Welcome Wagon
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Healer Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Printer Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyr
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Writers: Duskdog, Sia
Date Posted: 23rd May 2024
Characters: Aydhara
Description: Michally welcomes Aydhara to Barrier Lake
Location: Barrier Lake Weyr
Date: month 9, day 23 of Turn 11
Notes: Mentioned: N'kevyn, Aydhan
Michally was used to new faces amongst the Candidates. She had been at Barrier Lake almost from the beginning, and as its construction had continued, more and more people had moved in -- crafters, laborers, and of course, more riders, some of whom brought their children along, too. Sometimes it felt like more and more people were being Searched from outside the Weyrhold, too, so that so many new faces were from new places.
The new Weyrwoman Second’s children were from new places, too, though they _were_ weyrbred, and Michally would never _not_ think that made them a little more special.
She came up beside Aydhara and threw one strong arm around her shoulders in enthusiastic greeting, squeezing her to her side. “Hey there! Welcome to Barrier Lake!”
Aydhara startled a little at suddenly being crushed, but the quick familiarity made her grin. "Hey! Thank you! Everyone's been so welcoming." She glanced over at the other girl, trying to get a good look at her without being too obvious. Oh. Oh yes, welcome to Barrier Lake indeed. She was _pretty_.
"I'm Aydhara! I've just arrived from High Reaches Weyr."
“Great to meet you. Name’s Michally!” She let go of Aydhara, but only so that she could stick out her hand. “Nice to see another weyrbred face around! Lots of Searched candidates these days, especially since we’re the newest, and there’s been lots of outsiders here working on stuff. How are you liking it so far? Pretty keen place, huh?”
"It's definitely unique, that's for sure. I'm sure all the Southern Weyrs are, really." Aydhara said as she shook the offered hand. "It's even an adjustment to go outside. At High Reaches it's too cold most of the turn, but there's not a lot of reasons to go out unless you're caring for the dragons. The difference between building with and without Threadfall in mind…" She trailed off, realizing she'd lost herself in the idea. "That's boring. Anyway, you're weyrbred too? Which one?"
“River Bluff,” Michally replied, puffing her chest out a little and raising her chin proudly. “But Barrier Lake now, obviously. Right here at the start, building a new home practically from scratch. Can’t wait to be a Barrier Lake rider!” She thumped Aydhara on the arm. “You too now! You probably feel like you’ve got some big shoes to fill, huh?”
"Dragonrider shoes." Aydhara agreed. "I wouldn't say no to a gold, but my parents have made it perfectly clear that they would be proud of me on a green, if I wanted to be a dragonrider." She paused for a moment, weighing the cost of keeping a secret versus being known as the new 'weird girl' and decided to go for it anyway. "I want a blue though, since that's a thing girls can get now."
Michally sucked in a breath through her teeth. “Oooh, yeah, _that’s_ an ambition, all right. You’re gonna rile some people up.” She grinned wickedly. “But anybody who’d get riled by that _deserves_ some riling. I don’t know how _I_ feel about it yet… I mean, on the one hand, I love blues, and what would it even be like to be on that side of a mating flight? But on the other hand… I’m not so down with the boys, if you know what I mean. Not sure about being bonded to one. My Ma says I’ve got a man’s brain, but eh, she doesn’t get it.” She shrugged a little. “What would your parents say if you got a blue?”
"I don't know if it matters that much. How much do dragons understand gender? Dad's bronze, Avicath, is less a boy than he is a shining pile of ego. Which I guess is still a boy, now that I think about it." Aydhara said with a laugh. "There's all this talk about what virtues or personalities the bronzes and browns want. Maybe it's not as hard as we thought." She did look thoughtful for a moment. "I think they'd be okay with it. They like a good scandal."
She nudged Michally gently in the arm. "I like girls too. I don't mind the boys so much, but ugh. They all smell the same. Girls are great."
“Boys are fine as friends,” Michally declared evenly. “And fun to compete with. But yeah… _girls_.” She gave an exaggerated, dreamy sigh. “You think that’s what a blue looks for in a girl? I don’t know the girl who Impressed one -- I don’t know anything about her, but that’s what some people say. Seems like wherryshite, though, because it’s not like she’d be the first girl to like girls or anything.”
Aydhara sighed dreamily in agreement, letting that one quick moment just be in reverence to _girls_. "Yeah, that doesn't make sense at all." Aydhara agreed. "Though I bet that'll be the rumor circulating soon, if it isn't already. Like the assumption only the gay boys are on greens and blues."
She did look thoughtful, and a little mischievous. "My parents would probably let me go to Dragonsfall with them, if they need to go that way. Maybe I can catch a peek of her."
“Lucky. I mean, I’d like to meet her someday for sure. Maybe she’ll come here sometime. Maybe she’ll transfer! We _are_ the best place to live.” Michally grinned. “Nothing against Dragonsfall or anything. I’m sure it’s nice. If another girl Impresses a blue there, maybe it’s just their clutches that are weird. But if it happens somewhere else, maybe it’s just a new thing that’s here to stay, you think?”
"It can't be just there. What's Dragonsfall got that we don't? Nothing, that's what." Aydhara said, though she frowned a little as she considered that possibility. "I hope not, anyway. I think it just shows that some blues will go outside what they 'usually' do if the right kind of person is there, y'know?"
“Could be that cold mountain water,” Michally speculated, but she was grinning. “So what is it that makes you want a blue, yourself? Pretty color? Wanting to be famous? Imagining pinning some greenrider down if your blue catches?”
"Look!" Aydhara exclaimed, pretending to clutch her heart. "We just met. I could have been _complicated_. Mysterious. You didn't have to guess all my motivations at once." Her grin matched Michally's. "The Flights are only a bonus, though. Though I don't think I could pin a really burly greenrider though, even if I had a blue that was chasing."
“Eh,” Michally dismissed, “You could ride him like a tiny little jockey. Right across the finish line once or twice, hopefully.” She flexed one rather impressive bicep. “Now me, I bet _I_ could. Blue or green or whatever.”
"Pff. I'll be lucky if it's once…" There was something wittier in her mind, but whatever it was it was banished by Michally's presence. "Yeah, I wouldn't bet against that. Confuse the _heck_ out of that bluerider."
“If it’s gotta be a guy, may as well get what you can out of it.” Michally shrugged. “That’s the thing about dragons, I guess. But one downside, only sometimes, and in exchange I get to be a Hero of Pern? I’ll take it for sure.”
"Just a couple times a turn." Aydhara agreed. "And a whole dragon. Sounds worth it to me."
“Definitely,” Michally said. It was nice to meet someone of a similar mind.. “Hey, have you been down to the lighthouse yet? The view’s great if you climb all the way to the top. I can show you…?”
"Is it?" Aydhara asked, immediately interested. A good climb could certainly help push the remaining homesickness from her, at least temporarily. It was hard to think much of anything after a good day's exertion. And…she could practically picture Michally's shoulder muscles flexing under the effort. "Yes, show me."
Last updated on the May 24th 2024