Again???

Or

'What is it with A'ser and Aurian?'


The day had been a sublimely happy one. The dragonets were flying well, the lesson had gone deliciously well. Aurian had been pleased with Kvasith. Nothing could go wrong in her book.

However there had been one sour note in the day. A'ser had gotten into an Argument with an old friend of his. It had greatly upset him and he spent most of the day seething in the Weyrling Barracks.

The dragons are frolicking and the Weyrlings are cleaning when they can. However things don't start happening until the return of a certain silver necklace.


 

R'val nods slowly, "Is he allright now?" He inquires.

Kvasith gives a good hard jerk on the sheet. He rumbles again at his younger green clutchmate. Hmm is that another tear developing?

Neliea nods as she looks back to Xylath, who's looking more settled. "He says that he's okay, only that he won't like sheets very much in water," she says slowly.

Aurian watches from where Kvasith keeps his tail about her, she raises an eyebrow.

Yasinth narrows her eyes as she tugs, leaning back. The poor sheet seems to be reaching it's woven limits.

Kvasith gives another warning rumble, he pulls and he pulls.

R'val frowns, "now now. They shouldn't fight over things."

Without one more moment of notice, the sheet immediately rips in half with a noisy shrieking tear.

Yasinth tumbles backwards, landing on her tail with a squeak of surprise, and wings unfurled.

Kvasith again tumbles over, this time he is a bit more prepared for it. He still has a large bit of the sheet.

Neliea looks puzzled and asks R'val, "Why not?" A nudge from Xylath, gets her attention though and then the commotion from his clutchsibs.

Aurian reaches up and snatches the sheet away from Kvasith; she glares up at him. He rumbles in apology, she is soon smiling again, but refuses to give back that sheet bit to him.

Yasinth looks over her shoulder towards the bowl, sheet dangling from her jaws. She snorts in response to something, but than she drops the cloth and hunches down, as if she'd been severely whipped and abused.

R'val grins at Neliea, "Well, why not, I suppose. As long as it doesn't get out of hand."

Kvasith rumbles worriedly at Yasinth.

Neliea turns to Xylath, lightly scratching his upper eyeridge and glances at R'val and smiles. "I guess. I just don't know what would be out of hand."

Kvasith> Yasinth senses "Kvasith rumbles << What is it? >>"

Yasinth lifts her head and sort of moans at Kvasith.

Kvasith> You sense Yasinth seems to be terribly upset. << He told me no! >> The shock has obviously left her braindead.

R'val chuckles, "If they look ready to seriously fight..."

Kvasith> Yasinth senses "Kvasith lets worry fill his voice, << No what? >>

Kvasith> You sense Yasinth almost sniffles. << No to playing with the sheet! >> The horror!

Kvasith walks over to Yasinth and nuzzles her rumbling softly.

Neliea ohs and nods slowly, seeing the point behind that.

Yasinth lifts her head to Kvasith and croons, and perhaps feels better for that. She lays down and curls up at his feet with a lazy yawn. Such excitement has made her tired.

Kvasith curls up about the smaller green. He rests his chin on her protectivly.

Yasinth rumbles contentedly at Kvasith, happy that he is so warm, and her tail curls about her. And such a lovely place for a nap....

Xylath settles into the water in front of Neliea resting his head in her lap. He just wants attention right now. And a few questions to be answered as well as slow, whirling green-blue eyes peer at his lifemate.

Shayhou heads over from the central bowl.

Shayhou walks towards the lake, having heard a minimal amount of noise from the bowl. She's turning something silver over and over in her hands, and she looks up with bright blue eyes to those there.

Aurian leans against the other side of her dragonet as she sits.

Shayhou holds the silver pendant up in her hands as she walks, to see it

better, and than stops a respectful distance from the dragonets. "Excuse me," she begins, midly polite.

Neliea looks up from the gentle whirling of Xylath's eyes to regard the woman who just walked up. Nodding in greeting, she attempts a small smile. "Hello ma'am."

Aurian glances over her shoulder, "Hello ma'am."

Shayhou lifts her eyes to Aurian and smiles a little, holding out her left hand, the pendant on her palm. Bronze glitters on her arm. "Do you know whose this is?" she inquires.

Aurian bites her bottom lip as she peers at it, "I think A'ser was wearing it."

R'val glances at Shayhou and shakes his head.

Shayhou takes her hand back to inspect the silver jewlry piece, tipping her head. Beads clamour together in her hair as she moves. "A'ser?" she echoes. "I'm sorry, I don't know that person. Would you give it to them for me?"

Aurian stands and stretches her hand out, "Sure." She smiles lightly.

Neliea looks at the pendant, also shaking her head slowly. She doesn't know either with quietly watches the lady as Xylath warbles to her. So many pretty, sparkling things!

Shayhou hands the pendant over with a gentle smile. "It looks valuable," she remarks with a little interest.

Aurian shakes her head, "I don't know the worth."

Shayhou heaves a sigh and smiles anyway. "Thank you very much anyway. I found it lying wedged between a pair of rocks. I didn't knot but that a rider might have dropped it out of the sky."

Aurian nods silently.

Yasinth croons a little, lifting her head to peer at this new person. And oh! She hasn't tasted /this/ one yet....

Shayhou blinks at the little dragons, as if she just now saw them there. A glimmer of a real smile crosses her bronze features, and she leans forward, one hand on her knee. "How darling!" she suddenly exclaims.

R'val uses Vidarth's side straps to mount up agilely, settling onto the little blue's back and straightening. He pets his lifemate's head once as Vidarth rumbles excitedly, ready to fly.

From Vidarth's back, R'val says "Goodnight!"

Vidarth takes flight, using the thermals rising from the bowl to carry him aloft.

Kvasith rumbles and then nuzzles Aurian.

Yasinth rumbles in imitation of Kvasith, unwrapping her green self to plod back towards her nice, warm couch in the barracks, where life is good, and A'ser is on hand to spoil her at any candlemark.

Shayhou steps aside for the little lady, and than with energetic steps, moves in the same direction. "Thank you again, miss!" she calls almost girlishly to Aurian. The glass beads ripple and jangle beautifully as she goes, but it comes out as noise more than music.

Neliea smiles proudly as Xylath makes his way out of the water, curiously looking at the woman. Shuffling along her blue dragonet, she smiles at Shayhou. "Evening ma'am, but I'm afraid that I'm going to have to leave. My Xylath here thinks that your bracelet is pretty." He actually likes any thing odd.

Aurian stands and dust off her legs, "Time to oil you sweet one." Kvasith rumbles eagerly.

Shayhou stops and looks to Neliea. "My--? Oh." A smile. "The armband. If he likes it, he may have it. I only wear it to cover my threadscoring."

Kvasith heads in the direction of the central bowl, leaving the shimmering lake.

Aurian waves and follows her dragonet.

You head in the direction of the central bowl, leaving the shimmering lake.

Central Bowl(#298RL$)

A stony field is the center of this great caldera, the size of which is

unmatched at any other weyr--for the whole complement of all the wings at Telgar could rest comfortably within its towering cliffs. Shaped in a perfect oval, the rock walls seem perfect for keeping the usual chill winds stirring about. The ground is mostly made of pebbles and rocks, some hued the milky shades of old quartz, though there are patches where softer dirt and even trees sprout up from the ground. Southerly, the bowl opens onto the living caverns and the weyrleaders' quarters; the immense entrance to the hatching grounds lies to the northwest. Heading southwest will lead one back out into the rocky mountain ranges around Telgar's protective walls. Dragons may be seen, relaxing or fresh from feeding, to the north, as well as the soft lapping sounds of Telgar's lake touching the sandy shore. The weyrling barracks, always aflutter

with activity, is to the direct west. The meadow near the lake is strewn with wild flowers, like little stars of pink, yellow, and white. The ground by the barracks is quite muddy.

The skies above you are clear and crisp, and there is not a cloud to be seen.

Contents:

Kvasith(#10999Oaeps)

Tierth(#7707JQVaempqs$)

Virroth(#6995JOQVaempqs$)

Obvious exits:

Weyrling Barracks Southern Bowl Lake Shore Hatching Cavern Feeding Grounds Runner Pasture Weyr Entrance

Kvasith> Kvasith enters rumbling

Weyrling Barracks(#258RAHJ$)

This immense cavern is the home for weyrling pairs. A huge opening is the entrance, leading to the ground level bowl. The floor is not quite smooth, being gauged with numerous scratches and cracks, from the clumsy undergrown claws on equally clumsy dragonets. The indentations on the floor, made by millenial pressure of the growing dragons, are quite suggestive of their purpose. Most of them have furs in one corner of them, as the new riders sleep as near their lifemates as they can. A particular odour lingers in the air here, not quite pleasant.

A large, dragon-sized opening leads out of the barracks back into the Central Bowl.

Contents:

Kvasith(#10999Oaeps)

Golda

Flutterby

Obvious exits:

Bowl

Aurian calls out gently, "Hey Ash?"

Aurian says, "A'ser?"

Yasinth yawns as she pads in.

Kvasith croons at the green dragonet.

Aurian says, "Ash..."

A'ser steps out of Yasinth's couch.

A'ser steps down, a fur hanging from his shoulders and an ink quill in his hand. "What?" he mutters in annoyance.

Aurian pulls something out of her pocket, "someone found this." She offers the silver pendant, "you alright?" Her voice is soft with her conce⁲n.

A'ser sneers, recoiling as if she'd pulled a serpent out of her pocket. "I don't want that!" he hisses.

Aurian sighs, "Then send it to him I'm not keeping it for you." Her voice is still calm, so she doesn't upset Kvasith.

A'ser relents and snatches the pendant from Aurian's fingers, tucking it away without a word. He turns his back on her.

Aurian places a hand on his shoulder, "C'mon lets talk."

A'ser doesn't shrug the hand away, which is odd for him. "I talk, we talk. Yasinth talks! We talk all day. Enough already."

Aurian turns him slowly to face her, "But Yasinth doesn't really understand this yet, please I want to listen."

A'ser does a most surprising thing. He lifts his hand and tucks his finger beneath her chin, lifting her face, thumb on her cheek. His green eyes are muddy and serious. "You do want to listen. But you shouldn't want to hear. And I don't want to tell. And my throat won't say the words. And my lips won't form the sentences. And my mind refuses. And my heart drains. And so it is. I should have gone back to my hold, Aurian." Yasinth creels in alarm, but he silences her with a glance. Than his gaze goes back to the girl. "I should be at Keroon. But Yasinth was confused, and she chose me, when Ptodek was right beside me. I love her, yes, I adore her. I do not know that I could have lived without her.

But I should have. Please remember that. I am no hero of Pern. I am just Asher. The little boy from Keroon, who had two friends and liked to gaze at Faemirth from afar, and wanted nothing else out of life." He lets her goe and steps away to Yasinth's couch.

Aurian's jaw drops. Her eyes wide. She then takes a deep breath, "A'ser none of us are heroes. We're all just who we are. We have to do a craft like any other, only ours is more dangerous. You belong here. A'ser, if you didn't, there is no way Yasinth would have picked you."

A'ser bends and begins to gather up the hides that he dropped. "Yasinth was confused," he says in his gentle voice. The furs get tossed into Yasinth's couch, and the poor little green creels most unhappily.

Aurian places her hands on his back again, "Listen to me, I stood at Fort. Kvasith wasn't there for me, so I didn't belong there. Do you know how many times I wanted to run back to healer, while I was here at least every day. I thought that I didn't belong. And how dare you call her confused. Of all the dragons here, from what I've seen she knows her own mind the most."

A'ser gives a great sigh; you can feel it beneath your fingers and through the thick woolen cloth of his shirt. "Aurian," he turns so as to dislodge your hands, "Don't play this game with me. This 'caring game'. Don't do that to me. I think people mean it when they do it. I'm not good at these weyr romps. I'm from a tiny hold in Boll. I don't know these things."

Aurian just can't help herself and she will regret it later oh yes she will. She pulls back a fist and slams it into his jaw. Its not a strong punch but it sends a message.

A'ser stands for a moment, and blinks twice. Yasinth looks to Kvasith. He's perfectly quiet, and this confuses her. Slowly, he squints and says, "That's a little bit better." A bead of blood is swelling on his lower lip.

"HOW DARE YOU, of all the idiocy.. Faranth's great golden ass, " She picks one of her favorite curses that she has heard around the weyr, Aurian continues, "I am your friend. Will you get it through your skull."

Kvasith> You sense Yasinth almost creels in confusion, eyes whirling. << Your person hit A'ser. >> She seeks calm and guidance from you.

A'ser sighs loudly, and turns again. "There, you're at it agian." He sucks at his lower lip and seems most unsettled.

Kvasith> Yasinth senses "Kvasith rumbles softly, <> He nuzzles her soothingly"

Kvasith nuzzles Yasinth.

Golda chitters angrily.She may not know much, but she does know that making little green dragonets unhappy is BAD.

Kvasith> You sense Yasinth relents under the brown's reassurance. << I love. He knows. Maybe, /he/ is confused? >> She nudges her head beneath Kvasith's.

Yasinth nudges her head beneath Kvasith's.

Aurian shakes her hand out a bit, one of her knuckles swelling. "You are my friend Ash. I have tolerated a lot from you, but I think you are dead wrong on a lot of things. Ash you need to realize that a LOT of people care about you. And your two friends that you once had , has become the whole sharding weyr."

Kvasith> Yasinth senses "Kvasith tone is filled with concern, << Aurian is worried for him. Very Worried. >>"

Kvasith continues to nuzzle the green dragonet.

A'ser suddenly has the giggles. He spreads his arms out and turns around, laughing. "Aurian! I do not see a multitude pressing close to greet me every morning! Aurian, everyone I loved has come and said thier forever farewells already! Yasinth is the only 'hello' I've heard since He Died!"

Aurian yells and pushes A'ser back against his couch, "We are bloody well CONFINED A'ser. We can't have visitors. M'kla greeted you by the lake, as did Kassima, and the weyrlings, and the weyrlingmasters." Hmmm maybe that firestone bagging has worked out for Aurian.

A'ser stumbles back, brows furrowing. "Aurian, please stop. Kvasith will cry soon if you don't stop." How convient. Don't upset the dragonets.

Kvasith wraps his neck about Yasinth.

Yasinth warbles an unhappy question at Kvasith, huddling close.

Kvasith> You sense Yasinth whimpers. << She hurt A'ser agian, but he is only sad. >>

Aurian growls, "Oh now your concerned about my dragonet, when you have the nerve to hurt yours by saying untrue statements about her."

Kvasith> Yasinth senses "Kvasith rumbles low, << He still shouldn't speak about you that way. >>"

Kvasith rumbles low keeping snuggled against Yasinth.

A'ser looks over his shoulder at his dragonet's couch. Than back at Aurian. "I say she was confused. I say that I am just a holder. I do not say that Yasinth is to be faulted."

Kvasith> You sense Yasinth creels a loving note and whuffles at Kvasith. << He loves. I love. A'ser is confused. He is sad. But I love. >>

Aurian waggles a finger at A'ser, "You are a Weyrling now. Your life is Yasinth's life. Don't you get it, you are not who you once were."

Yasinth creels to Kvasith, snuggling close to him, and whuffles at the brown.

Kvasith> Yasinth senses "Kvasith croons to you, << Aurian loves. I love. Aurian is concerned. >> He lays a wing over you protectively."

Kvasith croons at Yasinth. He covers her green form with one of his wings.

A'ser looks mildly offended. "I know it! I lost another friend today. Were you there? I think you were. I don't remember. Look, I have the pendant. I've accepted it in good grace, said my thanks, and so forth. You have talked to me, yelled at me, hit me and shoved me. Are you through?"

Kvasith> You sense Yasinth sighing quietly. << Concerned is forgive? >>

Yasinth sighs.

Aurian reaches up and grabs A'ser's ear. She tugs him down to her level, "Look at your dragon, really look and see what you are doing to her. This is not the same dragonet that was playing an hour ago, she is upset."

Kvasith> Yasinth senses "Kvasith fills your mind with a sense of worry, << It feels like this >>"

Kvasith nuzzles Yasinth's neck.

A'ser winces, closing one green eye. He looks to Yasinth though, and the little green beams back at him, full of shining love, and he draws an unhappy breath. "Let me go."

Aurian releases A'ser's ear. She sighs softly.

Kvasith> You sense Yasinth makes a low sound of song, deep in her chest. << Than I am concerned. Look, she pulls at him. >> Her voices fades.

Yasinth makes a low sound of song, deep in her chest.

Kvasith> Yasinth senses "Kvasith rumbles, << She has let him go. >>"

Kvasith rumbles.

A'ser rubs at his ear, straightening up agian. "You were about to tug it off," he accuses in a gentle and uncaring tone. He turns to go into the couch.

Yasinth presses her nose to the side of Kvasith's brown neck and toddles after A'ser.

Aurian murmurs, "Was not, Yasinth would have killed me."

Kvasith> You sense Yasinth wraps your being in love. << I love. A'ser loves. A'ser loves *a view of Aurian appears*. He is gentle with her because she is so small to him. >>

Aurian walks back to Kvasith. She sits down next to the brown and wraps her arms about his neck.

A'ser does not answer. He is unhappy and worried for the second time today, and he is confused.

A'ser slips into Yasinth's couch.

Kvasith> Yasinth senses "Kvasith croons tenderly, << Aurian loves *image of A'ser*. I love. She loves. >> His tone is soft with confusion."

Kvasith croons tenderly. He rubs his muzzle against Aurian's head.

Yasinth stops to blow air at Kvasith and his person. Than she lifts her wings higher and climbs after A'ser.

Yasinth slips into Yasinth's couch.

Kvasith> << A'ser wants you to carry his words for him. >>

Kvasith> << He waits rumbling softly. >> to Yasinth.

Kvasith> << A'ser says that he loves your person. A'ser says

that he is angry with A'ser. A'ser says he forgives. A'ser loves. >>

Kvasith> << Aurian says she forgives. Aurian loves your rider and that she is sorry she hurt him. She loves >> to Yasinth.

Kvasith> Yasinth rumbles agreeably. << We sleep. >>

Kvasith > << Sleep well >> to Yasinth.

Kvasith rumbles from where he is curled up.


The Dragonriders of Pern © 1967 Anne McCaffery

All characters © 1998 Their players