Friendship Never Dies

Writers: Heather, Yvonne
Date Posted: 14th May 2024

Characters: Alina, Saidrene
Description: The two greenrider friends meet up at a random beach to gossip over Weyr and life events.
Location: Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 5, day 6 of Turn 11
Notes: Mentioned: K'ran, Aydhan, N'kevyn, N'vanik, J'act

Alina

Saidrene

Imarith came from /between/ and immediately she and her rider were hit
with the full force of the tropical sun. It was hotter here than
Dolphin Cove Weyr, and Alina wondered for a moment how the people at
River Bluff had tolerated this heavy, humid heat all the time.

}:I like this,:{ Imairth's mindvoice practically purred as the green
dragon stretched her wings. }:And I can sense Ashareth!:{

Her rider grinned into the wind as Imarith turned her wings along the
coast. It was only a few minutes before they spotted a wide band of
beach already occupied by a dragon with a mint-green hide. Alina
raised her hand in greeting, and moments later Imarith had landed and
was touching noses with her clutchmate.

Alina slid off her back and immediately peeled off her riding jacket.
"Saidrene!"

The other greenrider launched herself at Alina. Saidrene had slimmed
back down again, post childbirth, but the experience had left her with
more womanly curves than she’d had before.

“Al!” She turned and waved her arms at the beach. “Look what I’ve set
up!” Tent poles with a gauzy material spread over them, which
fluttered in the breeze, left a nice little shady spot for them to
sit

}:Imarith, I hope you are well. Your hide looks _divine_.:{ Ashareth
said, returning her clutchmate’s greet with a muzzle bump.

Imarith preened as her rider gawked at the tent. "You set that up!?
Shards, that's amazing!" Alina hugged Saidrene back. "And you look so
_good_."

"I didn't want us to have to worry about getting too cooked in the
sun," Saidrene said with a smile. "We have plenty to dish about."

"It has been too long." Alina unbuckled a basket from Imarith, then
pulled off her dragon's straps. The green immediately rushed toward
the water to splash her wings in the shallows. Her rider slung the
straps over a nearby tree branch before carrying the basket over to
where Saidrene sat in the shade. "I brought snacks and fruit, and some
juice and water. So. Tell me _everything_," she said as she shucked
her flight jacket.

Saidrene's cheeks puffed out with a giant exhale. "Whew, where do I
even start? Let's start with Saikera. The healers determined that she
is deaf. Her foster mother first noticed that she didn't seem to
notice noises. I always thought.... I don't know, that she was just in
her own little world." She shook her head at her own naivety.

"Oh, Saidrene." Alina pulled her friend into a hug. "I can't even
imagine... she's so perfect, I wouldn't have noticed either."

"It's been... difficult. There's just so many dangers at a Weyr for a
child who can't hear. Imagine if she got too close to a ledge?"
Saidrene shuddered. "Her foster mother has been wonderful, of course,
but she also has so many other children to look after as well."

Alina couldn't even count how many times she'd pulled a little's hand
away from a hot stove or an irritated canine's overly-pulled ears.
Saidrene was right: the Weyr would be so dangerous for her daughter.
"What are you going to do?"

“I don’t know. Let’s not think about it today,” she said, sighing as
she soaked in the sun. “Tell me, what’s the latest bit of scandal at
Dolphin Cove?”

"Oof. Well, you heard about all that nonsense with the poisoning at
that Hatching, right? So, more recently, a weyrling _stabbed_someone.
It was before he Impressed, but still. It's... kind of frightening,"
Alina admitted. "Bad things keep happening."

Saidrene turned her head to look at Alina. "I'd heard the rumors, but
didn't know how much was true. Do you feel... safe?.. at Dolphin Cove?
With those kinds of people running around?"

"_I_ do. J'ackt wouldn't ever let anything happen." At least, that's
what she told herself. "To be honest... I worry more about my family,
and the families of other dragonriders that aren't at the Weyr. I
don't think that N'vanik thinks about them as much."

"That's heavy," Saidrene said. "Want to go play in the water and talk
about better things?"

"Yes. Yes I do. Just not too deep!" Alina stood and stripped off her
pants and tunic to reveal a modest green bathing suit beneath. She
grinned at Saidrene. "All right, I know it's not... _Weyrlike_ but
this is my first time wearing this without a cover up. What do you
think?" The greenrider struck a pose with her arms akimbo and a leg
stretched forward.

"I think you look amazing. Why hide all of that?" Saidrene teased,
knowing good and well why her friend was more conservative with her
body. She, however, had no conservative bone in her body, and pulled
off her clothes to reveal her typical barely-there swimsuit.

Alina sniffed. "Because I _can_. Last one in is a rotten egg!"
Saidrene laughed as she sprinted alongside Alina to the water. The
water was the perfect temperature as they plunged into the crystal
clear waves.

"Okay, now for the fun and light stuff," Saidrene said as she peddled
around on her back for a moment. "We've got a new bronzerider. He came
with his weyrmate, the new Weyrwoman's Second, and girl, he is...,"
she lifted her fingers out of the water and pinched them together in a
gesture of appreciation, "_fiiinneee_."

"Ooo! That's not fair-- we also got a new goldrider but she didn't
come with any arm candy." Alina sighed, but it was more of a laugh.
She had enough bronzerider already. "I think Cyradis interviewed your
new goldrider, didn't she?"

“No clue,” Saidrene shrugged. She never heard much of anything about
Dolphin Cove anymore, unless it was from Alina. “Oh, they also brought
their son, probably a turn or so younger than us. He’s not bad to look
at either,” she said, smiling broadly. “I’ll need to make sure he’s
comfortable with sex, you know, in case he Impresses. Wouldn’t want
him scared of his first mating flight.” She was being silly. Well,
mostly.

"Maybe bring K'ran along just in case he Impresses a green," Alina
shot back. Although Saidrene was right. Her own first flight had been
a disaster. She swished her fingers through the water, enjoying the
way it felt against her skin. "Have you heard anything from your
mother lately?"

"Yeah, she visits occasionally," Saidrene said. It was no secret that
she and Saibra had a tumultuous relationship at best. "She told me
that K'reyel's grounded for a long time. Means there'll be a shake-up
soon at Dragonsfall when Chioneth rises."

"Mmm. Makes me glad that I don't fly in the Weyrleader's Wing. Having
a potential new Wingleader every time the senior queen rises would be
far too stressful."

"True. There's quite a few bronzeriders I can think of that I wouldn't
want to be my Wingleader," Saidrene said.

Alina nodded in agreement, watching as little silvery fish darted
around her legs. Moments like this made her miss Saidrene, but she
understood why her friend wouldn't come back. It was still hard. "How
is flying in the Queen's Wing?"

"I like it a lot, actually." Saidrene admitted. "It's kind of fun
being in the wing that helps catch falling riders."

"I always thought I'd like the Queen's Wing," Alina admitted. "Is it
weird to say that even after nearly four Turns I'm still frightened
every time we see Thread's leading edge?"

"No, it's not weird. It's still a punch in the stomach every time I
see it." Saidrene shuddered as she thought about the way the silvery
spores _writhed_ through the air.

The Queen's Wing had always seemed safer, so Alina had thought it might be less terrifying. But the day was hot and the greenrider had so little time with Saidrene that there was no sense in wasting it on Thread. "Hey, remember your old neighbour O'parrin? The greenrider?" Alina said, changing the subject to something more fun. "The craziest thing happened to him...."

Last updated on the May 16th 2024

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Friendship Never Dies