21 Questions

Writers: DL
Date Posted: 4th June 2011

Characters: S'ryad, Meledei
Description: Surryad catches Meledei at dinner
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 2, day 2 of Turn 6
Notes: Mentioned Angdelouth; mentor approved by Clancey

Normally, Surryad spent his dinners studying, but classes this sevenday
had been a little easier on his understanding, so tonight, as the Candidates
filed into the Dining Hall for dinner, he found that he had a rare
opportunity to socialize. After picking up his food, a scan of the
available
tables versus their occupants revealed an opportunity he couldn't pass up.

"Here goes nothing," he said to himself, seeing Meledei and hoping she
remembered him. He practiced what he wanted to say in his head during
those strides, but when he got within earshot of her, his mouth refused to
say
exactly what he had planned, so his "Hey," came out weak and he felt
stupid.

Meledei looked up as a voice greeted her and immediately a smile sprang to
her face. "Hey Surryad!" She motioned to the chair across from her.
Normally she didn't eat alone. Someone she knew almost always came to
sit with her - sometimes several. This time it was Surryad who'd gotten to
her first. "Cop a squat. How's it going?"

"Cop a...what?" Surryad said, not familiar with the phrase, but her hand
motions indicated for him to sit, so he did. "Um...it's going good! Really
good, actually. We um...we got to touch the eggs on the Sands. That was
kind of neat."

Meledei giggled and waved to the chair again until he finally sat. "Cop a
squat. It means sit down, which you did." She brightens when he talks
about the eggs. "Oh, that was always exciting for me! Always made me
feel
good to go and see and touch those eggs. How many did you get to touch?"

"Hmm? Oh, just one," he said, "I was...well, I wasn't sure how many we
could touch. And Angdelouth seemed...antsy. So I just stayed with one."

"Different dragons react differently, but yeah, you don'twant to anger the
gold so you were probably wise in your decision." Meledei chuckled softly
and took a bite of her foot before she added, "No one's been eaten. Yet."
She grinned, then cleared her throat. "I kind of wonder what Elleth will
be like."

"You wonder..." Surryad said, not comprehending and then, "Oh! She...she
hasn't um..risen yet?" Was it polite to say that, to ask about a dragon's
mating flight? Surryad would have to ask the other Candidates later. And
he popped a bite of food into his mouth.

"Nope, not yet. She's still young, just over a turn now." Meledei waved
her fork around. "The healers aren't sure when. It could be any day, it
could be several months from now. It all depends on when the need is felt
I guess. Dragons know best after all."

Should he ask? Nah, that would be impolite. Surryad changed the angle of
his curiosity. "How do they know? Like, the girls in the Barracks say that a
dragon gets...what's the word, proddy? Is that it? Is that like, a warning
to you that she's about to rise?"

"I have no idea. That's what everyone says though, that the dragons know
best. Know when to start rising, that even what sort of eggs are produced
can be influenced by them." Meledei shrugged and stuck some more meat
into her mouth, chewing thoughtfully. "I'm not sure how much of it is true.
I
guess some of it is because I know the Queens started rising more often
when the Pass got closer."

"That's gotta be a bit weird," Surryad said, poking another bite of food.
"Do you get a say in who...well, in who ends up in your bed? I'm sorry,
I'm sorry, that's terribly impolite to ask. You don't have to answer that."

"No, it's okay!" Meledei laughed and gave a dismissive wave. "I'm not
holdbred, remember? I don't mind. I don't really have a say, though it
seems like those who are close to the riders are the ones whose dragons
catch. Not _always_, but often." That brought to mind a certain rider in
particularly. Meledei wondered if his dragon would catch her Elleth.

"Well, that must put weyrmate minds at ease, I guess," Surryad replied.
Then another thought struck him. "You um...you don't have a weyrmate do you?
I
don't want to get you in trouble, talking to me that is. I don't know how
it is in the Weyr but in Holds, well, some Holds are different." Although,
it
didn't seem to be the same way here, from what Surryad could tell.

"Well, I mean, really, in a Weyr, the dragons are the ones who truly
choose." Meledei cautioned. She didn't want Surryad to get the idea that
it _always_ went that way. "So even if you are weyrmated to someone, that
doesn't mean the female will definitely pick that male. She might pick
someone else. Or another male might out chase him. It increases the
likelihood but doesn't make it a guarantee." She paused and then shook
her head. "No. I don't." She might have at one time but...no. Not any
more.

"And even if I did, if my weyrmate didn't trust me enough to let me talk
with someone like you, then we wouldn't be weyrmates. Here, women aren't
property. We're people."

Surryad was glad she saw it that way but he gave her a wry smile, thinking
of his mother at home. He shook his head and said, "I'm sorry. I really
didn't mean to bring up mating flights on our second conversation. Okay,
so what's your favorite color?"

Meledei giggled - the poor boy was _so_ holder bred it was painful. And
funny. He was definitely going to have to get used to things around the
Weyr. "Didn't I say it was okay? Trust me, sex and mating and all that
stuff are discussed pretty openly here. Besides, you're going to have to
learn this stuff sooner or later!" The change in subject was sudden, but
Meledei didn't bat an eye. "Hm. Good question. I think blue and green.
Maybe green a bit more. What about you?"

"I like red," he said. "Even though I don't have any red clothing. My
mother said I looked better in blues though because of my eyes." He squinted
to
get a look at her eyes and said, "I see why you picked green. It would make
your eyes stand out. I bet you look pretty in green." And then he blushed
furiously and added, "N-Not that you aren't pretty in other colors."

"Red's a nice colour two, especially when it's a vivid red." As Surryad
looked at her eyes, she leaned forward to look at his own. "Yep, I can
see that for you two." And then she was giggling again. "Don't worry that
you're going to offend me so much. I promise you, I'm not that easily
offended!"

The blush didn't leave Surryad's cheeks, though he looked down and
sheepishly said, "My parents raised me to be a gentleman. It was weird.
Even though my father thought of my mother more like property, he still
demanded that I treat her with respect. The same went for anyone who ranked
higher
than me. And that's not really hard when you're just a Hold worker."

"Then he's better than some." Meledei had heard stories, a lot from girls
who had come to the Weyr, seeking protection and a new life. "There are
many who don't do that. Don't treat their wives with respect."

That was something all too familiar to Surryad. He had often wondered how
he was going to survive being espoused in a Hold where a man who didn't
discipline his wife was seen as weak. Luckily...well, he didn't have to
face that life.

"So when do you think the Hatching will be?" he asked, hoping for a change
of subject. "Do the dragons know that too?"

"I'm afraid no one knows that." Meledei wished she knew. She bet most
goldriders probably wished that. "But people take a lot of glee in trying
to figure it out and making bets on when it will happen and what colours
will hatch." Meledei didn't actually _bet_ anything, no marks, but she
liked to make her guesses too.

"I hope my dragon's in this clutch," he admitted, stabbing at another bite
of food. Once again, they were on a melancholy subject. How did he make
her laugh again? "Ever played Questions?" he asked.

"He might be. But if you don't Impress this time around, don't give up
hope." Meledei hated to see people give up after only one or two tries.
After all, it had taken her quiet a few before Elleth hatched. "Your
dragon just may not be in this clutch but in a later one. Questions?"

"It's um...it's sort of a game, I guess," he said, "Well, not really. I
ask you a question, you answer and ask me one back. Except you can't ask the
same question that round." Surryad had found it was a straight-forward way
of getting to know someone.

"That sounds like an interesting game." Meledei put down her fork and
leaned forward. "I'm game, let's play!"

"Okay," Surryad said with a slight grin. "I'll go first. Favorite food.
And you still have to eat! Else we'll be here for candlemarks with cold
food."

"Ha!" Meledei stabbed a bit of her meet with her fork, but she answered
before she took a bite. "Steak. Medium rare. Nothing like it." She
grinned and tore that bite off. "What about you? What's your favourite
food?" She asked after she had finished chewing and swallowing.

"Nah uh!" Surryad said with a grin, "You can't ask me the same question.
But to answer it anyway, I like fish. Try again."

"Funny considering I live at a seaside Weyr and you came from a river
hold." Meledei grinned. She would have thought it was the other way around.
"I
do like fish too, though. Let's see...what's your favourite thing to do
in your spare time?"

"Um...well, learn I guess," Surryad said. There hadn't been much spare
time for him at the Hold and what time he had, he usually spent learning
something new or thinking about something else. "We didn't have much spare
time in my family. We always seemed to be doing something," he said.
"What's your favorite childhood memory?" he asked.

"That's easy." Melede's gaze turned a bit wistful. "It was when my
father took my mother and I to a Gather. It was right before everything
happened at Thayan peak...it was our last time together..."

"Um...what happened at Thayan Peak?" Surryad asked, and then he quickly
added, "Oh wait, it's your turn. Sorry!"

Meledei shook her head. "No, it's okay, I'll tell you. After all, the point
of this is to get to know each other. But..it's a little bit of a long
story."

Surryad motioned for her to take another bite and then added, "I'd like to
hear it."

Last updated on the June 4th 2011

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21 Questions