Another New Face

Writers: AL, Heather
Date Posted: 21st September 2013

Characters: Saibra, Meledei
Description: Meledei comes to greet the new Weyrwoman's Second
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 3, day 8 of Turn 7
Notes: Mentioned: Cyradis, N'vanik

Saibra

Another new goldrider. This one was the Weyrwoman Second and would
fill the position as such. For some juniour goldriders, the fact that
she'd been overlooked might have been an issue - but not Meledei. She
knew she wasn't ready and she was glad she wasn't put in that
position. She knew Cyradis wouldn't have asked, but if she had, she
would have told the Weyrwoman just that.

Still, that didn't mean she wasn't going to greet the woman. She'd
done the same with Janani and Cyradis and it was only right that she
welcome the newest one. Saibra was her name. Meledei came to a stop
in front of the door, then rapped lightly upon it.

Saibra froze, her eyes sweeping from side to side. The new Weyrwoman's
Second was quite a sight as she was bent over, head first, into a tall
box of things that had been brought with her from Far Island. She had been
rustling around, and making so much noise, that she wasn't sure if she
had heard a knock at her door or not.

**Ugh.** Saibra thought as she straightened, blood pounding in her
head. How long had she been in that position anyway? Tucking a few
errant springs of hair behind her ears, Saibra tossed her braid over
her shoulder.

"Come in!" She called.

Meledei tried the door and found it open. She stuck her head in, then
slipped all the way in so she could close the door behind her. "Hi."
She tiptoed around one box only to almost fall over a second. Meledei
managed to catch her balance and find a better path over to the woman.
"Hi." She repeated, then held out her hand. "I'm Meledei."

"Sorry about that," Saibra said, motioning to the box. Despite being
offered, on multiple occasions, drudges to aid her in unpacking,
Saibra preferred to do the job herself, that way she knew_exactly_
where everything was. Taking hold of the woman's hand, Saibra gave it
a firm shake, meeting Meledei's jade green eyes with her own.

"It is nice to meet you Meledei. I am sure it is going to be a
pleasure working together." She recalled the goldrider's name from her
previous conversation with Cyradis.

"I'm looking forward to it." It would be nice to have another
functional goldrider. Meledei and Cyradis had a lot on their plates
and one more would certainly help matters. "How was the move?"

Saibra chuckled at the question, "With two children, one of whom is a
teenager, it was taxing at best." She answered with a little smirk as
she motioned for Meledei to follow her, "Come this way, I do have at
least one little area cleared and inhabitable." The goldrider laughed
as she led the younger woman over to her table, which was blissfully
clear of any unpacking clutter. "I've got hot klah if you're
interested?"

"Oh, no thanks, but, well...actually, I came to see if you needed any
help or anything." Meledei certainly would have taken the offer.
When she had moved into her weyr, she had accepted the help of several
friends and been grateful for it. Moving was not easy, and she'd only
moved quarter, not to a different Weyr all together!

"Suit yourself." Saibra said as she poured herself a cup of klah and
took a seat at the table, "Unpacking is something I need a break from
anyway," she said, waving her hand in the direction of her scattered
belongings, "I would much rather get to know you, sister goldrider."
She smiled.

"Well, the feeling is mutual." After all, they were going to work
together so why not get to know one another? Hopefully they would get
their relationship on a good start. Meledei seemed to have trouble
with that as of late. "So you have two children?"

Saibra's stoic blue eyes lit with the mention of her children, "I do,
a son and a daughter. Saidrene, my daughter, is a teenager." She
rolled her eyes in a long-suffering manner, "May she quickly reach
adulthood." She said with a shake of her head, although a little grin
tugged at her lips as she raised her cup in a mock toast.

"Hey!" Meledei laughed. She, herself, was a teenager, but she didn't
think she was all_that_ bad. Of course, her father had been very
strict in a lot of ways. "What about your son? He's younger?"

The older goldrider chuckled, "Yes, he is ten. Kaibren and his sister
are complete opposites. She is headstrong and so independent, while he
is clingy and insecure." Saibra shook her head, "I blame it on K'fel,
the fool, for dying in Threadfall. Kaibren lacks his father's
arrogance and confident demeanor." Even though it had been Turns,
there was still a bit of longing in Saibra's voice for her weyrmate.

Meledei might have thought the comment heartless if she hadn't
recognised the emotion that was truly behind those words. "I'm
sorry." She murmured softly. She knew what it was like to lose a
loved one, though her mother hadn't died in Threadfall. "How are they
adjusting?"

"It has been Turns since K'fel died, and while they are not
necessarily clinging to his memory, I still feel as if they have
missed a very important part of their life by not having their father
around." Whereas Saibra was stern and sarcastic, and somewhat
eccentric, K'fel had been lively, spontaneous, and had confidence to
take on any challenge.

Saibra waved her hand, "Anyway, that's neither here nor there. What
about you, Meledei, do you have family here at the Weyr?"

"Just my dad." Saibra really didn't need to hear her whole life
story, so Meledei refrained from giving it, even if she could relate
somewhat. "No siblings that I know of." She shrugged. She could
have some, it was possible. Her father didn't refrain from flights
and she wasn't naive enough to think he refrained from women outside
of flights after her mother's death either. "Do you like to swim?
It's pretty popular around here." Of course it was, Dolphin Cove was
far too close to the water to have it otherwise. "If not, I could
teach you."

"I grew up at Far Island, so I am no virgin to the water. I do love
swimming. I'm afraid I haven't had as much time for it lately as I
would like, but perhaps that will change now that we are settling into
Dolphin Cove." Saibra set her cup down, "But now Kaibren struggles
with swimming, even though I took him several times at Far Island, he
has just never picked up on it. Maybe you could help him? Sometimes
children learn better from someone besides their mother."

"Oh sure. I'd love to help." Meledei loved to swim and she didn't
mind teaching others. "And yeah, I can understand doing better with
someone besides Mom." She glanced back over to the boxes that had yet
to be unpacked. "Sure you don't need help?"

Saibra looked from Meledei to the box of still untouched things,
"Well," she winked at the younger goldrider, "maybe just a little..."

Last updated on the November 1st 2013

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

Another New Face