Gather Festivities

[Sparrow]

Sh’rel grinned as he wondered what Tieler would think of the new hairstyle that Akki was inventing for her. He’d have to watch how much he drank around the bluerider, he wouldn’t want to end up with crazy hair. Almost hypocritically, he downed his glass of wine. Saying to both Rolaranth and himself That’s the last glass till I eat something.

Sh’rel had heard a little bit about Dark Moon and based on his guesses and what Akki said it seemed like a small Weyr. That could mean there would be a lot going on or just the opposite. Though Akki did say they had few full riders and with the Red Star approaching the Weyr would need them. Plus, there would be many people to meet and the new exciting place. And, this group seemed nice enough, and most of them seemed to belong to the same Weyr as Akki. He brought a hand up to his chin as he thought it over. “Would your Weyrleader or Weyrwoman allow me to transfer to the Weyr?” Sh’rel asked without even knowing if his own Weyrleader would allow the transfer though if Dark Moon was in such need of full riders he did not see why not.

The Brownrider was brought from his thoughts by Raska asking him another question. That was a tough question, he thought it over for a moment before opening his mouth to answer. He glanced at Akki first to make sure she was not making the move to speak first and began, “I have to admit; when I stood at my first hatching I was a bit overly optimistic. I expected to leave the sands with a dragon. I did not think about the work it would take.” Sh’rel paused to brush strands of hair from his eyes again, “I grew up in the Weyr though, so I learned what it took to take care of a dragon as a kid, as my older brothers and sisters impressed.”

--------

Marletta frowned, was Akki laughing at her? No, she was probably being paranoid; the bluerider did not seem like a person that would laugh at someone. That Raska girl certainly did not seem to like her though, this thought was proven by what came from Raska’s lips next. The Ruathan girl glared at Raska. Without a word she got to her feet, brushed the dirt from her dress, and stomped off. She certainly gave the impression of not returning but that was not so.

She had gone to the drinking tent. The vendor raised an eyebrow, as she demanded a glass from one of the better and expensive bottles of Benden white wine but did not say anything since she carelessly paid more than was required. Marletta returned to the group, not so much stomping anymore but trying to keep the liquid in the glass from spilling. She sat herself down where she had been. The girl did not drink immediately from the glass but glanced around to make sure she did not see her father. He was probably busy talking with the other holders somewhere, probably enjoying a glass of wine himself. Marletta glowered at Raska as finally she brought the glass to her lips and downed most of it in an unladylike gulp. And… nothing happened. She was not scolded for drinking or anything. Why had she been so fearful before?

[Akki]

Akki batted her hand, as if swatting away Raska’s words. “It’s her decision whether or not she wants to drink. I wouldn’t want to drink in front of my father.” She grinned at the last part of what she said, trying to imagine what he father would have said if he saw her today. ‘How can you be smiling like that while your mother is dead?’ was probably almost identical to what would have spilled out of his mouth. Senseless nonsense, word vomit. Her thoughts were cleared as Raska asked her and Sh’rel a question. She frowned for a second, trying to recall what she felt. She grinned and snapped her fingers, “I was the last person out of all of us on the sand, waiting. Of course I figured I hadn’t Impressed. I’m sure my thoughts were like ‘Haha, this is really embarrassing standing up here all alone.’ And then one Ebbeth came out, he couldn’t make a sound. Just my luck, eh? I got a dud dragon.” She was rolling her eyes at the last statement, joking around as Ebbeth sniffed and said for everyone to hear More like I got the dud rider. I wasn’t even given a choice; you were the only one left. How unfortunate. The blue rider stuck out her tongue at no one in particular at her blues statement before she nodded, agreeing with Raska’s statement “I hate that feeling too. It burns to walk around afterwards, because it hurts so much.”

Akki looked up and once again saw Wolf, who was trying to avoid eye contact it seemed. She watched as the girl seemed to disappear once more and wondered what was going on. Did R’xis make fun of her? She turned to Riler, about to say something along the lines of ‘Ah, true. But my weakness is the most fun out of them all at least.’ But before the words could leave her mouth, the boy had picked himself up and went after Wolf. She blinked as she watched the boys retreating figure before picking up the bottle of wine he said not too touch and taking a long sip out of it. “He should really know better than to actually trust me.”. Putting the bottle back down, she grinned crookedly at Sh’rel, “Weyrleader? We don’t have one. We’re too good for a Weyrleader. And I’m sure Christae would be happy to have you come to our Weyr.”. She wondered if it was weird that she had just called the Weyrwoman by her first name, without any title. She was so used to it by now, she rarely even ever though about it.

Her head snapped towards Marletta as the girl picked herself up off of the ground and went off on her own. “Aww, look what you did Raskaaaa.” Akki said in a whiny voice before realizing that Marletta was already on her way back. She watched with a slightly bemused expression as the girl came back, wine in one hand and raised her eyebrows as Marletta took a dramatic sip. Akki didn’t really know what she was waiting for, the girl to fall over because of the wine? For her to suddenly burst out in a drunken song? She laughed at what actually happening, “That was delightfully non-dramatic.”

Hasima smiled at Roksha, admiring the fire lizard. She thought that Kestrel was quite lucky to have a flitt of her own, and had a sudden pang of sadness as she recalled her mother’s flitt. However, the feeling didn’t last long as her attention want back to Khris. She watched his face as he look at Roksha and couldn’t help but ask, “Really? You’ve never seen on before?”. Because her mother had one, Hasima had taken the creatures presence for granted. Well, not really for granted. But she was so used to being around them that she had forgotten the fact that not everyone was raised with one nearby.

[kestrel]

Kestrel was completely taken aback when Khris said that 'this was the first time he'd seen one'. How could that be possible? True, they were somewhat reclusive creatures, but to never have even seen them, not even once? She'd seen them plenty of times, though she'd grown up by the seaside so perhaps had better opportunity than others who didn't. How could Khris have spent his life traveling and never have seen one? People from Weyrs and Holds had the creatures, he'd have to have stopped there even if he was with traveling merchants! So, narrowing her eyes, she asked, "never? Not even once?" She was hoping he'd offer some sort of reasonable explanation for how he'd managed to not see one. Otherwise she'd be pretty doubtful that he could have managed to travel all that time and not. Only the Lord Holder had a firelizard, and one or two others, who had been privileged enough to obtain one. It was only by fluke she'd gotten Roksha, total fluke. Otherwise, no girl like she would have gotten any firelizard egg, never mind the Queen egg. Still, people had them!

~~~~~~

Rhiyo never got any answers to his questions, for before R'xis even had a chance to speak a reply, he spotted Wolf walking back towards them. He brightened a little at seeing her return-perhaps she'd just been a bit surprised that he'd been so stupidly tactless in trying to explain things, and was now okay and coming back once more. However, his face fell again when he realized that it looked like she was purposefully not even looking at him. When she finally got to them, it was painfully obvious that Wolf was definitely, most certainly, not looking at him whatsoever. In fact, the girl then took her brother by the arm, and pulled him away from where Rhiyo stood, saying a brief 'just a second', without even looking at him while saying it.

Rhiyo cringed inwardly. He'd been trying so hard to fit in at this new Weyr, this place where he didn't know anyone-not even himself! Now, it seemed he'd gone and horribly blundered with R'xis sister, of all people. Would this change things between R'xis and he any, this mistake of his he hadn't meant to make? Wolf was, after all, his sister, and he was just some guy R'xis had met only a sevenday ago or less. He frowned, not wanting to believe that anything would be changed whatsoever, because he hadn't meant for this to happen, and would Wolf dislike him now, try to avoid him all the time, causing others to wonder why and to maybe avoid him, too? He felt uncomfortable and very alone as he stood there, waiting for Wolf and R'xis to be finished speaking so he might find out what the repercussions of this might be on him. He felt lousy, now, and could only stand there pretending he couldn't see the look on R'xis and Wolf's faces. Whatever they were saying? Wasn't good. R'xis looked angry one moment, confused and disconcerted and worried all in the next passing moments. Had what he said really been that bad? Had he caused some sort of other trouble he didn't know about? The poor teen could only stand there and try not to look at them-anywhere but them, though he suddenly noticed a red-haired girl walking by, heading in Wolf and R'xis direction. He saw Wolf turn and begin to quickly leave at that moment, though, the red haired girl heading after her. He waited for R'xis to come on back, cringing inwardly at what his friend might have to say...

~~~~~~

Raska never missed anything, but she didn't care that Riler was staring at some girl she didn't know. She was many things, but nosy wasn't one of them. Unless it could benefit her in some way another, she didn't bother. She had no idea that Wolf was a Weyrling of a Gold and Riler a Candidate. If she had, maybe she'd have thought to use this as some form of blackmail if she didn't like one or the other. For now, she made a mental note and let well enough alone. She thought Riler was okay, so far as she thought anyone was, no more, no less. She listened to him explain the perks of living in the Weyr, and had to admit that maybe there were some things she'd overlooked. Right now, she had to do chores and maybe attend Candidates lessons. That was it. Right now, her responsibilities weren't so bad. She had been worried about responsibilities as a Weyrling or Dragonrider, but didn't dragonriders get lots of respect from everyone else? Weyrs got tithes, you were a dragonrider, you got pretty much everything free. That, she admitted, could be advantageous. You'd always have a roof over your head, food in your belly, and everyone thinking you were great. Well, maybe she'd rethink this whole impression business. Maybe she did want to be here, just maybe. She'd already ascertained that she might be changing her mind before Akki or Sh'rel spoke up. However, Riler was standing up and heading off before they answered. She narrowed her eyes-she knew who he was going after. It'd been that girl he'd seen, looking all flustered and upset over Faranth-knew-what. She smirked, and picked up his bottle, taking a long swig right after Akki did, and then putting it right back where she found it, saying, "that he should!"

She listened to Akki's response, and then Sh'rel's. Did she hope to impress? She wasn't honestly sure. Did she doubt she might, or could? Definately not. Even if it wasn't at the first, second, or even third hatching, she had a feeling she was liable to get a dragon, one way or another. Though why that was...she didn't quite know. She just nodded slowly, surprised a bit when Marletta got up all of a sudden. Where was the girl headed? She raised an eyebrow at Akki when the older girl said she wouldn't want to drink in front of her father, and just snorted derisively and muttered, "my father wouldn't give a shardin' shell if I drank myself sick. Lousy drunk that he is..." she finished, staring spitefully at the bottle beside her. It was why she controlled her drinking-because she didn't ever want to be like her father. Sure, she thought Marletta was being wherry-headed about not drinking just because of what her father might think, or even that he might catch her. However, she hated drunks, and wasn't honestly impressed with Tieler, passed out like she was from drinking too much. She knew that Tieler wasn't a drunk, though. She could tell the ones who drunk often, or even all the time, from the ones who didn't. Tieler, if anything, rarely drank. Of that she was pretty certain. She didn't believe that Akki or Riler did, either. Of course Marletta didn't-that was obvious.

When Marletta therefore returned with a glass of what she thought might be Benden White, she smirked lopsidedly and said nothing as the girl chugged back the wine. After a moment, however, she said slyly, "I don't see daddy coming to whip you for having had a drink. Do you?" She looked around in mock fear, and then chuckled, before adding, "see? That wasn't so bad, now was it? You're old enough to not be fearful of your father's punishments for something so stupid as a drink."

~~~~~~

Kaiya had been not enjoying this gather too much yet. She didn't recognize many people, and when she did? They were all with someone else, and she felt uncomfortable with just going and inserting herself into their conversations. She wasn't socially inadequate by any means, but she didn't want to feel like she was a third wheel or unwanted guest. Maybe she was being a wherry about it, though...

She walked around for a bit, and then got herself one of the bubbly pies at the entrance to the gather where she'd been dropped off. It was there she spotted a friendly face she did recognize, and gave a sigh of relief. Wolf was talking to a boy, and the boy looked upset and so did Wolf. She took a step back, for she had no clue what was going on with the two and certainly didn't want to intrude. If it came to yelling or looked like an argument might break out, she was determined to step in on her friend's behalf. Well, they'd only just made friends a few days ago, and under very unusual circumstances, at that. However, they'd agreed they were friends, and that was good enough for the red-haired girl. Wolf suddenly turned and walked away from the boy, and Kaiya headed after her. However, just as she was about to reach Wolf, someone else beat her to it. She paled a little, feeling suddenly rather uncomfortable, but she was sure even if Wolf had her back turned, Riler could see her headed towards her. Why was this always her luck in things? With a deep breath, she steeled herself and went up to the pair with a smile, and said, "sorry if I'm intruding you guys-I just noticed Wolf back there and thought she looked a bit upset. I was going to ask if you were okay, is all-and if you wanted some company, seeing as how I really don't know anyone here." She motioned around to all the strange faces, and then asked, "was that guy back there bothering you? If he was, I could say a word or two to him about picking on future Queenriders and friends!" She smiled, then, her emerald eyes glancing back to where Wolf had left R'xis and Rhiyo behind, then back to Wolf.

[Kino]

Khris was a bit taken aback when they both responded with such adamant questions about his comment. He looked first to Hasima and then to Kestral, blinking once and sitting back from the way he'd leaned forward slightly to look at the flitt. "No I...I haven't," he said again. "I mean, I've been traveling for my whole life...but I don't really see that many people. I don't go to big expensive places all too often," he waggled his fingers lightly to add to the words, letting them fall to rest back against his ankles a moment later. It sounded like he'd have to go further into his life story after all.

"I'm a fosterling kid from a herding farm. I didn't technically have a father when I still lived with my mother, and I was way too young at that age to actually learn any skills worth anything. After that I was sent from hold to hold living with whatever family could use whatever bit of help I could offer. It kept me fed, and put a roof over my head, but...the families I stayed with weren't usually all that well off, or they were just starting out some sort of business or craft. I'm not really store front material," he shrugged, "and I didn't know enough about any craft to do more than carry supplies or general labor.

"Really, the only places I ever stayed for a longer time were other farming families. People with a lot of land that needed a lot of hands - and that was only once I got older. I was never near any richer families" Khris shook his head, "And I definitely never got to go to any Weyrs. They always had enough help, or else when the opportunity came up I was never there when it did." The boy looked up for a moment in thought, "I guess...hm...I guess if I had gone to any Weyrs, I would've still been at the first one I'd gone to...what with the hearing thing, and all."

Khris offered another shrug, throwing in a lopsided grin as well. He leaned back so that he was resting on his hands while still keeping his legs crossed indian style. "I'd never even seen a dragon before the day I was searched. Except for when they popped into a sky for a minute or so before continueing on their way. And even then I never got a good look, I was always too distracted with the fact that I was hearing voices when it happened." Khris blinked, smiling wryly and giving another small shrug, "Don't ask how I never pieced that together. It never even crossed my mind."

[Riler]

Riler hung his head, his hands planted on his knees, for a moment as he caught his breath. “Just a sec,” he said, panting. He wasn’t that tired, but it was only then that he realized he didn’t know what to say to Wolf. He hoped that as he regained his breath, he’d be able to think up something in order to get her to say what was on her mind, without himself seeming too demanding about it.
As he righted himself upwards, he smiled, trying to get her into a good mood—it was obvious she was a little distressed. Riler couldn’t pinpoint exactly how he knew, but he felt like he knew that Wolf wasn’t in a good mood at this moment; she wasn’t a few moments ago when she passed by them, and even though she was probably glad to see him and talk to him, Riler knew she was still upset about something. What, though? “You’re a fast runner,” he said happily, at least trying to start a conversation.

And then she began to avoid eye contact. Riler frowned for a brief moment before wiping the expression off his face, replacing it with as blank of an expression as he could muster. “Wolf, is anything the matter?” No, that’s not what he wanted to ask; he damned well knew that something was the matter. “No, no, that’s not right. I know something’s up. I saw you walk by me, twice, and both times…” He tried to describe how she looked. “…and both times you looked hurt.” His blank expression became a frown again, but this time he didn’t bother to try and change it. It was best to show Wolf that Riler didn’t like it when she was hurt. “What happened, Wolf?”

Before he could get an answer, Kaiya wandered up to them. Riler was honestly pleased that Kaiya was here. They had only become friends a few nights ago, and it was an awkward start to a friendship. Regardless of how they came to be friends, Riler thought highly of the Candidate; she certainly showed that she was a caring person and intelligent. Her caring nature was demonstrated by how she, too, saw that Wolf was distressed.
“No, you’re not intruding,” Riler said with a grimace, “I was just asking her the same question and thought that she could use some company, too.” He looked from Kaiya, to Wolf, and then back to Kaiya. “Great minds think alike?” He murmured, a ghost of a smile on his lips. “Poor girl, you should hang around with Akki more,” he said to Kaiya, “she’s making new friends left and right today. Granted, most of them are drunk, but…” He shrugged.
“Yeah,” he continued, turning back to Wolf, “Want Kaiya to beat someone up for ya? I’m sure she could handle herself,” he said teasingly. Despite how the situation seemed bad for Wolf, it was his nature to try and lighten the mood, for everyone’s sake. In life, there are times to be strictly serious and times to try and make people feel better; Riler felt like this was one of those latter moments.

[Wolf]

R'xis came right back to Rhiyo after having spent a full two minutes staring after Wolf like she'd just hit him in the face. He put on his best fake grin-ever-and leaned an elbow on Rhiyo's shoulder. He chuckled, shrugging his shoulders, "girls." He picked a spot to look off at in the distance, in the general section of the booths further out. "You know how it is..." he trailed off, remembering that Rhiyo probably wouldn't actually know how it was. "Well, you'll find out," he said with a nervous chuckle, patting Rhiyo's upper left shoulder before taking a few steps away from the boy. "You coming?" he smirked, looking back at where Rhiyo was still standing; obviously going to just let what had happened fade from his mind for now. "I have to find Akki the perfect present," he sighed, acting as if nothing at all was wrong. Meanwhile, his mind was going crazy worrying about his sister. He couldn't talk about it, especially not here, in front of all these people. He also didn't want to look completely miserable when he did pick a time to give Akki's gift to her today. He hadn't seen her since she ran off and he was subconsciously worrying about her also. Exactly why she needs a gift in the first place, he reminded himself. “You have more then enough to get something really nice,” he told him, remembering Rhiyo having shown him two marks before the argument with his sister had begun. He motioned Rhiyo to follow along; making his way toward the jewellery booth in the distance that Wolf had been to prior.

When he walked up to the woman there she appeared surprised at seeing him, her focus going to the boy like it had to the girl that had approached. "My-my..." she said with a cluck of her tongue, "you appear just as up set as the girl that came by here earlier. You look somewhat like her too." She chuckled, getting right down to business. "Looking for something in particular?" she asked, waving an open hand over all the treasures laid out.
R'xis was a bit startled that she'd been talking to Wolf, but he shook his head to drag himself back to the Pern world. "I'm actually looking for something for my girlfr-," he broke off, looking as if he may have a heart attack over the fact that he'd just about said the word girlfriend. "Over a friend of mine, who's a girl," he corrected himself with a blush.
The woman laughed, putting a few fingers to her lips as to silence herself, not wanting to seem rude. "And the two of you seem to both be having problems in love," she sighed sadly, shaking her head back and forth. "Well, well, I'm sure this girl that you love-and wish was your girlfriend might I add-would take to something like this?" She reached down and entwined in her fingers a silver chain, which on the end of it held a blue dragon made out of fine stones. The eye of the dragon was like that of a green emerald. He took the dragon pendant in his hands, bringing it close to his face to study it, his mouth slightly open in awe. "T-this," he swallowed, a serious look on his face. "This is perfect..." The woman only smirked, pointing a finger at him mirthfully, "I thought it would be. So..." she didn't take her eyes off of him, "Will you be buying it then?"
R'xis broke out of his second trance and chuckled appreciatively at the vendor, "yes, yes I will."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wolf was about to reply to Riler, acknowledging and taking to heart both his words and his facial expressions. It really made her feel for him all the more when she saw just how sad it really did make him at the thought of her being distressed. That's not what she felt she needed right now though, to be... the four-letter wording him more. She wasn't too shocked to see Kaiya come-up, she expected to be seeing her at least once at the Gather. She nodded to the redheaded girl; not making it obvious that she thought the girl had indeed come at a bad time. "No, don't even worry about it," she lied, "You’re not interrupting anything, anything at all." She kept her gaze focused on Kaiya and forced out a laugh when she mentioned beating up some one for her.
Like I can really accept that offer when the person who needs to be smacked upside the head is my brother. "No," she said, now looking to both of them, "I'm perfectly fine." Another lie, but its for the good of humanity! she convinced herself. The comment about Akki went right over her head practically, before she caught it last minute. "Akki, with drunk people?" she laughed, "Well, well, I'll have to ask her about that later." She looked down at her feet, shaking her head, moving her shoulders forward in discomfort. "Company?" she said, looking up after having repeated the offer. "Sure, why not," was all she could come up with to say. She plastered on a fake smile and managed to keep on the facade like her brother was doing right now, little did she know.

She didn't do any looking around, not wanting to attract more attention to herself from other people she may know. She just kept to Kaiya and Riler, wondering if that would mean that Riler was going to be traipsing right along with them. Way to turn awkward in to suffocating, she thought with a bit more bitterness then even she could handle. She then apologized to no one in particular, in her thoughts of course, Not that I don't want to have him around... I do, more then I should actually... She waited for one of them to say something, not wanting to sound stupid by saying something totally irrelevant to any possible conversation topic they might have had in mind of starting, or just sound plain 'ole idiotic for a teenage-girl that was supposed to be 'happily chipper.’

[Sparrow]

Marletta took another, smaller sip from the glass of wine, it was really too good to chug. And it was not wise to chug the wine since she had nothing in her stomach. The girl stuck her tongue out at Akki as the rider commented on being non-dramatic. Marletta brushed off the dirt that had gotten on her dress as she had sat down again. She turned her gaze to Raska when she began speaking to her again. Now that she had the drink, she, for some reason, did not feel that worried anymore about her father seeing her was the drink having an effect on her already? “I suppose not,” Marletta took another sip, “However, if I end up like Tieler there I do think I will be in trouble. And I do not intend on ending up like that. Though I do like the hairstyle you gave her Akki.” Marletta smiled at the bluerider.

---
Sh’rel had watched as the Ruathan girl stomped off and came back and shook his head. He did not like the fact the girl had felt pressured by Raska to drink. He glanced back at Akki and saw her grinning at him. Then she told him about them not having a Weyrleader. “Forgive me for assuming you had a Weyrleader,” Sh’rel replied. He wanted to inquire as to why they did not have one but thought it impolite to ask.

The Brownrider raised an eyebrow, “Christae? Is she your Weyrwoman?” He wondered if the Weyrwoman were that laidback with all the weyrfolk and allowed them all to call her Christae. “That’s interesting; at Fort you had to address the Weyrwoman and Weyrleader as such. They only tolerated a first name basis from each other. They are very traditional, very hidebound.” Sh’rel was liking the sound of Dark Moon more and more… even if he was not one that would be able to call the Weyrwoman by her first name but it was nice to hear she did not seem stuck up.


((Sorry for taking so long and for the shortness ^#^))

[Akki]

Hasima apparently wasn’t the only one who was shocked that Khris had never seen a flitt before. Judging by Kestrel’s reaction, she found this all very peculiar also. She nodded at Khris’ statement. She could partially see that even though you travel a lot, you don’t really meet many people. A lot of people with fire lizards didn’t always have them at their side, she knew that much. So even though he saw someone that owned a fire lizard, he probably didn’t know. “I’d be distracted by the voices too.” Hasima admitted softly with a small smile. How odd it would be, to hear other peoples voices in your head and not know why for most of your life. “I hope you see many fire lizards and dragons for now on.” The quiet girl offered.

Akki grinned at Raska as the girl also took a sip from Riler’s bottle. “It’s what he gets for leaving us alone to chase someone else.” Akki said with a nod and a grin. She just thought that Riler and Wolf were close friends and nothing more, she knew nothing of their night time adventure that had occurred. She eyed the bottle and snickered, “I don’t think he’s going to be very happy when he returns to see his bottle missing a fair amount.”. She looked behind her for a second, thinking that maybe the boy was standing behind her and ready to hit her in the back of the head for not listening to him. Akki grinned at Raska’s father comment and lifted her cup in a cheers motion, “Haha, neither would my father. He’d probably say how I was shaming my mothers name or something. Let’s have a toast to our lovely fathers, aye?”.

Akki shook her head in what appeared to be disbelief, “Marletta, if you stick that tongue at me one more time I swear I’ll yank it out.” And with that statement made, she did the childish thing and stuck her tongue back out at the girl as she crossed her eyes. Course now she looked like she had more than enough to drink, before she uncrossed her eyes and looked a bit more normal. She looked down at the red head that was passed out in her lap and patted the girl on the head, “You don’t think it’s too much then? I would have given her a really snazzy hair style if I had the proper tools. But I suppose the braids are sufficient enough for now. Maybe another day when she has had too much to drink again, we can have some real fun.”

Akki grinned at Sh’rel, “You’re forgiven. He was a pretty boring guy anyways. I’d be lying if I said I missed him.” She frowned, drumming her fingers, “Whups. Am I allowed to say that? You guys won’t tell on me, will you? I have to pretend that I love the Weyrleader no matter what, don’t I?”. She more or less answered her own question when she shrugged her shoulders, not worrying too much about it. “Haha, I keep forgetting that I should address her properly. I Impressed with her by my side though, so I always just see her as a friend. She’s probably the best Weyrwoman out there though, no doubt about that.” She said with an affirmative nod. The blue riders faced turned into a look of horror and disgust at the idea of strict formalities, not seeing any fun in that.

[Spirithawk]

Christae finished making her rounds greeting the Lords and Lady Holders of the surrounding holds and the dragonriders who had attended. Other gathers were taking place on the
Northern Continent but many of the Southern Continent weyrs had dragonriders and weyrleaders representing them.

As she was finishing, a Harper passed by bellowing about the runner races about to begin. He and his associates were taking official bets on who the winner would be and saying that all personal bets should be made prior to the start of the race.

Christae began making her way towards the racing fields. She was interested in seeing the runners run even though she was making no bets today. She hadn't had time to survey the prospects though rumors were flying about a new beast that the Lord of Kalanre hold had shipped in from Ruatha to breed with one of his fastest mares. The colt of that pairing would be running today. Christae was interested in seeing the creature since the hold tithed to Dark Moon. Almost all of the holders that tithed to Dark Moon had come with their stock. Keroon Hold had sent a represenative with their prospects even though the Lord and Lady holder sent their regrets that they would not be attending. Ruatha was hosting its own Gather and had not sent runners.

Southern Hold
Jockey: Teyet
Runner : mare Flitterby

Keroon Hold
Jockey: Coyer
Runner: stallion Here Comes Trouble Too

Ista Hold
Jockey: Somyro
Runner: stallion Flash-em-by

Paradise River Hold
Jockey: Aderves
Runner: stallion Rip Tide

Cove Hold
Jockey: Nyris
Runner: mare Eventide

Ruatha Hold
Jockey: Osler
Runner: stallion Midnight Star

Telgar hold
Jockey: Belnd
Runner: stallion Flashfire

Caspian Hold
Jockey: Rodack
Runner: stallion Tempest

Kalanre Hold
Jockey: Keurn
Runner: mare Lightfoot

Dantra Hold
Jockey: Vesim
Runner: mare Dragonet

Hatra Hold
Jockey: Chaydan
Runner: mare Promenade

Azvon Hold
Jockey: Rakden
Runner: stallion Sunscrape

Lokan Hold
Jockey: Dusol
Runner: mare Starfire

Nareka Hold
Jockey: Kenel
Runner: mare Dream Dancer

[kestrel]

Kestrel supposed that what Khris was saying made sense. She'd grown up in a Hold and in the entirety of her life there, she'd known perhaps three people with Firelizards. One was a young woman who'd come across the nest like she had. Another was the Lord Holder, and the other was the son of the Lord Holder. Surely then, it made sense that Khris hadn't seen someone with one, if he'd spent all his time at farms as a farm hand. She also knew that Roksha often stayed away and did her own thing, so that she wasn't always about when Kestrel was. With that in mind, she shrugged and replied, "makes sense, I guess. Roksha isn't always with me, though, so maybe someone did have one and you just didn't happen to be there when they were." She looked over at Hasima, and nodded in ascent to her comment to Khris, though she was having a hard time of thinking of anything else to say. So, she asked for lack of a better thing to say, "so, you're a Candidate now-what were you hoping you'd impress?" Personally, she didn't care what she got so long as it was a healthy dragonet. Green, Gold-Yellow-what did it matter? The honor of being a dragonrider was enough for her. She wondered how Hasima had felt when she impressed Rimith, and was surprised to think that she'd never really asked much about Hasima's impression day. Well, she made a mental note to do so-maybe right even after Khris replied.

~~~~~~

Rhiyo still felt uncomfortable with the situation he seemed to have caused. He felt entirely responsible for probably ruining Wolf's day at the Gather, and he was miserable about it. Although R'xis reassured him everything was okay and that he'd understand later, Rhiyo would have rather understood now, so that this problem wouldn't have arisen to begin with. He wished there was some way he could rectify the situation, and that's when he got the idea. It was actually right after R'xis decided to get the gift for Akki, and that's what gave him the idea to find out what Wolf had been looking at, and get it for her! Of course, he thought this the best idea in the world. If girls liked to get things, as R'xis was proving by getting something for Akki, Wolf would feel much better if he bought her whatever it was that she had liked. With a brightening smile, he waited for R'xis and the vendor to be finished their business, before asking as bravely as he could muster, "excuse me-what was the girl who was here just before us looking at?" He wondered now what it had been, and was rather curious. Maybe seeing what Wolf liked would be great practice if he ever wanted to buy a girl something to cheer her up in the future! When he looked at it that way, this idea to buy Wolf this thing was getting better and better!

~~~~~~

Even though Wolf had said that she wasn't intruding, Kaiya couldn't help but feel like somehow she had. The way Wolf looked like she was trying too hard to remain neutrally faced and the way it sounded like her laugh was...almost forced. Maybe she was just imagining it, but inside she felt a sort of sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach like she was once again in the wrong place at the wrong time. Mind you, her intentions had been for the best and she hadn't seen Riler coming. Was Riler what Wolf was upset over? The thought hit her before she knew it, and she felt even worse about having come just as Riler had. However, if Wolf was trying to, or even was actually, seem fine, then she would have to let things alone. She certainly didn't want to cause any problems, when she'd only come to see if Wolf was all right. Seemed that Riler had no more clue than she did as to what was wrong, though, and so maybe that was a good thing? Well, in either case...

Kaiya smiled back, and then replied, "well, if you change your mind and decide someone needs a beating, Riler's right-I can take them." She grinned, ignoring the unpleasant feelings that were trying to make her think of a way to back out and maybe say she had somewhere else to be, when it would have looked odd if she'd done so. So, instead she just asked amiably, "what were you guys planning on doing this gather? I hear there's some runner races going on right now, and then there's lots to see and try." She wanted to take Wolf's mind off of whatever it was bothering her. However, if that something were Riler, what then? She cringed inwardly, and hoped sincerely that that wasn't it.

~~~~~~

Raska snorted derisively as Akki made the suggestion to toast to their fathers. However, she sensed a certain sort of sarcastic good cheer in the girl's nature, so she went along with it, raising her glass and rolling her eyes. She would've rather toasted to her father's rotting in his grave than to the living lout of a no good drunk the man was. Just thinking about him made her ill, and she took a long chug from her bottle and then sat there, looking a little more moody. She didn't want her Gather day smeared by bad memories of her alcoholic father. So, she decided to ignore him altogether, maybe change the subject, even. She noted Tieler was still unconscious, and sighed. She had wanted to place a couple of bets on the runners, but everyone was sitting here. She knew the races were scheduled to start soon, and though she didn't so much want to watch them as bet on them, she didn't want to miss them altogether. So, "is anyone else up for dragging Tieler over to the runner races? They're not far, I'll lend a hand. I've a couple of bets to make that aren't getting made if I stay here." She stood up, dusting her pants off and taking up Kero in her arms.

~~~~~~

J'red loved runners, and always had. Missing the runner races therefore was not something he would do if he had the option. Since he did, and he hadn't spotted Christae upon arriving, he made his way towards the races. He wasn't a man who bet frequently at all, and when he did, he tried to do it within reason. However, there was supposed to be a new colt running today, and he wanted to, in good fun, bet on her. So, he walked up to the man in charge of taking bets and placed a couple of marks on the young mare. Lightfoot, her name was, and she certainly was a beauty of a runner. J'red was going to look for a spot in the stands, however, it was then that he noticed someone he recognized all too well, and she looked absolutely stunning. He took a deep breath, and then walked towards her, trying to remember he was a grown man and shouldn't be flushing crimson, or having to remember to breathe! When he reached her side, he politely touched her arm lightly to announce his presence, and then gave a formal bow, his eyes bright as he stood up and then greeted her, "Weyrwoman, you look lovely. Enjoying the gather?" He smiled at her, trying to keep eye contact with her face since he was no perverted wherry of a man, and awaited her response.

[Kino]

Khris would by lying if he'd told himself he wasn't relieved when the subject was transferred away from his personal history. It wasn't that he didn't like talking about it to people, but conversations tended to become a bit awkward when they were centered on you. Really, it wasn't as though his history was all that interesting anyway; he was just glad it'd switched away before they started asking about the part of his history that he would have found difficult to talk about. Mainly the reason that he'd been a fosterling in the first place.

The boy rolled his shoulders in a shrug when he was asked about what color of dragon he'd like to impress. "It doesn't really matter to me," he answered. "I mean, I don't think it would really matter at all, right? Even if you want a certain color, if another color impresses to you it's not as if anyone ever complains." Khris shrugged again, "I'll be happy with whatever dragon chooses me." He blinked once. "I mean, you know, if anyone chooses me at all."

[Riler]

Riler watched Wolf carefully as she talked to Kaiya. Though she told Kaiya that she wasn’t interrupting anything, Riler knew that she was lying. Riler was suddenly a little disappointed that Kaiya had shown up a moment too early, before Wolf would tell him what she was upset about. There was nothing he could do about it now, he supposed idly, except wait for Kaiya to leave. But that’d be later on. He wasn’t about to try and get alone with Wolf, especially not if they had to send Kaiya away; she’d definitely get the wrong impression about that.
He shrugged when Wolf said that she was fine, knowing it was an outright fallacy. Something was clearly bothering her, she couldn’t hide that. Riler, once again, decided not to call her out for lying; later, he reassured himself, I’ll ask her about it later.

“Mm,” he said as a grin spread across his face. “One passed out before I left them, and the other one seemed to be well on her way…” He thought for a moment, wondering how much wine would be left in his wine bottle when he got back. Surely there’d be some missing, if not all of it. He chuckled, thinking about how Akki probably started drinking out of it the moment he left, simply because he asked her not to drink out of it. Ah well, he had plenty of marks left.
“What’s more,” he continued, “is that they’re both Candidates.” He kept grinning. “At Dark Moon. Haven’t even shown up yet, I’m sure they’ll be arriving for the first time at the Weyr after the Gather is over.” He stretched his arms behind his back, letting out a sigh. “It’ll be interesting having that pair around, to say the least.”

What was this? Wolf was wanting company? He didn’t catch that her smile was a fake one, so he was a little relieved that she was inviting Kaiya to join them. Maybe that’s all Wolf needed right now, some people to hang around with. But then, where were the people she came to the Gather with? Maybe they simply went their separate ways earlier on.

At Kaiya’s question about what they were going to be doing at the Gather, Riler heaved a dramatic sigh and began to list off some things in a humorous, sarcastic tone. “Well, first, I was going to drink as ‘much’ as I possibly could without puking my guts out. Then, I’d probably pass out for a while and wake up just in time for dancing. Then I’d go around dancing with all of the beautiful women, giving each one a teasing kiss before moving onto the next one. Followed by, of course, getting into a brawl with one of the boyfriend’s whose girlfriend I just kissed. I’d come out the victor, of course.” He gave a nod, looking at Kaiya and Wolf with a serious expression, pausing for a moment. “But runner racers sounds like a much more fun thing to do, maybe I can win even more money on one of them…” He instinctively reached into his pocket, feeling the marks against his hands. “Yeah, let’s go do that.”

[Wolf]

After R'xis had paid the vendor the amount of marks needed to buy such a splendid gift he looked over at Rhiyo, in a bit of shock. You don't go buying the girl you like a gift after a response like that, especially so soon after... It'll make her think he's really serious about it, R'xis thought. He kept this to himself, watching his friend in disbelief.

The woman noted the look on R'xis' face, not questioning him despite the fact that she was puzzled over his reaction to Rhiyo's question. She pointed to a necklace that the girl had been eyeing. There was a dragon up on the end of the chain, turned facing forwards-its Golden wings outstretched magnificently. "She was eyeing this one," the woman replied in a quiet voice. She scanned Rhiyo's face curiously. "Are you Riler?" she asked, hoping that she hadn't just given away something huge-which she likely had. Her cheeks flushed slightly once she realized the dilemma she may have just posed.
R'xis quickly answered, "No, his name's Rhiyo." His eyes narrowed, obviously not having appreciated the question that she'd asked. This vendor, smartest then some, nodded her head.
"All right, all right," she said quickly. "But yes, that was the one that had interested the young lady. Would you like to buy it?" She wanted the two to leave so that they wouldn't ask her how she knew the name Riler, or anything else that might make her accidentally spill her knowledge.
~~~

Wolf wasn't really in to betting, but she did like watching horses race. She shrugged her shoulders, a gentle smile playing across her lips. "Sounds good to me, I love watching horses." She looked over at Riler to see if he'd agree, listening to his explanation of what had gone on when he was with Akki. She didn't ask about the two new Candidates, not really wanting to know what kind of trouble other people were getting themselves in to. Wolf always did her best to stick to any rules that were created, unless under a powerful influence, and most people recognized that after spending a few moments with her. The shock was clear on her face when Riler said what he would've been doing, and she blushed a bit. One thing about this girl was that she wasn't too keen on hearing things about other girls around the person whom she'd chosen as the one she fancied. She couldn't tell whether or not he'd been joking and she really didn't want to just stand here and find out, along with having both of her friends notice the look that'd made its way on to her face so inconveniently. "Lets go then," she said quickly, a waver to her voice. She walked by both of them, standing up to her full height, trying to keep her focus on only moving her feet.

She looked around, her curiosity getting the better of her, wanting to see who was doing what. She spotted Akki's group again, and this time she got a better look at the redhead sprawled on to Akki's lap. She grinned at seeing what Akki was doing to the girl’s hair, getting a quick glimpse of the black haired girl as well, who had a bottle in hand herself. They must be the two girls that Riler was talking about... Was he flirting with them? she wondered. She looked down at her feet, seeming discouraged. Perhaps Riler's feelings were already starting to wane. No, she couldn't think like that, especially after he'd come after her to see what was wrong. How long is this going to go on? Her thoughts weren't pertaining to her feelings for him, which she knew would last as long as he didn't do anything to convince her she shouldn't feel for him. What she had meant was how long would they have to remain just friends, apart, suffering in there own minds. R'xis' problem would resolve when they graduated, but even when she graduated Riler would still be a Weyrling (or if he didn't impress he'd still be a Candidate). She couldn't seem to think of any viable solution to her problem.

[kestrel]

Rhiyo wasn't looking in R'xis direction, so any facial expressions were completely lost on him that were made by his friend. Instead, he looked curiously at the vendor when she asked if his name was Riler. He had no clue who Riler was, so he just shook his head, not at all cluing into the implications behind that. No, instead, he was more focused on the immediate task at hand, and so, with a smile and a head shake, he said agreeably, "not Riler, but Rhiyo, like he said. But you were close-do I look like someone you know?" He then nodded enthusiastically when she held up the pretty necklace that she said Wolf had been looking at. Well, it was really, really nice-it was easy to see how the girl could have liked it. So, he offered her his marks because he had no clue how much it'd be, though from the little price tag he should have lots left, if he was right about it. Two marks, J'red had said. Well, this was less than that, though he had a feeling the price was rather expensive. Maybe he wouldn't have so much left after all, but he supposed it didn't matter all that much. What mattered was that he make ammends with R'xis sister so that everyone could be happy and get along okay after that. So he took the trinket, turning it over as he admired it, and then waited for her to accept the payment.

~~~~~~

Kaiya could feel the unease in the air, it crackled silently like little sparks. She chose to ignore it, and listened in surprise as Riler described-in quite some detail!-what he'd be doing, or like to be. She looked over uncomfortably at Wolf for a moment. Was Riler joking about that? From the look on his face, she assumed he very well must have been, as he quickly changed the subject to going to watch the runners instead. She smiled at Wolf, though a little wryly and forced, and chuckled so that Wolf would at least be led to agree it had been a joke. Instead, she said with a grin, "well, I don't recommend kissing everyone. If their boyfriends don't get you, I'm sure the girls will!" She grinned at Wolf, and then, looking surprised, "they're going to be at Dark Moon? Well, that should be interesting indeed. At least it'll give the Masters something to deal with, I'm certain. They don't even look like they know how to handle their drinks!" She frowned slightly, but it wasn't any of her business, really, and she said agreeably, "I like watching the runners, too. But I don't much like betting on them, as I usually stand to lose more than I'd make back anyway," she admitted, and then, "I hear there are a lot of jockeys competing today, and some new runners, as well." Then, to Riler, "you're going to bet on one, are you? I hope you win!" She looked at Wolf, wondering if company was really what the other girl wanted. Sometimes, people liked to be left alone-or in private with the person they intended to speak with. Once again, she felt uneasy, though she wasn't even sure if that was the case or no.

~~~~~~

K'tan took a bite of his blueberry bubbly pie, the aroma of steaming pie being inhaled at the same time as he savored the pie slowly.
He looked around the gather grounds, seeing if he could spot anyone who might be recognizable to him, but since he didn't see anyone, he decided to see if he would run into anyone who would be at his new Weyr, Dark Moon. He was a transfer and had come to the Weyr only to be informed that there was a gather going on. Well, all the more luck for him! K'tan loved gathers, and it seemed to him that he'd arrived at just the perfect time. He was near the bubbly pies stand, still, and Vyralth was sunning himself with the other dragons, having himself a snooze since they'd not slept much the night before. K'tan's enthusiasm at travelling to a new Weyr had gotten the better of him, and he'd been watching the stars overhead, wondering if the stars were in the same alignment over at Dark Moon. Vyralth and he had talked amiably for most of the night, and if K'tan was tired than it didn't show. He spotted two girls and a boy who looked younger than he was, though the girls didn't look too much younger. He figured he might as well go introduce himself, and see if they might be from Dark Moon, or if they knew anyone who was. He walked over to the one girl who was closest and placed a hand on her shoulder, seeing only black hair and a thin frame. Then, he asked, "pardon me, hope I'm not interrupting you all. Just wondering if any of you might be from Dark Moon?" He smiled at the boy whose face he could see, and took another loving bite from his bubbly pie while waiting for a reply.

[Akki]

“Dragging Tieler? I’m already up for it. It’ll be a good chance to show off her new hair style.” Akki said as she finished the last braid. The braids in Tieler’s hair really had no logical order to them; they seemed to be placed sporadically throughout the red hair. At least Akki had made them a bit loose, so it wouldn’t be too hard to get them out when Tieler flew off the handle about it. “If you help me pick her up, I can do the rest.” Akki said with a grin before lifting up an arm and ‘flexing’ her muscles before adding, “Just look at these babies. I can clearly carry Tieler. Just load her up onto my back.”. Akki wrapped her arms around the red-head, trying to gently get her off her lap. “Besides, the runner Here Comes Trouble Too is waiting for me to place a bet on him.” Of course with the blue riders luck, chances were the runner she bet on would probably wind up coming dead last. But it was all fun and games, right?

Hasima listened into the conversation with genuine interest. She always enjoyed hearing about whether or not someone had a preference to which dragon they preferred. She tried to think back to her candidate days, wondering if she had any preferences. She didn’t, most of her even doubted that she would even Impress. She couldn’t believe it when she heard Rimith’s voice in her mind for the very first time. She nodded with Khris’ comment. She really couldn’t picture anyone being depressed after they Impressed, she just couldn’t see how they could be. It really was an amazing thing to experience, how could you not love every minute of it? No matter how scary and worrisome it was to be standing on the Hatching grounds. Hasima smiled a small smile and voiced her quiet opinion, “I hope you Impress Khris.”. This entire conversation was probably the second longest one she had had in her life with someone new, the first being with Kestrel.

Hasima was busy caught up in the conversation going around her to notice anything. She definitely didn’t know anyone coming up behind her, so when she felt a hand on her shoulder that didn’t belong to Khris or Kestrel, she had a mixed reaction of surprise and fear. Her whole body seemed to jump with what sounded like a sharp squeak slipping out of her mouth. She fell slightly from her sitting position, head spinning behind her so she could see who it was. She stared at the man with wide eyes, ones filled with obvious shock. She didn’t do well with strangers, or with contact unless she knew the person so why was it her who got the hand on her shoulder? Bad luck perhaps? Her heart fluttered wildly inside her chest, still startled from what had happened. She stared at Kestrel for a moment, eyes big as she looked at the girl for help before turning back to K’tan and jerking her head into a shaky nod to answer his question.

[Riler]

Riler couldn’t help but grin as he saw Wolf blush as he talked about what he would do—obviously, to him, he would never ever do such a thing. Getting drunk and smooching all the girls didn’t appeal to him—the getting drunk part, anyways—so he assumed that the other two also knew he was kidding around and not being serious. He laughed at Kaiya, nodding his head a little bit. “Mm, I suppose so, I wouldn’t want to be hunted down by girls. I think they’re a little more scary than the guys,” he said, clearly joking.
He winked to Kaiya as she brought the new Candidates back up. “I don’t know who I’m going to feel more sorry for, the girls, or the new Masters?” He let out a small sigh. “I dunno how good of riders they can become, but that’s not for me to judge; it’s for the dragons to judge if they ever get to stand at the Hatching.” He offered a small smile. “Well, if they learn anything at Dark Moon, maybe it’ll be how to say no to a glass of wine every now and then.”

“Yes!” He exclaimed to Wolf, “Let us go indeed!” He looked back over at Kaiya, saying, “Aye, that’s the problem with gambling. You’re supposed to lose. But you get lucky, every now and then…” His voice trailed off. “Oh yes, I love placing bets. Maybe it’s cause I’m a guy; me and my friends always used to make bets on the most stupid things.” He held out a hand, counting things off as he listed them. “Who could do the most push-ups; who could swim the fastest; who could run the longest; who could fight the best; who was the best arm wrestler…” He stopped listing them there, realizing that this was probably boring both of them. He grinned, looking between the two. “Well, if I win on a runner bet, I’m treating you both to bubbly pies, so you both better be rooting for our runner.”

[Wolf]

The vendor took the marks for the necklace, offering the boy a gentle smile, "Yes... Just some one I'd seen a while ago," she lied. She looked back to R'xis, the look on her face a clear apology. R'xis simply gave a nod of recognition, making it seem like it was his way of saying farewell, and walked in the opposite direction. He looked back to make sure Rhiyo was coming. Once the two were more or less on there own R'xis said to him: "So, I'm guessing you're giving that to my sister?" The answer was obvious but he'd still felt the need to ask anyways, just to be sure. His mind was flooding with thoughts about why Rhiyo would be giving his sister such an expensive gift. Maybe he just wants to apologize? Why not apologize by saying he's sorry though? It’s not everyday that a guy would just go out and buy a girl a gift like that. Does he know what he's getting himself in to? "You do know what a gift like that means?" he then asked Rhiyo suddenly, keeping his voice low.

He was buying such an expensive gift for Akki because... well, every one knew his because! He just wanted to remind Akki that his feelings hadn't changed, and that he still viewed her the same way he had viewed her a couple years ago. Had it really been that long? He scanned the crowd, hoping to see her face, it'd make him feel a whole lot better knowing she was near him rather then off doing something else... with some one else... He just always wanted her some one to be him, but was he maybe stuck on a one-sided end, only to never really have her? He looked down at the necklace in his hands with a small blush. I have to keep on trying; she's worth it after all. I'm still a Weyrling, and she knows that-I know that.
~~~

Wolf didn't feel like she really had much to say. What she wanted to say she couldn't say in front of Kaiya, and she wasn't even sure she could say it to Riler either. Was she maybe getting ahead of herself? Nothing made sense to her anymore and the only person that she wished to confide in at this moment had responded in a demeaning fashion. She couldn't go back to R'xis, certainly not now, especially since he was likely still with Rhiyo. She kept on walking; keeping her head down while her thoughts kept on coming. She felt like she was off in her own world, far away from every one and everything. She looked over at Kaiya and Riler, smiling to let them know that she wasn't completely miserable-though how she felt inside suggested otherwise. She heaved a sigh, trying to lift her spirits... but how? A daydream overtook her mind when she looked back down to the ground again, and she wasn't sure that it was the best thing to be fantasizing about. Okay, whom was she kidding; she shouldn't have been letting her mind go there at all! What was happening to her? Riler wouldn't be kissing her, and she wouldn't be kissing him, certainly not. She shook her head back and forth rapidly, her cheeks colouring. I have to get out of here, I wish I'd never came. Things would just be so much better if I was back with Serinth. She looked back to her friends, sorrow written all over her face. More then anything she didn't want to tell her one friend that he was the partial cause for her feeling this way. She bit her lip, keeping herself from saying anything. She wanted to spend time with both of them, get to know them better, but she felt so vulnerable right now. She just felt that somehow everything she was saying and doing was so unreal, and her friends didn't deserve that coming from her...

Wolf stopped walking, scanning both of there faces. "I'm sorry guys, enjoy the races, but I can't do this-not right now anyways." She nodded to Kaiya, her smile sincere this time, "I just-I need-I don't know what I need." She shrugged her shoulders, feeling very weak, and in truth a bit dizzy. As she walked off she wished that she would've looked at Riler, made some kind of eye contact, but she just couldn't bring herself to do that. How many times had it been now that she'd walked back and forth across this same area? She didn't know where to go, she just wanted to go home, and the crowd was starting to make her feel claustrophobic. How ridiculous are they going to think I am? That I can't even handle my emotions, that I'm some kind-of watered down... She allowed her thoughts to trail off, not sure where they had even been going; other then the fact that she knew she had been downgrading herself. She wasn't used to this sort-of thing, she hadn't seen J'kel in a long time and was beginning to wonder if he'd left Dark Moon. She hadn't even felt this way about J'kel, it had been a friendship between them, nothing more. All her life she hadn't had to deal with this, she'd just walked away, always leaving her emotions and problems behind her. She'd always run away from everything whenever it got too hard to deal with. I've grown up, I'm some one else now, but if that's true then why do I feel like nothing's changed? Am I just having a moment of weakness?
She found an unoccupied patch of grass near a break in the booths. She sat down, pulling her knees in to her chest. She rested her chin on her knees, closing her eyes over. Her eyes then shot open and she felt the same blush come to her cheeks. This was starting to get serious, or so she thought. She had never even been engaged in that sort of thing, with any one, but she knew that she had feelings and she was a girl, after all. Maybe R'xis is right, I don't know enough of what I should.

[Sparrow]

Marletta’s eyes opened wide in shock as Akki told her she’d yank out her tongue. However, her shock and fear dissipated as Akki then stuck out her own tongue and crossed her eyes. The girl sniggered at the bluerider’s antics. Marletta shook her head, “No, it not too much. In fact if you had more time I think you should’ve done more to her hair.”

Marletta glanced at Raska as she began to speak again. The runner race. Shards, how could she had forgotten about them? She grinned to herself, she prided herself in her ability to distinguish a good runner from the others. “I’ll go to the races and I suppose I’ll help drag Tieler if I am needed.”

As she got up she wiped the dirt from her skirt with one hand, the other still holding the glass of wine she had gotten. Marletta took one more sip and looked into the still filled glass afterward. “Father will be at the race for sure,” Marletta said forgetting for a moment how Raska seemed to hate her worrying, “Do you want the rest? It is quite good,” she said offering Raska the glass as if to make up for it.

---

Sh’rel nodded, he understood how Akki could not miss someone in particular. There were a few people that he wished would just leave, not go between (he didn’t think himself /that/ hateful) but just to another Weyr but he would be fixing his problem if he was allowed to transfer to Dark Moon Weyr. Grinning he said, “I shall not say a word. And I don’t think you have to love your Weyrleader necessarily. But I do believe they should try to earn the respect of their riders, if they’re not doing their jobs they’re not worthy of admiration.”

“Best Weyrwoman out there, eh?” Sh’rel raised an eyebrow. “I can’t wait to meet her then.” He had not heard many riders praise their Weyrwoman so adamantly.

Sh’rel chuckled at the face Akki made at Marletta, “Had enough to drink, do you think?” He glanced at the bluerider’s bottle of wine trying to gauge how much she had consumed. Perhaps, he wondered, this was how she behaved all the time. If this was so he would definitely like it better at Dark Moon.

The Brownrider brought his palm to his forehead, smacking himself on the forehead as he said, “The runner races, I almost forgot about them.” He gave Akki a surprised look, “Here Comes Trouble Too? Come on. You’re throwing your marks away on that one.” He got to his feet, Akki had the intention of carrying Tieler to the race track herself, “If you get tired carrying Tieler I could help too. But first… I could use another refreshment. Would you two want something from the drinking tent?” He offered Raska and Akki.

[kestrel]

Raska looked at Tieler's braids and snickered, knowing that when the girl woke up she was really in for a big surprise. She stood up and nodded, lifting Tieler up with apparent ease and yet being careful with her so she wouldn't wake her unpleasantly. She didn't fancy being the one carrying Tieler when the girl awoke, but she knew Akki would be able to handle it better than any of them there, likely. So, she helped to heft the girl up onto the bluerider's back, still wearing an amused look, and then turned around just in time to see Marletta offering her what was left of her wine. Well, she might have made some snide comment or another, but she couldn't really do that when the other girl was offering her the rest, now could she? She still thought it was stupid, if only for a moment, that Marletta was so worried about what her father thought. Then, she took the glass and nodded and simply said, "thanks". However, a mere second later, she looked up at the girl, eyes blazing, and then said in an angry voice,"does he beat you, Marletta? Is that why you're afraid of him? Because if he does, I swear I'll kick his teeth in, and you won't have to worry about him anymore!"

Raska didn't often speak of her own father. For Raska's father was a violent drunk, and growing up had been a nightmare when she bothered to come home at all. Under the influence of alcohol, she was more prone to speak aloud her thoughts than normal, and now she was suddenly angry at the thought that someone else might fear their father because their father abused them. In her righteous wrath at this thought, she was ignoring the fact that she might be revealing too much about herself, her own past.

~~~~~~

Kaiya grinned at Riler's words, for he wasn't the only one who had made stupid bets with friends growing up. She, too, had done the same with her own friends, and so she pitched in, "well, I don't know if they were so much stupid bets as bets we all make with friends-I know I did!" she admitted with a smile at Wolf, and then Riler. Well, her unease at having perhaps interrupted something was fading. Riler seemed in a good mood, Wolf at least looked all right, though Kaiya knew whatever was bothering her wouldn't just go away just like that. However, if Riler and she could help the Weyrling girl feel better, then everything might turn out okay.

However, as she began walking with Riler and Wolf, she noted that Wolf was staying a bit ahead of them. Well, that seemed to her a little odd, so she looked meaningfully at Riler and jerked her head in Wolf's direction, because saying anything would have been heard. She was just about to go up beside the girl when Wolf turned around. Kaiya was taken aback by the look on the girl's face, for it was both sorrowful yet apologetic, confused and lost. She stopped short, scanning Wolf's face, wishing she knew what was wrong, and the old fear that she'd interrupted at the worst possible time came flooding back, plaguing her with guilt about it. She wanted to tell Wolf to come back, but she didn't even know if that was the right thing to do. She wanted to speak, but no sound came out, she just opened her mouth and closed it. It looked like Wolf wanted to be alone, to gather her thoughts, and she turned with a helpless look to Riler, not knowing what to say.

~~~~~~

Rhiyo paid the marks for the gift and then tucked it in his pocket safely keeping a hand on it because he would be very upset if he lost it. He was all smiles, thinking over how nicely his plan to make amends with R'xis' sister would work out. Suddenly, R'xis asked him if he 'knew what the gift meant'. Well, he most certainly did, or else he wouldn't have gotten it! So, with a wide grin, he nodded enthusiastically, and replied in a happy sort of tone, "of course I do! Why else do you think I would have gotten it?" Then, taking out the necklace and holding it up for R'xis to see, he explained in a cheerful tone, "Wolf liked this, which means if I give it to her she'll be happy to get it! And then, because I gave her this, it'll make up for the fact that I upset her, and we can all go on and enjoy the gather together!" He grinned and nodded to himself, in high spirits, as he once more put his hand back into his pocket, still grinning from ear to ear. He had been so worried that he'd caused a problem, but now he had found a great way to make amends!

Then, he suddenly saw Wolf walking by on her own, and then grabbed R'xis wrist and dragged him along with him until he spotted Wolf sitting on a spot of grass in between vendor stalls. He walked right up to her, and knelt down, taking his hand out of his pocket and holding up one end of the necklace in each hand, so that the pendant was right in front of her. Then, with a smile, he said brightly, "Wolf, this is for you. I really hope you like it-I saw you over at the vendor's and she told me this is what you were looking at. So...urm...yeah." He gave her a smile, and, feeling confident that his plan would work out perfectly, he added, "oh, and I'm sorry if I embarrassed you by what I said. I meant it, but I didn't mean for you to get upset." Of course he simply meant that he meant that he thought she was a nice and cute girl-and of course he had no idea what that would have meant in saying that to her!

~~~~~~

Kestrel, too, was surprised when someone came up behind them, however, she only knew because of Hasima's jump and 'squeal'! She, too, gave a start, turning to see who on earth had approached them. However, she saw no one she recognized, registering that he'd asked if they were from Dark Moon only. She, too, gave a nod. Well, she hadn't intended yet another stranger to join them, and looked helplessly over at Khris as if she expected him to say something or other.

~~~~~~

K'tan was entirely taken aback by the young woman's reaction to his appearance, and immediately knelt down in front of her, brows furrowed with concern. He said gently, feeling horrid for having startled her so badly, "I apologize, miss. I didn't mean to startle you like that. Are you all right?" He then added by way of introduction, "I'm K'tan, rider of Blue Vyralth. Whom do I have the pleasure of meeting?" He smiled gently at her, hoping to calm her some, offering a hand to her. Her hair was black, the opposite of his silvery white, and he noticed she had a paler complexion. In some unusual type of way, she was uniquely pretty, really, though he'd figured she might not think that herself. K'tan didn't like stereotypically pretty women. He could appreciate them, but he liked people with character to their features-and usually they proved more interesting from his experience. He smiled at Kestrel and Khris, giving them each a polite nod, but stayed knelt down right in front of Hasima, hoping to make amends for his startling her. A voice crept into his thoughts, Vyralth's, of course.

*Now you have done it, K'tan. Scaring people from your new Weyr already, and you have only just met the first? I'm impressed.*[/color]

~Oh, because no one has ever been scared by you, fangs?~

The reply was an indignant and sulky snort, for it was a private joke amongst the two that Vyralth's large front canines made people stop and stare. If ever there was a dragon a person worried about eating anyone, it had always been Vyralth! His abnormal canines made him look altogether much like a tunnel snake, and though K'tan actually loved this 'flaw' in his dragon, others often stared.[/size][/font]

[Riler]

Riler looked at Kaiya, a little surprised. “I thought you just said you didn’t bet…

---

Admin's Note:[/hr]” He thought for a moment, before thinking that maybe she doesn’t gamble anymore because of how she bet when she was younger. He smiled at his realization. “Yes, I suppose that it’s just a part of growing up…” He turned away from Kaiya and saw a large sign with the runner and jockey names posted up on them. Still walking, he quickly scrolled through the names, recognizing a couple of them. Riler smiled when he saw the name of the Keroon Hold runner, chuckling softly as he turned back to the other two.
It was only then that he realized that Wolf had seemed to separate from himself and Kaiya. He looked over at Kaiya, whom was jerking her head to Wolf. He shrugged, not really understanding why she seemed to be in such a bad mood. Was it something he had said? Was it something Kaiya had said? He scratched the back of his head uneasily, trying to figure out what was wrong with her; maybe it was something completely beyond his knowledge.

Riler stared at her blankly in a state of disbelief as Wolf turned to face them—not ‘them’, Riler noted sadly, she wasn’t staring at him at all. She said that she couldn’t do this right now, and that she had to do something that she didn’t know about yet. And then she took off.
Riler clenched his fists, a little frustrated. He didn’t know what was wrong with the poor girl, and running off sure wasn’t going to help! If Kaiya had only shown up a few moments later this whole mess could have been avoided! Riler would know what was wrong with Wolf and maybe he could help her. She was about to tell him when she showed up! What could she say to Riler that she would want to say in front of Kaiya?

And then it hit him like a sack of firestones.

Riler turned to Kaiya, who was looking at him helplessly. Riler bit his lip, trying to quickly think of a way to cool things off with Wolf. What could he possibly do? He had two immediate options; let Wolf be, or find her and comfort her? To Riler, the first option wasn’t an option at all. He had to comfort her. Not because of how he felt about her, but because he knew that this was somehow partially his fault. He had to right the wrong.

“Kaiya,” he began quietly, “I sincerely hope that I’m wrong, but I think that we both know what Wolf is upset about…” He trailed off ominously, letting his words and meaning behind them sink in. “Listen, I dunno how much you can trust me, but I need to talk to her alone. She was about to tell me what was wrong, I think, just when you showed up. You know how when you want to tell somebody something so bad, it hurts? I think that’s what’s going on here.” He gave a small pause before continuing. “So I need you to trust me on this one to let me comfort her, alright?” In no way, shape or form did Riler have any intention on breaking the promise he made to her a few nights ago. He looked up at Kaiya with sincere, hopeful eyes, awaiting her answer.