The Opening Chord
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyrhold
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Elsewhere on Pern
NPC Weyr (NPC)
River Bluff Weyr
Seacraft Hall
Writers: Miriah, Yvonne
Date Posted: 23rd March 2020
Characters: Alina, Aviday
Description: Alina meets Aviday and they talk about music
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 4, day 5 of Turn 10
Notes: Mentioned: J'ackt, L'pin, Saidrene, D'hol, K'sedel, N'vanik
Kobeth yawned, stretching out her wings as she settled into the still hot sand of the shore. As the sun lowered to the horizon, she turned her head to watch Aviday as she emerged from the water. }: Come sit with me. It's nice and warm. :{
**Too warm, Kobeth. Your hide likes that sand more than I do. ** Instead, Aviday moved to a shady spot near a boulder and sat down on a tuft of grass. The boulder was still warm, but not too much to be painfully so. She heard the soft crunch of footsteps and turned to look behind her.
Another greenrider was making her way to the beach. She carried a blanket and had a gitar strapped to her back, and when she saw Aviday her eyes widened slightly in surprise. Usually Alina could hide beside the boulder and practice in peace, but it seemed as though one of the weyrlings had beaten her there. "Oh. Sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you."
Aviday quickly rose. "I'm sorry. You didn't." She shifted on her feet. "Do you want this spot?"
**Yes.** Alina shook her head. "No, that's fine. You look comfortable... as does your dragon." She nodded to where Kobeth was curled in the sand. "I'm assuming she's yours?"
"It's okay." Despite Alina's assurance, Aviday moved aside to allow her the spot; she was only a weyrling after all, while Alina was a
full rider who fought Thread. She recognized Alina easily; she was weyrmated to J'ackt and everyone knew who he was. Her eyes went to the gitar and there was a spark of interest. "You play?"
Alina shrugged a shoulder. "Not very well. I only started when I was a weyrling."
"I don't know how at all. But I like the gitar." Aviday shifted back and forth on her feet. "Everyone says I'm tone deaf. I tried playing the flute once and it sounded like a wher screeching. It's worse when I sing."
"The nice thing about the gitar is that you don't have to. Here." Alina found herself holding her gitar out to the weyrling without
really having made the decision to do so. "I'll teach you a chord, if you want."
Aviday hesitated. She did like music, but she'd tried the gitar before with the Harpers and hadn't been able to tell when the instrument had been out of tune. "No, it's okay. Thanks though. I think I'm better at just enjoying it. Maybe you could play something?"
Alina hesitated. The only people she'd played for were L'pin, J'ackt and Saidrene. Hesitantly she cradled the gitar against herself, then plucked out the chorus of the song that had been written about her weyrmate by the Harper Hall a few Turns ago. It was a ridiculous little song and he was embarrassed by it, but it made her think of him and smile. After the chorus was done she stilled the strings with the flat of her hand and looked shyly up at Aviday.
As she began to play, Aviday quietly hummed along, a bit off key, but following the tune well enough. She'd heard it often, especially from the girls who often watched J'ackt as he practiced in the sword yard, so she recognized it easily. When Alina finished, Aviday clapped. "That was really good!"
Alina flushed. "You're very kind." Her fingers itched to keep playing, but she was too shy to perform. "To be honest, usually I just practice scales and fingering exercises."
"Can you play more?" Aviday sat on the boulder, leaving Alina the desired spot, and curled one leg under her bottom. "I always liked that song. I bet you know a lot of songs, right?" She tilted her head. "Is any of that song true? I mean, there's lots of rumors and stuff about him."
Alina snorted. "The Weyrleader commissioned it from the Harper Hall because of that other song about J'ackt, the one that came out of Emerald Falls Hold. Neither are really true, but at least the one from the Harper Hall has a catchy hook." She avoided answering the other question that the weyrling had asked. J'ackt might not care if he was gossiped about, but Alina didn't enjoy it.
"Oh..." Aviday considered that, then nodded. "Lots of girls in the Candidate barracks and the Weyrling barracks kinda have a crush on him. I've talked to him a couple of times, and he seems pretty nice, but he doesn't say much, just that I talk a lot which is kinda true." She rested her head on her knee. "I like the song. What's your favorite song? Is it that one?"
**I don't think she knows who I am,** Alina realized. The thought both pleased her and made her a little sad. "I only like it because it annoys J'ackt when I play it," she said after a moment. "To be honest, I like more of the instrumental pieces. The chords are trickier and more fun to play. What's yours?"
Aviday grinned at the thought "Guess you know how to annoy him best, don't ya?" She considered the question, thrusting out her lower lip in thought. "You know, I really don't know. I like it all. But I like happy music. The kind you can dance to. I'm not really good at dancing cause I trip all over my feet and the last time I danced, I fell right into a bronzerider's lap. It was soooo embarrassing. My butt was right up in the air and a friend of mine that I was dancing with decided to laugh at me and swat my rear right in front of the rider. I kicked his butt later though, so I got him back for laughing at me at least."
Alina hid her smile behind her hand. The girl was so gawky-- limbs would fly everywhere! "I don't think I know your name...?"
Aviday blinked. "Oh...sorry! My names Aviday." She pointed to the shoreline where Kobeth still played in the surf. "That's my Kobeth right there. And you're Alina, right? You're in D'hol's old wing. I guess it's led by K'sedel now that he's gone."
Alina was momentarily surprised into silence. She wasn't used to anyone recognizing her, except by other women who eyed her with naked, green-eyed envy because of her weyrmate. "Ah- that's correct. Your Kobeth is part of Panitath's last clutch, then?"
Aviday nodded. "Yup. She was the smallest green, but she's caught up to the other greens. Maybe someday I'll be in your Wing and we can fly Thread together or something. I really want in N'vanik's wing though. His wings fly the highest and I want to be the best."
The best. Sometimes Alina felt like nobody even knew what that meant; it wasn't as if dragonmen were given accolades for the work they did. "Who do you think is "the best" now?"
Aviday blinked, surprised by the question. "Uhm..." She blinked again, slowly. "You know...I really don't know." She frowned a bit at the realization. "Uh...I guess N'vanik since he's the Weyrleader...right?"
"If only the Weyrleader can be best, it doesn't leave much room for us greenriders, does it?"
Aviday considered that, then brightly chirped, "Well, I'll be the best greenrider then. The whole Weyr will know who I am!"
"My goal is to be the best at not getting 'Scored," Alina said dryly. Then she smiled. "But I do hope that you'll get a song about you someday."
Aviday grinned. "Maybe you can write it for me. What do you think about that?"
That made Alina laugh. "Oh, I'm no Harper! But if you do get a song written about you, I promise I'll learn the chords."
Last updated on the May 31st 2020