An Ego's Requiem

Writers: AL, Heather
Date Posted: 6th August 2014

Characters: Esiah, Meledei
Description: Esiah and his deflated ego attend the Gather with Meledei
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 8, day 10 of Turn 7
Notes: Mentioned: K'dall
Notes: Sometimes you just gotta be Friends *sobbing Esiah*

Esiah

Esiah did not really want to go to the Gather with Meledei. Especially
knowing that she did not view him as anything more than a friend. He
had listened patiently to her story about her two previous
heartbreaks, but there had not even been a mention of any
_possibility_ of anything between them in the future.

However the harper found himself putting on some of his finer clothes
anyway, because he did not want Meledei to think that the only reason
he had befriended her in the first place was for the shot at a
relationship. It was just going to be challenging to treat her as
"just a friend" when he wanted to explore _more_.

**Think of her as an annoying little sister.** He coached himself, and
decided that_that_ was a great idea. She was much younger than he
was, and a younger sister was someone that you could hangout with and
be annoyed by at the same time. In the mirror he checked his beard,
that he had trimmed up just that morning, raked his fingers through
his hair, and then took off for her weyr to meet up with Meledei.

"Hey there." Meledei grinned as she opened the door, then spun about
to grab a bag. A dress of emerald green adorned her frame, silver
thread sparkling with every movement as it wound in intricate patterns
over the bodice and hem of her skirt. The bag she placed around her
wrist matched the green of the material. With silver pins, her hair
had been pulled back in a simple yet elegant style, one easily fixed
after the wind had its way with it. "Ready to go?" The next thing
she made a grab for was her jacket. It didn't really match the dress
very well, but it was necessary for the cold of/between/.

Esiah nearly swallowed his tongue when Meledei opened the door.
Thinking of the beautiful young goldrider as his annoying little
sister was going to be a lot harder than he had previously imagined.
He inclined his head, "Yes, I am ready." He refrained on commenting
how lovely she looked. Friends didn't say those kinds of things,
right?

"Better put on your coat. I don't really want to arrive with an
icicle." The jacket marred the elegant image, but it was only
temporary. It was Summer in the North and she could shed it as soon
as they were on the ground. "Elleth's ready so we can mount her and
go."

The harper's jacket had been draped over his arm and at Meledei's word
he quickly shrugged into it, "Let's go then." He agreed as they made
their way out to the gold dragon.

Elleth lay upon her couch, leathered up and prepared. She
straightened up so the two could mount her and then safely strap in.
Although she was well aware of their presence, she craned her neck
around, her great, whirling green eye reflecting upon Esiah as Meledei
double checked their bonds. "Okay, all set?"

Esiah did not know if he would ever get use to flying, but he
considered the opportunity to ride on a gold dragon to be a rare one
indeed. He thought himself fortunate. "Ready." He confirmed,
putting his hands on her hips, more out of a necessity to stabilizing
as the gold took off, than any sort of romantic gesture.

"Here we go." It was all the warning the harper was given before
Elleth launched off of her ledge and into the air. With heavy beats
of her wings, she rose higher and higher into the sky. When the Weyr
below looked like a toy, Meledei passed along the visual she'd gotten
from a transferred rider, and they winked/between/.

They emerged above Fort Hold, and already it was abuzz with activity.
Elleth circled around then came to a gentle landing among some other
dragons who had already brought their riders.

The smells and sights of the Gather were welcome, and Esiah smiled as
they landed. He would have to take a mental picture of the way the
colorful Gather tents had looked from the skies as they had landed. It
would make a beautiful painting.

Once they were on their own two feet, Esiah offered his elbow to
Meledei, "Shall we milady?"

Meledei rid herself of her jacket and tucked it into a bag attached to
the straps of her dragon, then accepted the proffered elbow. "Why
thank you good sir." She grinned, her hand resting in the crook of
his arm while the other tugged the skirt of her dress just enough to
keep her from tripping on it and falling flat on her face, thus making
a fool of herself.

"What is your preference? Food," he gestured toward the vendors where
wonderful aromas were wafting into the air, "clothes," he looked over to the
colorful tents where clothing had been hung about for perusal, "or
trinkets?"

"I ate breakfast, I'm not hungry yet. Why don't we check out the
'trinkets' as you say?" Meledei motioned to one tent in particular
that boasted a plethora of various baubles and artifacts in a variety
of sizes, shapes, and colours.

"Trinkets it is." Esiah said as he led the way to the section of tents
that held various, random items. He knew he needed to pick up a few
things to go in his weyr, to make it look at least as if someone lived
in it.

"Oh look at this." Meledei pointed out a figurine made of layers of
metal into the shape of a green dragon trimmed in gold. It suspended
upon a golden chain and when Meledei picked it up, it wiggled with the
motion. "Isn't that pretty? I wouldn't mind that in my weyr. Here's
another." The second one seemed made entirely of gold trimmed in
silver and encrusted with inexpensive jewels or coloured glass. "This
is definitely a possibility."

As an artist himself Esiah could not help but admire the handiwork of
the individual who had created the pieces, "It is beautiful." He
agreed, reaching a finger out to touch the metal, which caused the
metal creature to shimmer.

"I sometimes splurge on one thing when I go to a Gather. Not always
since I tend to go to a lot, but when I see something I really like,
well...I get tempted." And Meledei was certainly tempted by that.
There were even several of the two colours she'd picked out though
each varied slightly. Blue, bronze, and brown were also represented,
each tinged in another complimentary colour. "I'll have to think on
this."

"Why don't we come back by the tent later after we have looked
around?" Esiah suggested, his stomach telling him that it was ready
for the food tent.

"Sure. There's a lot more to see and do." And if any were still
available, she'd probably get one. If not, then Meledei knew it
wasn't meant to be. "I bet there's a stall where you can get supplies
for your paintings."

Esiah stroked a hand over his beard, "There usually is, although
probably nothing I can afford." They meandered past a few stalls where
vendors were selling beads and spices.

"Maybe, but sometimes it's just fun to look." Meledei inhaled deeply
the scent that wafted through the air. "When I smell things like
that, I almost wish I could cook._Really_ cook."

"Not really much need for dragonriders to learn to cook heh?" Esiah
said with a smile.

"Or crafters - not in a Weyr, anyway. We'd always just go to the
dining hall." Meledei shrugged a little then paused before a stall
that interrupted the warmth of the spices with the sharp tang of
paints. "Oh here's one you might like to peruse."

Esiah stepped into the tent and Meledei was right, there were several
things inside that he found of interest. The mixtures of paints, oils
and canvases was just the sort of thing he enjoyed. Fortunately he was
kept pretty well stocked at the Weyr so he didn't find anything inside
the tent that he needed urgently.

"Nothing in this one." He said as he exited the tent.

"That was fast. You hardly looked!" Meledei couldn't help but laugh
softly and shake her head. She didn't tend to sweep by things, but
perhaps men were simply different. "Is there somewhere else you'd
rather go?"

There was a tent across the way filled with wood carved figurines,
"Over here." He led the way into the tent, his fingers stopping now
and again to stroke the wood and admire the craftsmanship.

"Oh are you going to go into woodcrafting too?" Meledei had to admit,
the carvings were quite lovely, well thought out and positioned,
pleasing to the eye. Although there were many different shapes,
sizes, and colours, Meledei found herself attracted to the darker
woods. "Are you going to get something?"

"Carving is not a talent I possess, which is why I leave it to the
real woodcrafters." He said with a grin as he picked up the carving of
stallion rearing, its hooves pawing at the air. "Yes, I think I will
take this piece. It would be nice on my bedside table." The carving
reminded him of home.

"You like runners?" That piqued Meledei's interest - she didn't
realise the man had a particular fondness for the beasts. "Do you
ride?"

Esiah took the figurine over to the man working the stall and withdrew
some marks to pay for it, "Yes, I use to ride frequently when I lived
at the Hold."

"You know, if you ever wanted to go on a ride, I enjoy that sort of
thing." It was so funny, she'd just planned to go on a ride with
K'dall the following sevenday and now she knew someone else who rode.

Handing the crafter the money, Esiah took the figurine and led the way
back out of the tent, "Oh, well, I don't ride anymore. At least, I
haven't since my runner died."

"Really? The Weyr has runners you can use from time to time. You
should ride again, it's fun." Not the same as being on a dragon, but
still fun, though Meledei doubted Elleth would ever understand.

"I am afraid it's not that simple. My runner was more than just some
animal to me." He said as they walked among the tents. Victory had
been his companion for fifteen Turns before having to be put down.

"He was your friend." Meledei stated softly. She could understand that too.

Esiah glanced sideways at her, "Yeah, he was."

Meledei nodded slowly. "I had a feline like that, but she died when
Thayan Peak was destroyed." She'd still been young, but that hadn't
diminished how much that creature meant to her. "Come on, where do
you want to go next?"

"How about some dancing? You need to practice for the upcoming
hatching after all." Esiah smiled.

"I do enjoy dancing." Meledei agreed, a sparkle alighting in her
already bright green eyes. "Question is, can you keep up with me?"

"Milady of that I have no doubt." He winked in return.

"I guess we'll have to wait and see."

Last updated on the September 6th 2014

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An Ego's Requiem