Part of the Plan

Writers: Francesca, Paula
Date Posted: 8th March 2019

Characters: Dessa, Arrilon
Description: Dessa and Arrilon chat at the weyrlake.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 8, day 9 of Turn 9

Arrilon sat, legs crossed, with a good view of the weyrlake. He had a
bit of time before rehearsal, but not enough to do much of anything
productive. So instead, he idly passed the time watching the handful
of dragons being washed by their riders.

}: He is watching me, I don't like people staring at me, :{ Santhiath
complained.

**Who? ** Dessa asked, **and I thought you loved being watched.**

}: Not today. That one, :{ the young gold replied crankily and nodded
with her muzzle. Dessa looked at the direction she pointed and spotted
the young man, she recognized him as one of the harpers.

Dessa actually rolled her eyes. **Go rinse yourself,** she told San
and thanked the weyrbrats that had been helping her to with Santhiath.
The older she got, the more there was of her to wash.

While Santhiath slid to the water, Dessa walked over to the watcher.
"Hey, Arrilon, how are you?"

The apprentice tried to contain his shock at being addressed by the
young goldrider. They had met briefly when she was still a Candidate
but hadn't spoken since her Impression. "Just taking a break before
evening rehearsal," he said, trying to sound casual. "We're working on
a new vocal arrangement that has some strange harmonies."

"Was it Endras' work? He always makes them overly complicated. As a
violinist I always struggled with his 'flourishings'," she made the
quotation marks with her fingers. Sometimes she really missed the days
of being just a harper. Life had been so much simpler than now.

He smiled and nodded. "It's what he's known for. Maybe he'll surprise
us at some point with something a little less" he paused for a moment
to think of a diplomatic word, "dramatic. It is satisfying though when
we get it right." Nodding toward the young gold in the water, he
added, "I suppose you haven't had much time for playing recently
though. You must be pretty busy."

"You're right, she keeps me busy. There's more and more of her
everyday. And do you have any idea how often Golds like to get
washed?"

His smile grew wider. "I can imagine she always wants to look her
best. My sister rides a green and, even with the two of us washing, it
takes some time." His thoughts turned back to their shared craft and
his hope to walk the tables to journeyman before the end of the Turn.
"When you walked the tables, did you choose a specialization?"

"I did. I knew from the start what I wanted to become," Dessa replied.

Santhiath rose from the water and waded to the beach. }: Will you oil me now? :{

** You need to let your hide dry first, or the oil won't get
absorbed,** Dessa replied to her, her eyes glazing. "Sorry, having two
conversations at once," she said to Arrilon.

He nodded, accustomed to the glazed look dragonriders got when
communicating with their dragons. She made it sound so easy; walk the
tables, choose a specialization, Impress a gold. He wished he could be
so sure about everything. "Was being Searched and Impressing ever part
of the plan?"

"No," Dessa replied with a small smile. "Neither was the marriage my
father was planning for me," she cocked her eyebrows.

"Oh," was Arrilon's immediate reaction, her comment making him feel a
moment of guilt. Her life wasn't as straightforward as it seemed. "I
guess Impression is one way of avoiding an arranged marriage. Was your
father at the Hatching?"

"Yes, he was," Dessa replied. "And had I Impressed a green, he would
had made his disappointment in me known," Dessa's voice was dry.

And now he was probably bragging about his daughter the goldrider, he
thought, but decided not to say out loud. "Well, now at least you
don't have to see him, or whoever he wanted you to marry, unless you
want to."

"So true," Dessa replied.

}: I'm starting to itch, :{ Santhiath complained.

"Well, San needs attention, she's now dry enough for oiling. Do you
want to give me a hand? Not every boy gets to oil a gold."

"Of course," he replied automatically, glad he had plenty of
experience oiling his sister's green. He gave a small bow in greeting
when the gold approached, his heart rate increasing a bit. Hopefully
she wouldn't find fault in his oiling technique. Taking an extra
paddle, he approached her side and began spreading some oil and
rubbing it in. "Does she like music?" he asked Dessa, wondering if
dragons Impressed to harpers were more appreciative of music than
others were.

"She loves it. Sometimes I think it's only reason she choose me, so I
can sing to her," Dessa replied.

"Does she have any favorite songs? Or genres?"

"Nope, anything goes," Dessa replied cheerfully.

The oiling went faster than Arrilon had expected, given the size of
the gold, and soon every inch of her was gleaming. He put the paddle
down, wiping the oil on his arms off with a rag. With a final bow to
Santiath, he turned to Dessa. "I have a rehearsal to get to, but I
hope to see you at one of the harper gatherings whenever you have a
free evening."

"Once I start having free evenings again, I'll be there," Dessa promised.

Last updated on the March 11th 2019

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