Greenriders

Writers: Heather, Yvonne
Date Posted: 24th December 2014

Characters: Alina, Saidrene
Description: Saidrene distracts Alina from her homework with some gossip
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 10, day 1 of Turn 7
Notes: Mentioned: G'nir, K'sedel, J'ackt, Sh'del, Talryne, Saibra, D'hol, R'enh
Notes: Late due to Yvonne's LOA's!

Alina

Saidrene

"Congratulations, Group Leader." Saidrene grinned teasingly as she sat down beside of Alina at evening meal. It had spread through the Weyrling Barracks pretty quickly about Sh'del making the greenrider the group leader of their next drills. Saidrene had been raised in the Weyr and she could never remember seeing a green lead Weyrling drills before, but she had never seen a Weyrlingmaster act the way Sh'del did either. To each his own, she supposed.

Alina looked up from her hides, looking a little panicked. The next week's drill formations were spread out around her like a placemat. "Um. Thank you. We'll see how it goes."

Saidrene popped a meatroll into her mouth while glancing one eye over at Alina's work, "So what is he expecting you to do exactly?" She wondered outloud to Alina.

"I have _no_ idea." The weyrling rubbed her eyes tiredly. "Sh'lua just told me that I was and that was it. I don't know if it's one exercise or all of them, or what is going on." She'd heard the others say it was an honour to be chosen to lead, but it still felt like a punishment.

The greenrider shook her head, "Well, if there is anything I can do to help I will." Saidrene volunteered.

"Well..." Alina bit her lip, debating. On the one hand, asking for help pricked at her pride and probably wasn't what Sh'del had in mind. On the other... "Maybe you could help me by helping me if people stop listening. People don't always seem to take greenriders seriously." Obviously queen dragons could force every other dragon to do what they wanted, and the bronzes carried some innate authority too. But the greens?

Saidrene could think of a few Weyrlings who would be less inclined to listen, mostly because they barely listened to the Weyrlingmaster, so what would encourage them to listen to a peer? "I can do that, a few well placed elbows to the ribs can be awfully effective." She grinned.

"That would be _amazing_." Alina sighed. "I promise to do the same when you're up."

"I hope to somehow fly beneath his radar and hopefully never be picked." Saidrene shot Alina a wicked grin. "Although, Sh'del seems pretty observant so I don't know how well that plan will work."

"Probably not well. With your mother, they're probably tying your knots as we speak." Alina smiled as she said it. There was some benefit in coming from a backwater farming cothold. Nobody had high expectations of her, except for Alina herself.

Saidrene knew there was truth in that statement, "It helps that we are not in the same Weyr any more, and with the way goldriders circulate through Dolphin Cove, hopefully they have forgotten enough about her already to not associate me with her every time they see me." She wasn't ashamed of her mother, but being pegged as the 'Weyrwoman's daughter' was not her favorite title.

"It's only been a few months. Maybe in a turn they wont, but I wouldn't hold your breath about it." People had long memories, and Saibra wasn't easily forgotten. Nor was her daughter, especially after the way she'd impressed. "Will you go to Dragonsfall after you graduate?"

Saidrene lifted her shoulders, "I don't know for sure, but probably not. I am not a huge fan of the cold and snow. Don't know if I want to stay here either." Even though she and J'ackt had patched up their friendshp the memories associated with their relationship and what had taken place with her mother, still left a sour taste in her mouth for Dolphin Cove.

"What about you? Obviously you can't go back to the Hold, but do you think you'll stay at Dolphin Cove?"

Alina shrugged. "I'll stay." A Weyr was a Weyr, and at least she knew people here.

"I thought you might want to go to a colder Weyr where people wear more clothes." Saidren grinned. It was no secret amongst the Weyrlings that Alina had been less than happy about having to give up her skirts and finally dress in pants like the rest of them.

The weyrling rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty sure that no Weyr dresses decently. Dragonriders are a lost cause."

Saidrene tossed her head back and laughed, "You may be right about that." While Saidrene had no problem showing a little skin, she wasn't quite as comfortable as her mother about dressing skimpy in front of everyone. "Besides, I think Dolphin Cove has the best looking Weyrleader." She said this as if it really mattered whether or not their leaders were attractive.

"Really? N'vanik? I suppose... but I haven't actually seen any of the other Weyrleaders, so..." She trailed off, trying to imagine N'vanik as anything but the imposing Weyrleader. The only time she'd spoken to him was after she'd Impressed, and she was in so much pain at the time she hadn't really been paying attention to anything else. "Isn't he kind of old?"

"Well, G'nir has this scar on his face, that's the Dragonsfall Weyrleader, and K'sedel, the River Bluff Weyrleader, now _he's_ old, like almost seventy! N'vanik, though, he's not that old, about the same age as my mom and she's thirty-five." And age differences in the Weyr meant so little when you never knew who you would wake up with after a mating flight. Saidrene, personally, would have _no_ complaints if it was Weyrleader N'vanik that won one of Ashareth's flights. She doubted she would be that lucky though. **Some pudgy, untried youth will probably win mine.**

Thirty-five still seemed old. Still... Alina leaned forward with a sly smile. "Do you have a crush on him?"

Saidrene's cheeks tinged with pink a little as she chuckled, "I don't know if I would call it a crush, but I will say that Talryne is one lucky woman... And I wouldn't mind it if Loseth decided he would like to win Ashareth's flight."

"Oh, wow." Alina leaned back, still smiling. "You _totally_ have it bad."

The other Weyrling touched her hands to her warm cheeks and rolled her eyes, unable to fight off a smile, "Yeah, just don't tell anyone, it's embarrassing." How cliche was it to have a crush on the Weyrleader?

"I won't." It was satisfying enough to have a secret. "How long have you crushing on him?"

Saidrene raised her shoulders, "Probably since my mom moved us to Dolphin Cove. He use to come over to our weyr when she was the Weyrwoman's Second to talk about business and stuff... I always made sure I had some reason to be present when he was over." There was a spark of mischief in her eyes.

"Do you think he noticed?" Alina asked.

"Probably not. I don't know if you met my mother, but she's pretty distracting when it comes to most men." Saidrene's voice was wry. And then a new idea struck her, "Wouldn't it be great if I got promoted to his Wing!"

"Ha! Maybe. Depends if you could actually pay attention!" Alina had a doubt.

"Hmmm, you are right about that. And then there's N'vanik's Wingsecond, R'enh, he's just as dreamy! I guess I'd better hope for D'hol's Wing then, he's scary and far older than what I am interested in." Saidrene giggled.

"I _did_ hear that D'hol is a terror." And definitely not a Wingleader she'd want, either, although she hadn't given it much thought. Thinking ahead to Thread and death and-- no. She switched topics. "Did I hear right that he went and weyrmated with someone right out of weyrlinghood not all that long ago?"

Saidrene nodded, "You heard right. Some young Hold girl who is close to us in age. She's pregnant with his kid apparently. I don't know if you have ever seen them out together... Well, one because it's a rare sight, but mostly because they are such an odd couple." The young greenrider shrugged, "He must have a great personality that he keeps hidden or something."

Alina wrinkled her nose. "Maybe. Or maybe he's really good at... keeping his wife happy."

That made Saidrene grin, "You're right! They say you can judge a man," and here she paused and gave Alina a pointed look, "by the size of his dragon." And she winked.

Alina suppressed a giggle. Men and their _sizes_. She made a note to pass Saidrene's comment along to her sister when she next wrote. "Poor greenriders!"

Last updated on the January 4th 2015

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

Greenriders