the racks of newly-restocked weyrling gear and touches a riding harness as though in a dream. "A clutch... must be on the way. Can you tell, Ky, whose it is?" Shrineth has flown recently, or so the muttering says, the dragon replies, having 'tuned in' to the broadcasted conversations between dragons. "Who is Weyrwoman and Weyrleader now, then?" the queenrider asks, callused fingers suddenly tightening on the harness she had been idly stroking. Shrineth and her Wessae lead New Isle. The new Weyrleader... is Quilth and his T'bel. "Shards," S'sha snaps, spinning abruptly and erupting into a quick pacing gait back towards her queen. "So Ginny isn't here. Where by Faranth's Egg is she?!"

Calm down, rider-mine. Our companions arrive. Kylith lowers her great head to croon softly to her worry-stricken lifemate, and the middle-aged rider throws her arms about the long snout and hugs it tightly as the sound of dragonwings once more fills the air.

As the rising sun had shone so beautifully on golden hide, now it highlights an emerald beast with almost artistic beauty as she soars gracefully into view. The queen and rider part briefly and peer upwards as one, outer lids and one hand shielding two pairs of eyes from the intense light lifting behind the descending green. An easy backwing and a light landing places Viouth next to Kylith, and her rider--like S'sha only moments before--practically rips the sweat-soaked helmet from his head, freeing short but shaggy hair bleached blond by too many years working under the sun, and flings the worn gear to the ground with more vehemence than he usually displays. The green doesn't even have time to lean closer to the ground before her rider slides down her shoulder and lands in a crouch, rising immediately and striding quickly towards S'sha.

"Well?" he demands, pale green eyes more pleading than demanding, belying the sharp edge to his voice. The queenrider smiles sadly but compassionately, laying one hand on the younger man's shoulder and squeezing it firmly. "Wessae with Shrineth is Weyrwoman, T'bel with Quilth Weyrleader. There is no sign of Ginny or K'ith."

A tremor runs through the slender frame of the greenrider, stifled only by the tightening of S'sha's fingers on his shoulder. "And... J'neli...?" he whispers, eyes wide and unfocused now as hopes are dashed. "I don't know," the former Weyrwoman answers honestly, her hand slipping away. "A gold is easy to find, her name easy to hear in the public speaking of dragons... but... a blue, and a bluerider, of no rank... He may be here, T'yin, he may. We still need to search, and to ask around."

T'yin's eyes squeeze shut and two hands ball into fists at his slim hips, but after a moment of crying inwardly, the ex-Weyrlingmaster is calm again. He meets S'sha's concerned gaze evenly and nods, a brief promise of his stability. "Then I'll start looking right now." He turns back towards Viouth, whose snout is low and entire stance weary--it's not easy for a green to keep up with a gold!--until the buffet of wing-stirred air nearly knocks him down mid-step.

A massive, unusually long-tailed brown squeezes his bulk into the Perches with considerable skill, especially seeing as Kylith made no move to share her own space. T'yin and S'sha are caught off-guard by twin grins that show teeth at the sight of an old friend, and the big brown crouches to allow his rider to dismount with fair ease. The muscular figure waves from near his dragon's foreleg, and both other riders jog over to him out of the shadow of Kylith's arched neck.

"R'nos!" S'sha exclaims, enveloping the big brownrider in a tight hug. He laughs and hugs back, then slaps T'yin on the shoulder affectionately. "Glad to see I was following the right pair of crazy riders," R'nos rumbles, peeling his goggles and helmet off and tossing them to the ground, running gloved fingers through rather long brown hair. "You let it grow," the lean greenrider comments, a hint of amusement in his quiet voice, and the brownrider winks. "Didn't have anything better than my beltknife to cut it with, you know." S'sha snickers, then tugs on one of her own short curls, "How do you think we kept ours short, eh? Sharding brownriders and their laziness."

Leth lifts his head to regard Kylith and Viouth, faceted eyes sparkling and whirling healthily. I see we've all fared well in our few years away from New Isle, eh? he remarks to the two females. Kylith rolls her snout in a light shrug, Suppose so. I've had to keep this green on her wingtips, though. The gold pauses, then almost begrudgingly admits, But she's done alright. Not many dragons can keep up with me. Viouth stays silent, but if it were draconically possible, she would have rolled her eyes. Leth rumbles a laugh, almost uncannily like his rider, and replies: Not many dragons indeed! I was never able to catch up with you two, and we were too far away to try 'pathing you. But I knew a green-gold pair had to be Kylith and Viouth. The brown nods, as though satisfied with his accuracy, and Viouth shakes her snout slightly in amusement.

About three blurs of color suddenly erupt into the warming air above the riders' heads, shrieking and chirruping in a happy frenzy at being home. T'yin covers his ears in reflex as R'nos coaxes the brown to his shoulder and S'sha baits the blue and gold to her with promises of a good, thorough oiling later. Noticing the sudden resumed sadness of the greenrider, S'sha puts her hand on his shoulder again--a common enough gesture between the two, it seems. "I'm sorry about Daer, T'yin... but there are many flits, and many clutches probably even now on the Beach. If you want another..."

The greenrider shakes his head, soft strands of blond hair swaying with the motion. "No. A'rak gave me Daer... he was a gift as much as a friend. I'll not have another. He can't be replaced." Speaking of A'rak and his Kadoth... I think they're here, Viouth murmurs, and T'yin brightens somewhat. "We do have old friends here, at least," he says quietly, a faint smile crossing his face. R'nos laughs, "Wonder what they'll think when they see us? Especially you, S'sha... I can bet you Wessae won't be wanting to be Junior Weyrwoman again."

The goldrider throws back her head and laughs at that comment. "Though Kylith may disagree, my friend," she says after a moment, still chuckling, "I have no intention of leading a Weyr again. I'm over forty Turns now and Wessae is more than competent. I'm not here to replace her..."

"...we're all just here to be home," T'yin finishes for his ex-Weyrlady, and all three riders fall quiet and still as though simply absorbing the feeling of being home in a Weyr that green and gold helped build.

The only ones that notice the younger brownrider and greenrider also in the Perches are the fire lizards and Kylith, whose whirling eyes watch them incuriously without introduction--too much time in the wilderness has leeched all courtesy from the oft-broody queen.

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Replies:

... -- R'jari - Maeroth, 21:16:58 03/28/05 Mon
- [unexpected reunion] -- S'sha & Kylith ((Archallo)), 21:37:52 03/28/05 Mon
  - Joy Rising... -- R'jari and Maeroth, 07:21:49 03/29/05 Tue
    - And me? -- Kain - Raideth, 21:40:50 03/29/05 Tue
      - [long-lost friends] -- S'sha & Kylith ((Korea, Archallo)), 16:05:43 03/31/05 Thu
        Wull, shards... feelin' kinda left out over here. -- R'nos & Leth ((Tizz)) || T'yin & Viouth, 16:27:31 03/31/05 Thu
        >~< -- T'gan, 21:10:03 03/31/05 Thu
        Not everyone can hold their liquor, eh? -- Kain - Raideth, 12:56:59 04/01/05 Fri
        [~~new~~ familiar faces] -- S'sha, 13:32:00 04/01/05 Fri
        >~< -- T'gan, 00:04:23 04/02/05 Sat
        Can't think... -- R'jari and Maeroth, 19:51:58 04/02/05 Sat
        More friends -- A'rak~Kadoth, 13:17:43 04/03/05 Sun
        Hrm~ -- Kain - Raideth, 16:51:22 04/03/05 Sun
        [relief] -- S'sha & Kylith, 16:11:58 04/04/05 Mon
        Goober. >,> -- T'yin & Viouth || R'nos & Leth, 16:26:11 04/04/05 Mon